The Dodgers and Brewers meet in a best-of-seven NLCS beginning Sunday night in Milwaukee. The Brewers already won four out of seven regular games against the Dodgers this year, but in the regular season. While last year showed us the regular season and postseason are different — Los Angeles lost all six games to Milwaukee before sweeping them out of the NLCS — there are some potential takeaways from the 2026 regular season matchups.
Dodgers vs. Brewers games, 2026
- May 22: Brewers 5, Dodgers 1
- May 23: Dodgers 11, Brewers 3
- May 24: Dodgers 5, Brewers 1
- August 13: Brewers 5, Dodgers 4
- August 14: Dodgers 3, Brewers 1
- August 15: Brewers 4, Dodgers 1
- August 16: Brewers 6, Dodgers 2
Offense tough to come by
In seven total games, the Dodgers outscored the Brewers 27-25, with
both teams averaging under four runs per contest. In five of the seven games, the losing team scored one or two runs.
Only two games saw one of the teams score more than five runs — on May 23 in Milwaukee, the Dodgers had five extra-base hits and broken open a one-run game with seven runs in the eighth and ninth innings combined; and August 16 in Los Angeles, the Brewers scored a pair of runs in the ninth inning to get to six in the their last regular season tussle of the year.
The Dodgers hit just .188/.291/.335 in these seven games, while the Brewers hit just .228/.313/.307.
Of the Dodgers seven home runs, three were hit by Andy Pages and two by Max Muncy. Teoscar Hernández homered once and hit .375/.444/.500 in seven games against Milwaukee. William Contreras hit two of the Brewers’ three home runs against the Dodgers, hitting .304/.360/.565 in his six games.
Milwaukee on the season stole 162 bases, fifth-most in the majors, with a 75-percent success rate, which will be something for the Dodgers to watch. But the Brewers only stole two bases in seven games against the Dodgers, and was caught three times. Notably, Milwaukee in the regular season did not face Tyler Glasnow or Blake Snell, the Dodgers’ two starting pitchers most susceptible to running.
Pitchers you will see in the NLCS
The likely starting pitchers of the first two games of the NLCS were all very effective in Dodgers-Brewers games this season.
Jacob Misiorowski struck out six and allowed one run in a win at Dodger Stadium on August 15, a game you might recall as Charley Steiner’s first full game broadcast on radio this season. Misiorowski has a 1.59 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 17 innings over three games against the Dodgers, including Game 3 of last year’s NLCS.
Tarik Skubal allowed only two runs (one earned) with seven strikeouts in six innings against the Brewers on August 16, but took a tough-luck loss.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto won both of this starts against Milwaukee, with 12 strikeouts and two runs allowed in 13 innings. Logan Henderson won both of his starts against the Dodgers, with 13 strikeouts and one run allowed in 12 innings.
Dustin May, whom you might remember as pitching the third-most regular season innings on last year’s Dodgers, started Game 3 of the NLDS for the Brewers, who acquired him at the trade deadline. On May 3 in St. Louis, May with the Cardinals allowed three runs in six innings in a loss to the Dodgers.
Roki Sasaki, now in the bullpen in October, had a 3.27 ERA in two starts against the Brewers, with more walks (seven) than strikeouts (six).
Baker’s dozen?
The Dodgers will likely add a 13th pitcher now that they are in a best-of-7 series after carrying a dozen pitchers in the best-of-5 NLDS.
Whether Justin Wrobleski makes the cut remains to be seen. In two starts against Milwaukee this regular season, Wrobleski allowed nine runs in 11 innings, including three home runs, and lost both games. Emmet Sheehan is another option should the Dodgers opt for a bulk pitcher in this round.
Four Brewers regulars — Jake Bauers (140 OPS+), Brice Turang (124 OPS+), Garrett Mitchell (112 OPS+), and Christian Yelich (91 OPS+) — all bat left-handed, as does Sal Frelick and David Hamilton. Should the Dodgers opt to carry more than three left-handed relievers, either at the expense of one of the five right-handed relievers who were active in the NLDS or adding a bulk pitcher, Jack Dreyer struck out four of his eight Brewers batters faced in the regular season in two appearances and 1 2/3 scoreless innings.
