Dodgers vs. Brewers: Five Bold NLCS Predictions

The stage is set for this year’s National League championship series, and it’s only fitting that the league’s two best teams will be facing off with a World Series bid on the line. The Dodgers and Brewers both took care of business in the division series, with each team winning their matchups in four games. They were the only two teams in MLB that won 100 or more games, and they’ll be matched up in a best-of-seven NLCS showdown, which will get underway Monday from American Family Field in Milwaukee.

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Los Angeles looked comfortable against the Braves in the NLDS, leaning largely on their dominant pitching to silence Atlanta’s lineup. Throughout the four-game series, the Dodgers held the Braves to eight total runs, including two contests in which they surrendered just one run.

As for the Brewers, three of their four games in the NLDS against the Padres were decided by just one run. It was a tightly contested series, but Milwaukee was able to get the job done and clinch a ticket to the NLCS for the second straight season.

We’re in for a rematch of last season’s NLCS. Last year, the Dodgers made quick work of the Brewers, sweeping them in four games to advance to the World Series. Now, staring down the barrel of a potential three-peat, which would be the first-ever by a National League team, L.A. stands just four wins away from a chance at making history.

Let’s make some bold predictions for this year’s NLCS.

Tarik Skubal and Yoshinobu Yamamoto will each pitch seven-plus scoreless innings

The Dodgers have the league’s deepest and most dominant pitching staff, and the two superstars atop the starting rotation make things extremely difficult for opponents to inflict damage at the plate.

During the NLCS, Tarik Skubal pitched six innings in 100-plus degree weather at Dodger Stadium. He struck out seven Braves batters and surrendered just one run, setting the tone for Los Angeles while notching the win in Game 1.

As for Yamamoto, he fanned 10 across seven innings against Atlanta, surrendering just one run. He became the first pitcher in MLB history to earn a win in five straight postseason appearances while surrendering one or fewer runs and walks in each outing––and all of them came on the road. Even if he’s tasked with pitching in Milwaukee during the NLCS, he’s proven he’s more than capable of tuning out the opposing crowd and going about his business on the mound, and he’s quickly cementing his status as one of the league’s all-time great postseason performers.

I’m expecting both Skubal and Yamamoto to pitch gems in the NLCS, keeping the Brewers at bay with scoreless outings of seven or more innings.

Jacob Misiorowski will bounce back with a dominant pitching performance

Misiorowski wasn’t too sharp during his first career postseason start, getting chased after just four innings by the Padres after struggling to keep his pitch count down. He surrendered four hits and two runs while striking out six batters, but he needed 88 pitches to do so.

I’m expecting a bounce-back performance from The Miz, who was the best pitcher in the majors throughout the regular season. Thus far into the postseason, the Dodgers have generated most of their offense via the long ball. Across 30 starts in the regular season, Misiorowski surrendered just 14 homers, fourth-fewest among qualified pitchers. In his lone start against L.A., he pitched six innings and surrendered just one run and one walk while striking out six batters.

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Now that he’s gotten his first playoff start under his belt, Misiorowski should be more comfortable on the rubber in the NLCS, and I think he’ll pitch a gem in his first start of the series, striking out eight-plus batters and surrendering one runs, at most.

Shohei Ohtani will continue to slump at the plate

Shohei Ohtani hasn’t looked like his usual self for much of this season. Biceps and knee injuries have limited him throughout the second half, and though he’s back in the lineup, he hasn’t found a way to produce offensively for the Dodgers. Ohtani went 2-for-13 with no extra-base hits, one walk and four strikeouts in the NLDS. While the rest of the offense generated enough to get past the Braves, it was an underwhelming performance from the league’s biggest star. Ohtani had some rough at-bats during the series, and against an overpowering Brewers pitching staff, it’ll be difficult for him to turn things around. I’m predicting Ohtani’s woes at the plate will continue, and he’ll record a sub-.250 batting average without a single home run throughout the NLCS.

Jackson Chourio will hit two home runs and record five-plus RBIs in the series

Despite hitting the walk-off single against the Padres in Game 2, Chourio otherwise had a relatively tame series in the NLDS, going 3-for-16 at the plate with a home run and six RBIs. He only had one strikeout against the Padres, but saw limited batted ball luck. The 22-year-old has been an elite postseason performer throughout his young career, owning a .933 OPS across 16 playoff games. He’ll be a tough out for the Dodgers during the NLCS, and I think he’ll have more consistent success at the plate than he did against Atlanta.

Chourio has what it takes to inflict damage against Los Angeles, and I’m forecasting a pair of home runs, five-plus RBIs and fewer than five strikeouts, helping to power Milwaukee’s offense against some of the league’s best pitchers.

Dodgers will win in seven games

This series should go the distance, as there’s little separating these two teams. In the end, I think the Dodgers’ experience in October will play to their favor and give them a slight edge over the Brewers. Both teams have outstanding pitching, so runs will be hard to come by for either offense, and I trust Los Angeles’s lineup to come up with a clutch at-bats at the right time.

While the Brewers come into the series with home-field advantage, the Dodgers were MLB’s best team on the road during the regular season (49–32), and their experienced pitching staff had a 3.49 ERA away from Dodger Stadium. I’m expecting L.A. to steal at least two games on the road in Milwaukee, including Game 7, and take the series in seven games.

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This story was originally published October 11, 2026 at 5:00 AM.