The National League Championship Series is set, and it’s a collision course of contrasts — baseball’s blue-collar overachievers versus the sport’s billion-dollar behemoth.
The Milwaukee Brewers, the self-proclaimed “Average Joes” who captured the best record in baseball, will face the reigning World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers — a franchise chasing history and powered by a payroll that could buy a small country.
This is not just a rematch of the 2018 NLCS. It’s a statement series — a test of style, identity, and belief.
The Brewers enter as the tormentors. They didn’t just beat the Dodgers this season — they embarrassed them. Six games. Six wins. A clean sweep that exposed every flaw Los Angeles tried to hide beneath its galaxy of stars.
For Milwaukee, those series were proof that their brand of baseball — contact, pressure, and relentless execution — could conquer the mighty Dodgers.
For the Dodgers, they were a bruise that never fully faded.
But October is a different beast. The air is colder. The pressure is thicker. The lights are brighter.
And these Dodgers, chasing back-to-back championships for the first time in 25 years, have found a late-season rhythm that feels eerily familiar — one that thrives when the stakes rise and the margin for error shrinks.
The Tale of Two Identities
The Dodgers have spent half a billion dollars to build a juggernaut — a lineup featuring Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman, with a rotation so deep it could anchor an All-Star team. Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Blake Snell. Tyler Glasnow. And oh yeah, Shohei Ohtani again, but only as a pitcher as well. Each can dominate a lineup, each capable of turning a playoff game into poetry.
Milwaukee, meanwhile, operates with a different script. Their payroll may pale in comparison, but their chemistry and cohesion are priceless. This Brewers team has made a science of pestering opponents into mistakes — bunting, running, forcing plays, taking extra bases. Their at-bats are battles, their defense airtight, their effort unquestioned.
They’re the kind of team that wins not by bludgeoning you with talent, but by suffocating you with pressure. And in 2025, that’s what makes them dangerous.
Caleb Durbin #21 of the Milwaukee Brewers bats during the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on July 20, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Rob Leiter/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
The Storylines
Can Milwaukee Do It Again?
It’s hard to sweep a great team once. Nearly impossible to do it twice in a season. Yet Milwaukee already owns that claim. They outplayed, outpitched, and out-thought the Dodgers at every turn during the summer. They chased Yamamoto before he could escape the first inning. They never flinched under the bright lights of Dodger Stadium.
But those games came without Ohtani or Snell on the mound. And those two names could rewrite the narrative.
Can Ohtani Find His Swing?
In the NLDS against Philadelphia, Ohtani looked human. One hit in 18 at-bats. Nine strikeouts. Manager Dave Roberts didn’t sugarcoat it: “We’re not gonna win the World Series with that sort of performance,” he said bluntly.
Ohtani’s struggles weren’t for lack of effort — the Phillies buried fastballs in on his hands and changeups low and away. They never gave him room to extend. Expect Milwaukee to copy that blueprint. But Ohtani is a two-time MVP for a reason. His October silence feels more like a storm waiting to break.
Can the Brewers’ Arms Hold Up?
Milwaukee’s biggest advantage in past years has been their rotation — Freddy Peralta, Jacob Misiorowski, and Brandon Woodruff. But with Woodruff sidelined with a strained lat, the Brewers’ depth will be tested.
Peralta remains a warrior, but Quinn Priester and Jose Quintana will need to navigate one of baseball’s most dangerous lineups. The Brewers’ bullpen, led by the fearless All-Star Trevor Megill, will play a pivotal role — especially in a seven-game set where innings pile up fast. Rookie flamethrower Misiorowski aka “The Miz” could be Milwaukee’s wild card, just as he was when he shut down the Dodgers in July.
Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Dodgers works out before a game against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field on July 09, 2025 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
Key Matchups
Dodgers’ Strikeout Artists vs. Brewers’ Contact Kings
Los Angeles’ rotation is built around swing-and-miss stuff. Yamamoto, Snell, Glasnow, and Ohtani each strike out more than a batter per inning. But Milwaukee doesn’t play into that. They don’t chase. They foul off, they frustrate, they force long at-bats that wear down even elite arms.
The Brewers led the National League in walks and ranked near the bottom in strikeouts. That’s their edge — patience. If they can get the Dodgers’ starters out early and face a bullpen that’s been shaky beyond sensation Roki Sasaki, they’ll have their chance.
The Dodgers have relied heavily on their starters, but in a long series, that well can run dry. Sasaki has been magnificent — 5 ⅓ scoreless postseason innings — but beyond him, things get murky. Los Angeles’ bullpen has allowed 13 runs in 15 innings not thrown by Sasaki. The Brewers, meanwhile, thrive in chaos, posting a 28-20 record in one-run games this season. If these games go late, buckle up.
The Brewers have a knack for exploiting weaknesses. Against left-handers like Aaron Ashby and Jared Koenig, Ohtani went 0-for-6 with four strikeouts during the season. Expect manager Pat Murphy to deploy them surgically, forcing Ohtani to adjust or watch the same story unfold.
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN – JULY 09: Tyler Glasnow #31 of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitches against the Milwaukee Brewers during the first inning at American Family Field on July 09, 2025 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
The X-Factors
For Los Angeles: the rotation. Yamamoto, Snell, Glasnow, and Ohtani represent a quartet of power, precision, and postseason pedigree. If they’re on, Milwaukee will have to scratch and claw for every run.
For Milwaukee: William Contreras. The All-Star catcher is the Brewers’ heartbeat — both behind the plate and at it. His leadership has galvanized this roster, and his ability to neutralize the Dodgers’ running game could be decisive. Add in rookie phenom Jackson Chourio’s energy and Andrew Vaughn’s late-season power surge, and the Brewers’ lineup suddenly looks far more formidable than its reputation suggests.
How to Watch:
All games are on TBS,and Tru TV and can be streamed using HBO MAX. The start times are as follows:
Game 1: Dodgers at Brewers. First pitch is 5:08 PM PT/8:08 PM ET
Game 2: Dodgers at Brewers. First pitch is 5:08 PM PT/8:08 PM ET
Game 3: Brewers at Dodgers. First pitch is 3:08PM PT/6:08PM ET
Game 4: Brewers at Dodgers. First pitch is 5:38PM PT/8:38PM ET
*Game 5: Brewers at Dodgers. First pitch is 5:08PM PT/8:08PM ET
*Game 6: Dodgers at Brewers. First pitch is 5:08 PM PT/8:08 PM ET
*Game 7: Dodgers at Brewers. First pitch is 5:08 PM PT/8:08 PM ET
*if necessary.
Prediction
This series feels like baseball’s version of David versus Goliath — if David could throw 98 mph and hit breaking balls to the opposite field. The Brewers have every reason to believe they can shock the world again. They’ve already done it six times this season.
But this Dodgers team, for all its star power, is motivated by something deeper than payroll — redemption, legacy, and the rare opportunity to repeat as champions. When Yamamoto commands his fastball, when Betts sets the tone, when Ohtani finally finds his moment — this version of Los Angeles is too loaded, too talented, too tested.
It won’t be easy. It might not even be pretty. But champions adapt, and the Dodgers have learned how to survive the chaos.
Because sometimes, the only thing scarier than a team with everything to lose — is one that’s learned how to win it all.
Here are NBC4’s sports personalities predictions:
Mario Solis, NBC4 Weekday Sports Anchor: Dodgers in 6
Olivia Garvey, NBC4 Weekend Sports Anchor: Dodgers in 7
Alejandro Navarro, Telemundo52 Sports Anchor: Dodgers in 6
Michael J. Duarte, NBC4 Sports Writer & Reporter: Dodgers in 6