Dodgers, Brewers collide in all-time NLCS matchup

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 13: Freddie Freeman #5 of the Los Angeles Dodgers laughs with Christian Yelich #22 of the Milwaukee Brewers during the fourth inning at Dodger Stadium on August 13, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. | Getty Images The Dodgers are a juggernaut. They’ve finally met their (re)match. In a regular season marked by broad parity, two teams stood alone. The Brewers won the most games (103) and finished second in fWAR (48.6). The Dodgers won the second most games (100) and finished first in fWAR (53.1). By any statistic you prefer — or even if you prefer to eschew statistics all together — these were far and away the best teams in the majors in 2026. Their collision in the National League Championship Series seemed inevitable from the earliest days of summer. On paper, this looks like one of the best playoff matchups ever. It’s only the sixth time both teams in an LCS won at least 100 games during the regular season. The most recent examples were in 2018 and 2019, when the Astros played the Red Sox and then the Yankees in the ALCS. Before that it hadn’t happened since the 1970s. That’s to say, this could be an all-time contest of greatness vs. greatness — a rarity in modern baseball. Of course, this is also rematch. These teams met in last year’s NLCS, in which the Dodgers throttled the Brewers in a four-game sweep. Los Angeles would go on to win their second straight World Series, and spend the offseason once again “ruining baseball” — signing the best free agent, pushing their payroll to new heights, and positioning themselves as favorites for a three peat. They look just as formidable in 2026. This is one of the best and most well-rounded rosters the Dodgers have taken into the postseason in what’s now their 14th consecutive appearance. They have a deep lineup, the best pitching staff in the league, and have gotten hot at just the right time. The brief instances where the Dodgers faltered this year — the stretches that limited them to a mere 100 wins — were due to their star-studded lineup under performing. Kyle Tucker struggled mightily through much of the summer, despite handwringing about what his $240 million deal means for the future of the league. Teoscar Hernández’s power disappeared for several weeks, leading him to finish 2026 with fewer than 20 homers for the first time over a full season. And Mookie Betts generated concern that his Hall of Fame career could be over sooner than anticipated. Without production from the core of their lineup, the Dodgers as a team ran a 92 wRC+ in July and August, bottom 10 in the majors. That feels like the distant past now. The Dodgers offense exploded in September behind the trio of Tucker, Hernández, and Betts, who combined for a .314/.405/.586 (170 wRC+). With fellow stars Shohei Ohtani, Max Muncy, Freddie Freeman, Andy Pages, and Will Smith, this once again looks like the deepest and most fearsome lineup in the majors. Los Angeles ultimately finished the season with the second best wRC+ (111) and fourth most runs scored (801). Offense isn’t even the Dodgers strength. They allowed the fewest runs in the majors this year, even with injury keeping Ohtani off the mound in the second half. Yoshinobu Yamomoto, last year’s World Series MVP, leads the rotation following another season of steady excellence. His 2.53 ERA was fifth best in the majors. After him is two-time Cy Young winner in Tarik Skubal, who joined the team at the trade deadline in another “league ruining” deal, adding a second true “ace” to the mix. Then there’s the other two-time Cy Young winner in Blake Snell, who delivered on his particular brand of missing most of the season with injury, walking nearly 10% of batters he faced after returning, and otherwise being completely unhittable. If one absolutely had to pick a weakness with this Dodgers, it might be the bullpen. There’s not a ton of depth in the middle innings (which is generally not an issue because the rotation covers those innings). But even that appears to be trending in the right direction. Edwin Díaz, after a miserable August following a trip to the injured list, looked untouchable in September, giving the Dodgers four pitchers who could serve as closers on any other team. Again, this Dodgers roster is powerhouse, and perhaps the best in what may be the final act of their trilogy. But it’s worth pointing out they did not win the most games in the majors in 2026. That distinction belongs to the Brewers, who are just as formidable — and perhaps even the favorites in this all-time series. Milwaukee, following an abrupt ending to 2025, had murkier offseason. They shuffled pieces subtly at the margins, leaning on their people, processes, and prospects more than big splashes in free agency. The Brewers front office is known as one of the most forward thinking collection of analysts in the league, and they seemed to be betting on themselves. The projections, however, weren’t impressed. FanGraphs projected the them to finish third in the NL Central; PECOTA pegged them at 80 wins. Did the Brewers know something nobody else could see? Well, the answer was a resounding yes. The Brewers won 103 games, reaching triple digits in the win column for the first time in franchise history. It’s hard to improve on a season where they won the most games in the majors, but they got better in just about every facet, finishing first in run differential and second in fWAR. Again, there’s a good argument they were the best team in the majors this year. Offensively, the Brewers are a brutal opponent. They work counts, put the ball in ball in play to all fields, and run the bases extraordinarily well. They don’t hit for a ton of power, but they can whittle down an opponent through relentless pressure, as we saw them do against a very good Padres bullpen in the NLDS. Unlike the Dodgers it’s hard to name a true “star” of the group, but they are no doubt just as deep. Brice Turang finished fifth in the majors in fWAR as the league’s premier second baseman, doing a bit of everything on the field. Jackson Chourio is one of the game’s great young players, having already collected three 20-20 seasons at just 22 years old. Then there’s Jake Bauers, the journeyman first baseman who suddenly broke out at age 31, posting a 143 wRC+ as one of the 10 best hitters in the league. From top to bottom, every batter on this roster provides something, whether that’s defense or base running or platoon production. In the rotation, Jacob Misiorowski is not so much the Brewers’ ace as the league’s ace — he is definitively the best pitcher in baseball. When he steps on the mound in Game 1, he will set all sorts of “top velocity in the NLCS” records. He is essentially unhittable, with a ridiculous combination of velocity, stuff, extension, and command. Much of the discourse in this series will follow how and when the Brewers choose to use him. Of course, some of that discourse will be necessary because there isn’t a ton of rotation depth behind Misiorowski. Logan Henderson is a great number two, but Dustin May has struggled since joining the team at the trade deadline. This is where the Dodgers hold the advantage. Where the Brewers could take that advantage back is in the bullpen. Their relief core is very deep. Trevor Megill and Abner Uribe have been untouchable in high leverage. Aaron Ashby and DL Hall give them excellence from the left side. Much like the lineup, everyone in this group offers something the Brewers can use in the series to keep the Dodgers off balance. I would love to sit here and give you some “X factors,” or things that I think could sway the series. Maybe it’s Ohtani’s returning to form after coming off the injured list in September. Maybe it’s the sheer quantity of innings Misiorowski can throw. But I’m not sure that such a framing would do this matchups justice. These are two great teams with complete rosters from top to bottom. These are the best lineups and the best pitching staffs — and the best organizations overall — going head to head in a best of seven series. This is the NLCS we’ve been waiting all year for, and now it’s finally here.

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