Milwaukee gets the first pitch Sunday night, and the National League Championship Series arrives with no shortage of October weight: the Dodgers are chasing a third straight World Series title, while the Brewers bring 103 wins, home field and a fresh chance to answer last year’s four-game sweep.
Game 1 is set for 8 p.m. ET, 7 p.m. CT and 5 p.m. PT at Milwaukee, with FOX, FOX Deportes and FOX One carrying the opener. The Brewers are the No. 1 seed, the Dodgers the No. 2, and the early read from a 34-member prediction panel could not be tighter: 17 picks for each club.
How the rematch reached Game 1
- Los Angeles ended Milwaukee’s 2025 season with a four-game NLCS sweep, overwhelming a Brewers offense that produced only four runs in the series.
- Milwaukee returned in 2026 with 103 regular-season victories and a deeper postseason-tested group, including Jacob Misiorowski in a much different role.
- The Dodgers moved through Atlanta in the NLDS, allowing only two runs across the final two games of that series.
- The Brewers beat San Diego in the NLDS, with Jackson Chourio delivering a tying home run in Game 1, a walk-off single in Game 2 and the go-ahead RBI single in Game 4 that became the series-clinching run.
- Now Misiorowski and Tarik Skubal are lined up for the Sunday opener, a matchup between two of the sport’s most imposing arms.
Dodgers bring the October pedigree
The champions arrive with a rotation built for this part of the calendar. Skubal and Blake Snell are each two-time Cy Young Award winners, while Yoshinobu Yamamoto was last season’s World Series MVP. Los Angeles also has bullpen depth, with its closer appearing to regain his top-shelf form.
The lineup remains loaded even before the names reach the bottom of the card. The Dodgers have three MVP Award winners, seven players with multiple All-Star selections and a versatile postseason performer whose October résumé has drawn comparisons with Hall of Fame power hitters.
There are a couple of loose boards in the Dodgers clubhouse, however. Shohei Ohtani is playing through multiple injuries and has posted a .520 OPS over his past 23 games, including postseason play. Catcher Will Smith went 1-for-16 with seven strikeouts in the NLDS. Los Angeles still handled Atlanta without much production from either cornerstone, which may be the most unsettling fact for Milwaukee.
One view around the series is that the Dodgers found their sharper gear in Atlanta and have the experience advantage that often decides a short October series. Another is simpler: there is enough talent in the Los Angeles order for any spot from one through nine to turn a game with one swing.
Milwaukee has changed since last fall
The Brewers’ answer begins with Misiorowski. A year ago, he entered the postseason as a rookie with 73 Major League innings and uneven results, though he shined against the Dodgers in NLCS Game 3 as a bulk reliever. This time, he takes the ball to open the series as one of baseball’s leading Cy Young candidates.
That does not make Milwaukee a one-pitcher operation. Logan Henderson owns a 2.33 ERA through his first 23 big league starts. Robert Gasser has logged a 1.73 ERA over his past seven appearances, covering 36 1/3 innings when the postseason is included. Behind them, the Brewers have three dominant relief options capable of cutting games down to six or seven innings.
The lineup has more bite, too. Jake Bauers finished the regular season with a 140 OPS+. Brice Turang remains an elite second baseman. Christian Yelich and William Contreras came in hot after the San Diego series, and Chourio has quickly made himself Milwaukee’s October heartbeat.
The Brewers’ case rests on balance: dynamic pitching, clean defense and an offense that has found timely damage. One forecast from the panel had Milwaukee’s bullpen edge and habit of finding the big hit carrying it to the World Series. Another noted that the club is playing with the urgency of a team that believes this is its moment to finally clear the final National League hurdle.
The picks lean toward a long series
| Predicted outcome | Votes |
|---|---|
| Brewers in seven games | 14 |
| Dodgers in six games | 8 |
| Dodgers in five games | 5 |
| Dodgers in seven games | 4 |
| Brewers in six games | 3 |
The distribution tells the story. Milwaukee received half of the overall picks, but 14 of its 17 supporters saw the Brewers needing all seven games to stop the Dodgers’ pursuit of a three-peat.
Chourio leads the MVP board
| NLCS MVP selection | Votes |
|---|---|
| Jackson Chourio, Brewers | 13 |
| Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Dodgers | 5 |
| Tarik Skubal, Dodgers | 4 |
| Kyle Tucker, Dodgers | 3 |
| William Contreras, Brewers | 2 |
| Max Muncy, Dodgers | 2 |
| Mookie Betts, Dodgers | 1 |
| Freddie Freeman, Dodgers | 1 |
| Jacob Misiorowski, Brewers | 1 |
| Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers | 1 |
| Christian Yelich, Brewers | 1 |
Chourio’s 13 votes lead the field after his three defining hits against the Padres. But the two most popular Dodgers choices behind him, Yamamoto and Skubal, could each start as many as four times if the series reaches a seventh game.
That is the shape of this matchup: Milwaukee has the revenge angle, the home crowd and perhaps the sport’s hottest starter for Game 1. Los Angeles has the champions’ scars, an ace-heavy rotation and a roster that can survive a quiet week from stars who ordinarily carry the room. The first pitch Sunday begins a rematch that has every reason to run the full seven.
