LOS ANGELES (CNS) – The National League Championship Series will shift to Dodger Stadium Thursday following an off day Wednesday with the Dodgers two victories away from a second consecutive World Series appearance.
The Dodgers defeated the Milwaukee Brewers, 5-1, Tuesday in Milwaukee, taking a two games to none lead in the best-of-seven series.
Since the NLCS moved to its current best-of-seven format in 1985, teams taking 2-0 leads have gone on to win the series 14 of 17 times.
The Dodgers are six victories away from becoming the first team to win back-to-back World Series championships since the New York Yankees won three straight from 1998 to 2000. The Dodgers have never won back-to-back World Series championships.
Tyler Glasnow is set to be the Dodgers’ Game 3 starter, while Shohei Ohtani is scheduled to start Game 4. That rotation allows Glasnow to get the customary four days of rest in case he’s needed to start a potential Game 7, which would be Tuesday in Milwaukee.
Glasnow has pitched 7 2/3 shutout innings in his two 2025 postseason appearances — a 1 2/3-inning relief stint in Game 1 of a National League Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies Oct. 4 when he was credited with a hold in 5-3 victory and a six-inning start in Game 4 Thursday when he did not figure in the decision in the series-clinching 2-1 11-inning victory.
The Brewers have not announced a starter for either game.
“Our pitching is beat up,” manager Pat Murphy said after Tuesday’s game.
When Murphy was asked before Tuesday’s game if left-hander Jose Quintana would “factor into Game 3 in some capacity” Murphy responded, “I would think so.”
Quintana’s only 2025 postseason appearance came in Game 3 of an NL Division Series against the Chicago Cubs last Wednesday when he pitched three innings of shutout relief.
Quintana’s most recent start came on Sept. 14 when he allowed three runs and four hits in four innings in a 3-2 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. Two days later he was placed on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to Sept. 15, because of a left calf sprain and didn’t pitch again until last Wednesday
Thursday’s 3:08 p.m. game will be televised on TBS, streamed on HBO Max, broadcast in English by KLAC-AM (570) and in Spanish by KTNQ-AM (1020).
The Dodgers got their second rare postseason pitching feat in two days Tuesday as Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched the first postseason complete game since 2017, one day after Blake Snell became the first pitcher in postseason history with at least 10 strikeouts, one or zero hits and zero walks in a start of at least eight innings.
“Both those pitchers were as dominant as two pitchers have been,” Murphy said. “We chased way more than we’ve chased all year. We’ve been the best in baseball at not chasing. These pitchers brought out the worst in us.”
Yamamoto (2-1) pitched a three-hitter, shutting out Milwaukee after Jackson Chourio hit his first pitch for a home run, struck out seven and walked one.
Manager Dave Roberts said it was not a “tough call” to send Yamamoto out to pitch the ninth to attempt to pitch the first complete game for the Dodgers — in the regular season or postseason — since Gavin Stone on June 6, 2024.
“It was a hitter-to-hitter thing,” Roberts said “We had (Alex) Vesia behind him. But just the way he was throwing, I felt really good about him starting the ninth.”
Yamamoto retired the side in order in the ninth — getting William Contreras to fly out, Christian Yelich to ground out and striking out Andrew Vaughn on four pitches to end the game.
In his only other appearance against Milwaukee in his two seasons in MLB, Yamamoto allowed five runs (three earned) and four hits in two-thirds of an inning and was charged with the loss in a 9-1 loss at American Family Field July 7.
The Dodgers took a 2-1 lead in the second on Teoscar Hernandez’s one- out homer. Kiké Hernández singled one out later and scored on Andy Pages’ double.
Muncy hit a two-out solo homer in the sixth in front of a crowd at American Family Field announced at 41,427.
The home run was the 14th for Muncy in the postseason, taking sole possession of the team record he had shared with Corey Seager and Justin Turner.
Kiké Hernández doubled leading off the seventh, and moved to third on Pages’ sacrifice, prompting Murphy to replaces Abner Uribe with Aaron Ashby, the third of six pitchers for the Brewers.
Ohtani fouled off two 2-2 pitches, then singled to right, driving in Kiké Hernández and ending a 1-for-23 slump with 11 strikeouts, including two earlier Tuesday.
Will Smith singled leading off the eighth, moved to second on Muncy’s walk, third on Teoscar Hernández’s ground out and scored on Tommy Edman’s single.
Milwaukee starter Freddy Peralta (1-2) was charged with the loss, allowing three runs and five hits in 5 2/3 innings, striking out four and walking one.
“I thought Freddy pitched well,” Murphy said.
The Dodgers out-hit the Brewers, 11-3, with their sixth, seventh and eighth hitters — Teoscar Hernández, Edman and Kiké Hernández — each getting two hits.
“Our entire team is playing the best baseball we’ve played all year,” Roberts said. “The focus, the concentration level is at the highest and we’re peaking at the right time.”
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