MILWAUKEE — The top-seeded Milwaukee Brewers host the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday at American Family Field in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series, launching a high-stakes rematch between the reigning champions and baseball’s top regular-season club.
First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. EDT, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. The matchup marks the fourth NLCS appearance in franchise history for the Brewers, while the Dodgers are competing in their eighth championship series over the past 11 seasons as they pursue a third consecutive World Series title.
Marquee pitching duel opens the series
Game 1 features a duel between two elite starting pitchers. Milwaukee will send 23-year-old right-hander Jacob Misiorowski to the mound on eight days of rest, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Misiorowski, the front-runner for the NL Cy Young Award after leading the majors in strikeouts and ERA, recorded a 1.80 regular-season ERA and started Game 1 of the Division Series against the San Diego Padres.
The Dodgers will counter with left-hander Tarik Skubal, a two-time Cy Young Award winner whom Los Angeles acquired from the Detroit Tigers on Aug. 1, ABC News reported. Skubal opened the NLDS against the Atlanta Braves by yielding one run over six innings in a 5-3 victory.
Both starters faced each other’s clubs in mid-August. Misiorowski struck out six over six innings during a 4-1 Milwaukee victory in Los Angeles, while the Brewers handed Skubal his final loss of the regular season the following day by scoring two runs on seven hits over six innings, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Brewers seek redemption from sweep
The series offers Milwaukee an opportunity to reverse recent postseason history. The Dodgers swept the Brewers in four games during the 2025 NLCS, holding Milwaukee batters to a .118 average and a single run in each contest, ABC News reported. Los Angeles also eliminated Milwaukee in the 2018 NLCS and the 2020 wild-card round.
Unlike last autumn, Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani will not pitch in the series because of injuries, ABC News reported. Ohtani delivered a historic performance in Game 4 of the 2025 NLCS by tossing six scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts while hitting three home runs, according to game accounts.
Milwaukee enters the series after posting a major-league-best 103 regular-season victories, setting a franchise record, ABC News reported. The Brewers eliminated San Diego in four games in the NLDS, aided by a bullpen that yielded just one run over 19 innings for a 0.47 ERA, EssentiallySports reported.
“Obviously we respect them. We respect everything they’ve done in the game, how they go about the game,” Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich told reporters, as reported by ClutchPoints. “You can’t say enough great things about them, but at the same time, we’re ready to compete with them.”
Brewers manager Pat Murphy also noted the depth of the opposition, remarking that “there’s like an All-Star at every position,” according to EssentiallySports.
Payroll contrasts and schedule ahead
The series also highlights stark economic differences across the league, ABC News reported. Los Angeles carried an opening-day payroll of $323.6 million, the second-highest in baseball, while Milwaukee ranked 20th at $125.9 million.
“We’re focused on trying to win, and I think we have for a while,” Brewers president of baseball operations Matt Arnold told ABC News. “Regardless of what the economics look like, the guys in there believe, and so do I.”
Game 2 is scheduled for Monday at 4 p.m. in Milwaukee before the best-of-seven series shifts to Dodger Stadium for Game 3 on Wednesday, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The winner will advance to the World Series, which is scheduled to begin Oct. 23 against either the Tampa Bay Rays, Cleveland Guardians or Chicago White Sox.
