Pat Murphy isn’t pretending the Brewers are walking into this NLCS unprepared.
Ahead of Milwaukee’s rematch with the Dodgers, the Brewers manager made it clear he expects a different result than last year, when Los Angeles swept the No. 1 seed in four games.
“We’re gonna be more ready than we were last time, I believe," Murphy said. "That doesn’t guarantee anything but we got to be ready for what they say is the best team in baseball, but we think we are. We’re going to do our best to stay with them and beat them in 7 games.”
Milwaukee has plenty of reasons to believe it’s better equipped this time around. Jackson Chourio, now in his third MLB season, posted an .837 OPS across 127 regular-season games, with 25 home runs and 75 RBIs. Jacob Misiorowski also made a massive jump, finishing with an MLB-best 1.80 ERA and 252 strikeouts, a season that will likely land him the NL Cy Young award for 2026.
The Brewers also came through the regular season as MLB’s best team, setting a franchise record with 103 wins. But the postseason has not always been kind to them, and that history hangs over this matchup.
Before their series-clinching win over the Padres on Wednesday, Milwaukee had dropped its previous 12 road postseason games, a skid that dated back to 2018.
That’s part of why the Brewers enter this series as underdogs despite their top seed. The Dodgers are the more battle-tested club, and Milwaukee still has to prove it can match up with them when the lights get brightest.
There is a path to an early edge, though, and it starts with Misiorowski. The Brewers will hand him the ball for his second appearance of the postseason in Game 1, and they’ll try to use their ace to grab a 1-0 lead at home and set the tone for the rest of the series.
Game 1 of the NLCS begins Sunday at 7:00 p.m. CT.
In Other News...
Dodgers Still Have One Huge Shohei Ohtani Problem In October
Shohei Ohtanis October start with the Dodgers has not looked much like the middle of a postseason centerpiece. He has struggled at the plate in recent months, and the National League Division Series against the Braves offered more of the same, with Ohtani hitting .154 and driving in no runs. Even so, the Dodgers advanced to the National League Championship Series, which has bought them time to keep believing the offense from one of baseballs biggest stars will eventually show up when it matters most.
Dave Roberts and Andrew Friedman have both acknowledged the slump, but neither has sounded alarmed about where this could go from here. Their confidence is rooted in Ohtanis track record and the expectation that the bat will come around later in the postseason, which leaves the Dodgers in a familiar October spot: good enough to keep moving, but still waiting on the one player who can change the tone of the lineup in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Fans Have A New October Debate After Beating Atlanta
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Yamamoto emerged as the fan favorite in a poll for NLDS MVP, with Muncy and Freddie Freeman also drawing support. The results say plenty about how Dodgers fans viewed the series: one camp leaned into the significance of Yamamotos Game 3 brilliance, while another saw Muncys three home runs and defensive value as just as central to the advance, setting up a familiar October debate as the club moves on. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Finally Know When Their Brewers Showdown Will Begin
Major League Baseball has set the stage for the 2024 League Championship Series, giving the Dodgers a date and a destination for the next step in October. The National League Championship Series opens Sunday, Oct. 11, and the American League Championship Series follows on Monday, Oct. 12, with the league also laying out the rest of the potential schedule and the broadcast homes for both rounds.
For the Dodgers, the new calendar means the wait is nearly over as they prepare for a trip to Milwaukee and a Brewers team that earned home-field advantage with a huge regular season. The full rhythm of the series is now in place, including possible game dates stretching deeper into the week, but the real answer fans care about is still ahead: how this matchup unfolds once the first pitch arrives. [Read more 🡒]