3 Brewers X-factors Dodgers are definitely focused on scouting as series begins

The Los Angeles Dodgers are headed to the midwest for an NLCS rematch against the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brew Crew will be seeking revenge.

After being swept out of the postseason last year by Los Angeles, Milwaukee came back and led baseball with 103 regular season wins, and coasted to a first-round bye with the No. 1 seed in the National League. They stunned the San Diego Padres, who were riding high off a Wild Card sweep of the Chicago Cubs, with two late-inning victories, including a walk-off.

The Dodgers are the team to beat, but the Brewers are best positioned to take them down. At the very least, they won't go down without a fight.

Jacob Misiorowski pitches well against the Dodgers, but he's already shown cracks

The pitching probables for Game 1 are Tarik Skubal and Jacob Misiorowski, a duel fit for primetime. Misiorowski will finish top-3 in NL Cy Young voting this year, if he doesn't win altogether, for his 1.80 ERA, 252-strikeout season. He fell just two wins short of the Triple Crown.

The Dodgers are at least somewhat familiar with his stuff. He's faced them three times in his career, including in the NLCS last year, and typically leaves them guessing. In his first start against them on July 8, 2025, he threw six one-run innings and struck out 12 Dodgers batters. He labored a little more in the 2025 NLCS and only lasted five innings, but his offense and defense failed him. Two runs scored on his watch, but only one was earned.

His start against the Padres in Game 1 of the NLDS was rough around the edges. He was pulled after four innings at 88 pitches and two earned runs. His fastball had even more zip on it than it usually does, but all of the hits he gave up came on his breaking balls.

During the Dodgers' August swoon, they weren't hitting the fastball well at all, but they could take a cue from their division rivals and wait on the rare Misiorowski slider or cutter, especially when he's already struggled with it.

Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio may be the most clutch hitter in baseball right now

Jackson Chourio has been one of Milwaukee's worst postseason hitters in terms of batting average and OPS, but he leads the team in RBI (6), and no one even comes close. William Contreras and Sal Frelick are tied for second with two apiece.

In Game 1 against the Padres, Chourio hit a game-tying two-run homer in the third. Game 2: he walked it off on a two-out, two-run single. Game 3: he tied it with a sac fly. Game 4: he picked up a go-ahead single. He might be Milwaukee's October answer to Kiké Hernández (but who's also good in the regular season). He's just a guy who always shows up when his team needs him the most.

Looking at his splits against the Dodgers may be a losing game. He's hit .293 with a .728 OPS against them in 20 regular season games, but he's been even worse against the Padres historically, and look at how that panned out in October.

The Dodgers may have no answer to Chourio, other than to try to keep runners off the bases if he's due up in any given inning.

The Brewers are 8-for-35 with RISP, but the Dodgers are 1-for-16

The Dodgers' struggles with runners in scoring position became glaringly obvious when they lost Game 2 to the Atlanta Braves, stranding runners on second or third. Seven of their nine runs came on a home run; the only exception was Andy Pages' two-run single in Game 4.

LA has always leaned toward dependence on the long ball and a tendency for feast-or-famine stretches. The Brewers are not a slugging team — they tied with the Los Angeles Angels for second-to-last in team homers — but they're exceedingly good at staying patient through their at-bats, taking their walks, and going station to station.

The Padres had an inferior pitching staff to the Braves throughout the 2026 season, which could kind of explain why Milwaukee succeeded where LA failed, but the differences between their numbers with RISP are a little too stark to attribute it entirely to opposing pitching.

Unless the player is Chourio William Contreras, the Brewers are going to lay down bunt singles and take their runs on sac flies. They play small ball. LA's starting pitching is arguably the best in baseball, but the Brewers will be on the lookout for a flaw to exploit from the jump.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow