The Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers are separated by just a game in the standings, and the rest of baseball is a long way behind.
More than 100 games into the 2026 regular season, Milwaukee sits at 64-38 and Los Angeles at 65-38, putting the two clubs on a clear path toward a possible NLCS rematch this fall. MLB insider Jon Heyman said the gap between those teams and everyone else is already glaring.
"There’s an obvious gap between the Dodgers and Brewers and everyone else. 28 teams have significant work to do," Heyman posted on Bluesky.
That assessment fits the numbers. The Dodgers own the best record in baseball, while the Brewers are right there with them.
They also stand alone in the run-differential race among the sport’s elite: Los Angeles is at +157, Milwaukee is at +133 and the Atlanta Braves are next at +105. The American League’s top mark, by comparison, is the Tampa Bay Rays’ +32.
The Dodgers have been especially suffocating on the run-prevention side, allowing the fewest runs in MLB this season at 378. Milwaukee is tied with the Boston Red Sox for second at 381.
Both clubs have also handled business everywhere they’ve played. The Brewers are 34-19 at American Family Field and 30-19 on the road, while the Dodgers are 31-19 at Dodger Stadium and 34-19 away from home. That gives Milwaukee the two best home records in the NL and Los Angeles two of the top three road records in MLB.
The gap becomes even more obvious when you look at the rest of the league. The American League has been ordinary all season, with the entire AL West at .500 or worse entering Thursday. Only the Rays, at 59-42, and the New York Yankees, at 57-45, are more than 10 games over .500 in the junior circuit.
The Boston Red Sox have even forced their way back into the conversation after a franchise-record-tying 15-game winning streak, though that run ended Wednesday night. They entered at 52-49 and have clawed back into the playoff picture.
In the National League, Milwaukee and Los Angeles are also expected to be among the most aggressive teams ahead of the Aug. 3 MLB Trade Deadline. That makes the next few weeks even more interesting, especially with the Braves, Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies likely to be the biggest obstacles to another Brewers-Dodgers postseason meeting.
So far, neither team has blinked against that group. The Brewers and Dodgers are both 7-5 against the Braves, Cubs and Phillies combined this season.
Los Angeles already took two of three in Milwaukee from May 22-24, and the clubs’ only other regular-season meeting comes Aug. 13-16 in a four-game series. By then, both rosters could look different, and that matchup may end up carrying real weight in the race for the top seed in the NL playoffs.
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