LOS ANGELES (CNS) – The National League Championship Series begins Monday in Milwaukee with the Dodgers seeking their first victory in 2025 over the Brewers, who had Major League Baseball’s best regular-season record.
Milwaukee was 6-0 against the Dodgers, the first team to record a season sweep over them that was more than four games since 2006 when the eventual World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals went 7-0 against the Dodgers.
The Dodgers are “in a much better spot just as far as on the health side, on the position player side, on the pitching side” then when they last faced Milwaukee July 20, manager Dave Roberts said during his Sunday news conference.
“And we’re playing better,” Roberts said.
Five players on the Dodgers’ 26-player National League Division Series roster were on the injured list when the Dodgers last faced the Brewers — Monday’s scheduled starter, Blake Snell, Roki Sasaki, who has pitched 5 1/3 shutout innings in relief with two saves in two save opportunities in the postseason, reliever Blake Treinen, starting third baseman Max Muncy and infielder-outfielder Kiké Hernandez.
The 6-5 loss to Milwaukee July 20 was the Dodgers’ 10th in 12 games, including six to the Brewers. The Dodgers have won five of six postseason games — sweeping the Cincinnati Reds in a best-of-three wild card round series and winning the best-of-five NLDS against the Philadelphia Phillies three games to one.
To Roberts, a key is the series will be taking the early lead in an attempt to curb Milwaukee’s aggressiveness, which included leading the National League with 164 stolen bases.
“When you have a lead, their aggression is more tempered,” said Roberts, who was on the coaching staff of Brewers’ manager Pat Murphy when he was the San Diego Padres’ interim manager in 2015. “When the wind’s at their back, they’re very aggressive.”
Snell has won both his 2025 postseason starts. He pitched six shutout innings in his most recent start, limiting the Philadelphia Phillies to one hit, in a 4-3 victory in Game 2 of their National League Division Series.
Snell did not face Milwaukee in the regular season, when he was 5-4 with a 2.35 ERA in the regular season, with the Dodgers posting a 7-4 record in his 11 starts. The two-time Cy Young Award winner was on the injured list from April 6 to Aug. 2 due to left shoulder inflammation.
The Brewers have not announced their Game 1 starting pitcher with Murphy saying “Who is on our team that can give us length?” mentioning left- hander Jose Quintana and right-hander Quinn Priester as possible options.
“We may use an opener in Game 1,” Murphy said.
Shohei Ohtani enters the series with one hit and nine strikeouts in his last 18 at-bats.
Milwaukee advanced to the NLCS for the first time since 2018 with a 3- 1 victory over the Chicago Cubs in Game 5 of their division series in Milwaukee Saturday night to win the best-of-five series three games to two with the home team winning each game.
The Brewers had the best record in Major League Baseball, 97-65, one game better than Philadelphia, 96-66. The Dodgers had the fifth-best record, 93- 69.
The Dodgers have a 70.5% chance of winning the series, Milwaukee a 29.5% chance, according to FanGraphs. The baseball statistics and advanced analytics website has made the Dodgers the favorite to win the World Series at 42.5%, with the Brewers the fourth choice at 11.4%, also behind the Seattle Mariners (35.1%) and Toronto Blue Jays (11%).
Milwaukee will be making its third NLCS appearance and first since 2018 when it lost to the Dodgers, four games to three. The Brewers lost the 2011 NLCS to the St. Louis Cardinals, four games to two.
Milwaukee won its lone appearance in the American League Championship Series, defeating the Angels three games to two in 1982 after losing the first two games. The Brewers moved to the National League following the 1997 season.
The Dodgers will be making their record 17th NLCS appearance. They have won nine times — including last season when they defeated the New York Mets — and lost seven times.
The 5:08 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time game will be televised on TBS, streamed on HBO Max, broadcast in English by KLAC-AM (570) and in Spanish by KTNQ-AM (1020).
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