The Los Angeles Dodgers actually outscored the Milwaukee Brewers 27-25 across their seven regular season games this year, even though Milwaukee won the head-to-head series 4-3. This feels wild, right? Especially when you remember last year, the Brewers swept the Dodgers in six regular season games, only for LA to turn around and completely shut them down in the NLCS. It’s a whole new ballgame when the postseason lights come on, but we’ve still gotta dig into what went down in these 2026 matchups.
Where Did All the Runs Go?
Honestly, offense was a total grind in these games. Both teams averaged under four runs per contest. Five of the seven games saw the losing team put up just one or two runs! It was a pitching duel most of the time. Only two games bucked that trend: on May 23rd, the Dodgers exploded for seven runs in the eighth and ninth innings, racking up five extra-base hits to turn a tight game into an 11-3 blowout in Milwaukee. Then, on August 16th, the Brewers squeezed out a couple of runs in the ninth to hit six total in their 6-2 win in LA.
The batting lines tell the story of the struggle: the Dodgers hit a paltry .188/.291/.335, and the Brewers weren’t much better at .228/.313/.307. For the Dodgers, Andy Pages was crushing, hitting three of their seven homers against Milwaukee. Max Muncy added two, and Teoscar Hernández smacked one, even hitting a red-hot .375/.444/.500 across the seven games. William Contreras was the Brewers’ big bat against LA, hitting two of their three home runs and posting a .304/.360/.565 line in his six appearances. One thing to keep an eye on for the NLCS: Milwaukee is fifth in the majors with 162 stolen bases and a 75 percent success rate. But here’s the kicker: they only swiped two bags against the Dodgers all year and were caught three times. Maybe because they didn’t face Tyler Glasnow or Blake Snell, LA’s two most vulnerable pitchers to runners, in the regular season. That’s a huge factor to watch!
NLCS Pitching Preview: Who’s Dealing?
Get ready, because the likely starters for the first two NLCS games were absolutely lights-out in their regular season outings against each other. Jacob Misiorowski of the Brewers was a force, striking out six and giving up just one run in a win at Dodger Stadium back on August 15th. This guy has a nasty 1.59 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 17 innings over three games against the Dodgers, and yeah, he even pitched in Game 3 of last year’s NLCS. Then there’s Tarik Skubal, who was just as dominant. He allowed only two runs (with one earned) and fanned seven batters across six innings against the Brewers. These arms are going to be key, and if their regular season form holds, runs are going to be at a premium.
So, the stage is set. The NLCS kicks off this Sunday night in Milwaukee, and if these regular season games were any indication, we’re in for some seriously tight, low-scoring baseball. Can the Dodgers offense finally break through against these tough pitchers? Will the Brewers unleash their running game when Glasnow and Snell are on the mound? It’s going to be a battle, and you know we’ll be glued to every pitch.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by True Blue LA.
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