On Sunday night, the NLCS gets underway between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Milwaukee Brewers.
This is a rematch of the 2025 NLCS, which saw the Dodgers sweep the Brewers in four games, on their way to a second straight World Series title.
Can the Dodgers keep their three-peat hopes alive, or will the Brewers finally get back to the World Series for the first time since they lost the 1982 World Series?
Here is everything you need to know about the 2026 NLCS.
NLCS schedule and scores
Here is the full schedule for the NLCS between the Dodgers and the Brewers. All times listed are Eastern.
NLCS Game 1: Sunday, October 11
Brewers 2, Dodgers 1 (Brewers lead series 1-0)
NLCS Game 2: Monday, October 12
Brewers 7, Dodgers 4 (Brewers lead series 2-0)
NLCS Game 3: Wednesday, October 14
Brewers 6, Dodgers 2 (Brewers lead series 3-0)
NLCS Game 4: Thursday, October 15
Brewers at Dodgers, 8:00 p.m., FS1
NLCS Game 5: Friday, October 16*
Brewers at Dodgers, 9:00 p.m., FS1
NLCS Game 6: Sunday, October 18*
Dodgers at Brewers, 8:00 p.m., FS1
NLCS Game 7: Monday, October 19*
Dodgers at Brewers, 8:00 p.m., FOX
* – If necessary
What happened in the regular season?
The NLCS will be the third series between the Brewers and the Dodgers this season.
The two teams met for a series in late May, for a three-game set in Milwaukee. The Brewers took the first game of that series, getting five scoreless innings from starter Logan Henderson en route to a 5-1 win in the opener.
But then the Dodgers bats came alive, as Los Angeles won the second game of the series 11-3, and took the rubber match by a final score of 5-1.
The second series between these two teams came back in mid-August in Los Angeles. But this time it was the Brewers winning the series, taking a 5-4 win in the first game by hanging three earned runs on closer Edwin Diaz in the top of the ninth. After dropping the second game 3-1, Milwaukee won the third game by a final score of 4-2, and once more it was a strong outing from Henderson on the bump that helped the Brewers clinch the series with a 6-2 win.
Milwaukee won four of the seven meetings in the regular season.
But as we saw last year, the season series matters little in the playoffs. A year ago the Brewers swept the Dodgers, winning all six regular-season games.
But Los Angeles swept the Brewers in the NLCS, on their way to a return to the World Series.
NLCS prediction
Picking either team feels like a chalky selection.
On the one side, you have the Dodgers. A team seeking a three-peat — which would be one of just a few in MLB history — bringing a $339-million payroll to the table, ranking second in the majors behind only the New York Mets.
While the Brewers might not have the same financial power, Milwaukee not only won the season series, but were the best team in the regular season and secured home-field advantage for this series, as the top team in the National League. And unlike the NLCS from a season ago, the Brewers are in a better position with their pitching staff for this series.
And that will make the difference.
Last year, Milwaukee was pushed to a five-game series against the Chicago Cubs in the NLDS, and needed to start Jacob Misiorowski in Game 5 to keep their playoff hopes alive. That led to the Brewers running out reliever Aaron Ashby ahead of an injured Quinn Priester, who would be diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome after the series, for Game 1 against the Dodgers.
This year, the Brewers have their rotation set to begin the NLCS. Misiorowski will get the ball for Game 1 and Henderson, who has yet to give up three runs or more in any of his 24 starts over the regular season and the playoffs, is in line for Game 2.
There will be questions after that, but the Brewers are in a much better position to begin this year’s NLCS matchup against the Dodgers.
Also, there is the Shohei Ohtani factor. Last year the superstar delivered arguably one of the best individual performances in NLCS history in Game 4, when he blasted a trio of home runs while striking out ten as the starting pitcher as the Dodgers closed out the sweep.
Ohtani’s lingering injuries forced the Dodgers to shut him down as a pitcher, so only the Brewers hurlers will have to worry about him in the NLCS. But he has cooled off at the plate recently, after what was a scorching-hot June. In August he posted a slash line of .241/.322/.472, and over four games against the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS, Ohtani is 2-for-13 with a pair of singles, for a slash line of .154/.267/.154.
Certainly the Dodgers ahve more than just Ohtani, who was dropped to fifth in the batting order for Game 3, his lowest position in the lineup for his entire Dodgers tenure, but the trendline is concerning.
This should be a close series, and we expect it to go seven games.
But give us the Brewers to move in.
Prediction: Brewers in seven.