After completing a sweep of the Chicago Cubs in a rematch of the 2025 NLDS, the Milwaukee Brewers will look to repeat that performance in a rematch of the 2025 NLCS, as they’ll host the Los Angeles Dodgers for three games beginning Friday night.
The Dodgers, who of course swept the Crew in last year’s NLCS before going on to win their second consecutive World Series, are 31-19 on the season, sitting just ahead of the Padres for the top spot in the NL West after taking two of three against them this week. The Brewers, at 29-18, sit in first place in the NL Central.
The Brewers’ IL currently consists of Quinn Priester, Brandon Woodruff, Jared Koenig, Rob Zastryzny, Angel Zerpa, Brandon Lockridge, and Akil Baddoo. While Zerpa is out for the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, all of the other players on that list are on their way back, with late May/early June returns for all but Lockridge, whose return is listed as mid- to late June after a knee injury against the Yankees earlier this month.
The Dodgers, like so many other teams, have a ton of pitching injuries. Evan Phillips, Bobby Miller, Jake Cousins, Landon Knack, Edwin Díaz, Gavin Stone, and Ben Casparius all have vague “2026” returns, likely meaning the second half for each. Lefties Jack Dreyer (June return) and Blake Snell (July), as well as righties Tyler Glasnow (June) and Brusdar Graterol (TBD) are also out. On the position player side, utility players Tommy Edman and Kiké Hernández are both out after ankle and elbow surgery, respectively. Edman’s return is listed as June, while Hernández is eligible to return on Sunday at the earliest after starting the season on the 60-day IL. He’s currently rehabbing at Triple-A Oklahoma City, so it seems possible we’ll see him in the series finale.
After a bit of a shaky stretch through the end of April, the Brewers’ offense has looked great in the month of May, especially since the return of Jackson Chourio and Andrew Vaughn a few weeks ago. Brice Turang and Jake Bauers have led the offense, as both are tied for the team lead with seven homers and 10 doubles, and Turang’s .904 OPS barely outpaces Bauers’ .860 mark. William Contreras, Sal Frelick, Garrett Mitchell, and Christian Yelich have also been key contributors, with Gary Sánchez, Joey Ortiz, David Hamilton, Blake Perkins, and Luis Rengifo rounding things out. As a team, the Brewers are hitting .247/.335/.364 (.699 OPS ranks 17th), with 33 homers (last), 237 runs (seventh), and 54 steals (second).
Max Muncy leads the Dodger offense with 12 homers this season, while Andy Pages has added 10 homers and six steals. Shohei Ohtani’s start is a bit colder than we’re used to, but he still has eight homers, 11 doubles, and six steals through 49 games. Dalton Rushing, Freddie Freeman, and Teoscar Hernández have also been productive in the early going, while Will Smith, Mookie Betts, and Kyle Tucker aren’t playing up to their full potential thus far. Santiago Espinal, Miguel Rojas, Hyeseong Kim, and Alex Call round things out. As a team, the Dodgers are hitting .262/.344/.432 (.776 OPS ranks first), with 66 homers (fourth), 257 runs (third), and 23 steals (tied for 24th).
Aaron Ashby and DL Hall continue to anchor Milwaukee’s bullpen, while Abner Uribe and Trevor Megill have also been productive arms when they’re on. Grant Anderson has been noticeably absent after tons of early-season appearances, pitching in just two games since May 5. Chad Patrick, who started the season in the rotation, has moved into more of a swingman/relief role as he’s been getting multi-inning outings from the bullpen, similar to Shane Drohan. Jake Woodford rounds out Milwaukee’s bullpen. As a staff, the Brewers have a 3.18 team ERA (third), including a 3.10 starter ERA (third) and a 3.29 bullpen ERA (sixth). They’ve struck out 462 batters (third) over 418 1/3 innings.
Tanner Scott, Alex Vesia, and Blake Treinen lead the Dodger bullpen in appearances, and each of them have solid stats to go with it. Scott has a 1.37 ERA and a team-high four saves; Vesia has a 2.65 ERA; and Treinen has a 3.31 ERA. Will Klein has a 2.21 ERA over 15 appearances, Kyle Hurt has a sterling 0.64 ERA over 14 innings (one earned run), and Edgardo Henriquez has 18 appearances with a 3.26 ERA. Paul Gervase, who has bounced between Triple-A and MLB this season, has made just one appearance for L.A., with one run allowed over three innings with five strikeouts. Jonathan Hernández rounds things out on the active roster after he was signed earlier this week; he hasn’t yet made an appearance after spending the start of the season at Triple-A with the Phillies. The Dodgers also have former Brewer Eric Lauer in the fold after acquiring him from the Blue Jays, though his role with the team isn’t yet clear. As a staff, the Dodgers have a 3.12 team ERA (second), including a 3.17 starter ERA (fourth) and a 3.03 bullpen ERA (third). They’ve struck out 445 batters (fifth) over 441 innings.
Friday, May 22 @ 6:40 p.m.: RHP Logan Henderson (1-1, 3.50 ERA, 2.50 FIP) vs. LHP Justin Wrobleski (6-1, 2.49 ERA, 3.39 FIP)
Henderson, 24, is entering his fifth start of the season. While he absolutely dominated at Triple-A Nashville (1.02 ERA with 26 strikeouts over 17 2/3 innings this year), he’s had a bit of mixed results in the majors. After allowing two runs in each of his first three appearances against the Royals, Nationals, and Yankees, he picked up his first win of the season against the Twins last weekend, allowing one run and striking out seven over five innings. He’s struck out 23 batters with a 3.50 ERA and 2.50 FIP over 18 innings this year. This marks his first career appearance against L.A.
Wrobleski, 25, is a former 11th-round pick who has found success in his third major league season. After functioning primarily as a reliever in 2025 (24 appearances, two starts), he’s transitioned into a starter this year, making eight appearances (seven starts). Across 50 2/3 innings, he has a 2.49 ERA, 3.39 FIP, and 27 strikeouts. After a very strange stat line in his previous start — 8 2/3 innings on just 100 pitches, but seven runs allowed on seven hits and one walk with seven strikeouts in his only loss of the season — he bounced back to go six innings in a 15-2 blowout victory over the Angels, allowing two runs with five strikeouts. Wrobleski’s only appearance against Milwaukee came in July 2024, when he went five innings with four runs allowed and four strikeouts in a loss.
Saturday, May 23 @ 6:15 p.m.: LHP Robert Gasser (0-0, 4.50 ERA, 5.36 FIP) vs. RHP Roki Sasaki (2-3, 5.09 ERA, 5.54 FIP)
Gasser, who turns 27 later this month, made his 2026 debut on Sunday against the Twins, going four innings with three runs allowed (two earned) on three hits, three hit batters, and a pair of walks, striking out three. For his career, he’s made eight MLB starts, with a 2.87 ERA, 4.11 FIP, and 24 strikeouts over 37 2/3 innings. He spent the first six starts of the 2026 season at Triple-A Nashville, where he totaled 21 2/3 innings with a 3.74 ERA and 32 strikeouts. This marks his first career regular season appearance against the Dodgers; he recorded two outs in relief against L.A. in last year’s NLCS, striking out a pair and allowing one hit and one walk.
Sasaki, 24, was one of the more sought-after Japanese players in the 2024-25 offseason, though he hasn’t had much success in his first season-plus in the majors. Through eight starts this season, he has a 5.09 ERA, 5.54 FIP, and 39 strikeouts over 40 2/3 innings, thanks in large part to his 43 hits allowed, including nine homers. He looked great in his last outing, though, as he went seven innings with one run allowed on four hits and no walks, striking out eight to pick up the win. Sasaki has never pitched against Milwaukee in the regular season, though he made three appearances in last year’s NLCS, totaling 2 2/3 innings in relief with one run allowed and one strikeout.
Sunday, May 24 @ 1:10 p.m.: RHP Brandon Sproat (1-2, 5.75 ERA, 5.81 FIP) vs. RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto (3-4, 3.32 ERA, 3.88 FIP)
Sproat, 25, continues to struggled with the “blow-up inning,” as he went four no-hit innings against the Cubs on Monday night but ultimately allowed three runs on three hits and three walks, striking out five over 4 2/3 innings as he exited one out shy of being in line for his second career win. For the season, he’s made nine appearances (seven starts) with a 5.75 ERA, 5.81 FIP, and 41 strikeouts across 40 2/3 innings. As is the case with Henderson and Gasser, this marks his first career appearance against the Dodgers.
Yamamoto, 27, finished in third place for the NL Cy Young last year, and he’s turning in another strong season thus far in 2026. Through nine starts, he has a 3.32 ERA, 3.88 FIP, and 56 strikeouts across 57 innings. He took a tough-luck 1-0 loss against the Padres in his last outing, going seven innings with one run allowed on three hits and two walks, striking out eight. Yamamoto was hit hard in his only regular season appearance against Milwaukee, allowing five runs (three earned) on four hits and two walks while recording just two outs last July. He completely flipped the script in the NLCS though, pitching a complete game with just one run allowed (a leadoff solo homer by Jackson Chourio) and seven strikeouts in a 5-1 Dodger win.
Friday, May 22: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)
Saturday, May 23: Nationally televised on FOX; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)
Sunday, May 24: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)
This is a tough matchup, as it always is with the Dodgers. The Brewers also don’t have their top arms lined up, but Milwaukee will avoid Shohei Ohtani on the mound. In what should be another fun weekend, I’ll take the Crew to eke out two of three and keep it rolling.
