With a few weeks left in the 2026 Major League Baseball regular season, the Milwaukee Brewers have put themselves in the best possible spot in the National League race.
They own the top record in the league at 91-56, and after sweeping the Chicago Cubs in a three-game set, they’ve widened the gap in the NL Central and strengthened their hold on the No. 1 seed. The Dodgers are the only club close enough to make this interesting, but Milwaukee still has the edge.
Los Angeles has won seven straight and sits 1 1/2 games back, so the chase is very much alive. Still, the timing of the Dodgers’ latest setback matters. Shohei Ohtani has been placed on the 15-day Injured List with knee and bicep injuries, removing one of the sport’s biggest difference-makers from the lineup for at least two weeks.
Shohei Ohtani to be placed on the injured list (left knee, right biceps), Dodgers manager Dave Roberts announces. pic.twitter.com/AG3VlX3TVe
That doesn’t erase what the Dodgers can do, but it does make Milwaukee’s position even stronger. The Brewers’ magic number to clinch the No. 1 seed in the National League is 14, and every Milwaukee win or Dodgers loss brings that number down.
That’s the simple math now. If the Brewers keep taking care of business, the Dodgers won’t be able to catch them. If Milwaukee stumbles, the door opens a little wider.
The tiebreaker also favors the Brewers, which gives them another layer of control. Milwaukee already owns it over Los Angeles, so if the two teams finish with identical records, the Brewers would still get the top seed. For the Dodgers to pass them, they need to finish at least one game ahead when the 162-game season ends.
The prize is significant. The No. 1 seed gets home-field advantage throughout the playoffs and a matchup against a National League Wild Card team in the Division Series.
The No. 2 seed still gets home-field in the NLDS, but would have to deal with either the No. 3 Wild Card team or, very likely, the National League East champion.
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More important for Los Angeles, the transaction opened a spot on the 40-man roster for top prospect Josue De Paula, a name Dodgers fans have been tracking closely as the organization continues to juggle immediate depth with future upside. Even for a team that is always thinking several moves ahead, this was the kind of understated roster shift that hints at what may be coming next. [Read more 🡒]
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For a club that is always looking for one more usable arm when the games get tighter, the timing matters as much as the performance. Los Angeles is already adjusting its postseason plan after Shohei Ohtanis season-ending injury, and Bubics recent stretch at least opens the door to a relief role in the playoff bullpen if the Dodgers decide he is ready for that kind of October trust. [Read more 🡒]
Freddie Freemans Absence Just Raised A Bigger Dodgers Concern
Freddie Freeman sat out his second straight game with right knee soreness, and for a Dodgers team trying to keep its lineup stable, the timing is worth watching. Manager Dave Roberts said Freeman received treatment and is expected back the following day, but the bigger point is that this has not been a one-day inconvenience. It has started to show up in Freemans hitting, which makes the absence feel less like a routine maintenance day and more like something the Dodgers need to monitor closely.
Los Angeles has leaned on Freeman for middle-of-the-order consistency, so even a short stretch without him changes the look of the lineup. If the knee issue is still bothering him at the plate, the Dodgers are not just waiting for him to return to first base, they are waiting to see whether he can get back to being himself once he does. [Read more 🡒]