Backs to the wall: Dodgers send Glasnow out to stave off a Brewers sweep in NLCS Game 4

By David Friedman · 2026-10-15

When and where: Thursday, 5 p.m. PT, Dodger Stadium. TV: FS1. Series: Milwaukee leads the best-of-seven NL Championship Series 3-0.

LOS ANGELES — The two-time defending World Series champions are one loss from going home.

The Milwaukee Brewers took Game 3 on Wednesday, 6-2, at Dodger Stadium. Jake Bauers and Garrett Mitchell hit back-to-back home runs off Blake Snell in the seventh inning to wipe out the Dodgers' first lead of the night. Milwaukee has now won 2-1 in Game 1, 7-4 in Game 2 and 6-2 in Game 3. One more win sends the Brewers to their first World Series since 1982.

History is not on the Dodgers' side. Teams leading a best-of-seven postseason series 3-0 have won it 41 of 42 times, according to MLB.com. The only team to come all the way back was the 2004 Boston Red Sox. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts played on that team.

"It's certainly possible," Roberts told reporters, per MLB.com. "I've lived it. And I think the thing is that our guys have been battle-tested. … It's an elimination game. We've played in a lot of elimination games. We've just got to get a win."

The pitching matchup

Tyler Glasnow starts for Los Angeles. In his only outing this postseason, the NLDS Game 4 clincher against Atlanta, he walked five but allowed one run in 4 2/3 innings. MLB.com notes the Dodgers are 7-0 in postseason games he has pitched, and he has a 3.60 ERA in three career elimination games. Roberts said after Game 3 that Tarik Skubal and Yoshinobu Yamamoto will not be available in relief, according to Sportsnet.

Milwaukee had not officially named a starter as of the latest previews. Sports Illustrated's Tom Verducci, citing a team source, reported the Brewers plan to start rookie left-hander Shane Drohan, with former Dodger Dustin May expected to follow. Drohan, 27, had a 4.19 ERA in 33 regular-season appearances (19 starts). He has not pitched since Sept. 27, and this would be his postseason debut. Expect a bullpen game either way: MLB.com notes Milwaukee's staff has a 1.74 postseason ERA, the best of all 12 playoff teams.

How we got here

Game 1 (Brewers 2, Dodgers 1, in Milwaukee): Brice Turang homered off Skubal, and rookie Luis Lara singled in the go-ahead run in the fifth. The Dodgers hit into three double plays and stranded nine runners.
Game 2 (Brewers 7, Dodgers 4, in Milwaukee): William Contreras hit a tying 436-foot homer in the fifth and singled in the go-ahead run in the sixth. Yamamoto lasted just 2 2/3 innings, the shortest postseason start of his career. Four Milwaukee relievers retired the last 15 Dodgers in order.
Game 3 (Brewers 6, Dodgers 2, in Los Angeles): Will Smith's two-run double in the sixth was his first hit of the series and put the Dodgers ahead 2-1. Then came the Bauers and Mitchell homers. Snell struck out nine but allowed four runs over six innings.

The storylines

The Dodgers' offense has gone missing. Los Angeles has scored seven runs on 15 hits and struck out 25 times in three games, according to SI. The Dodgers have not homered in the series, per the AP. They were 2 for 26 with runners in scoring position this postseason heading into Game 3.

Shohei Ohtani's health is a big question. MLB.com reports he is dealing with lingering right biceps and left knee problems that have likely played a role in his slump. He batted sixth in Game 3, the lowest spot he has hit since joining the Dodgers, and went 1 for 2 with a walk.

Milwaukee is chasing history too. The Dodgers swept the Brewers in last year's NLCS. Milwaukee has never beaten the Dodgers in three previous postseason series. A win tonight would make the Brewers the first team ever to sweep the same opponent that swept them out of the playoffs the year before, according to MLB.com. Milwaukee won a franchise-record 103 games and the majors' best record, against the Dodgers' 100. The Brewers also won the regular-season series 7-3.

Key players

Dodgers: Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Teoscar Hernández, Kyle Tucker, Will Smith, Shohei Ohtani (30 homers in the regular season), Andy Pages and Max Muncy (6 for 30 with three homers over his last 10 games, per the AP).

Brewers: Jackson Chourio (25 homers in the regular season, plus a leadoff homer in Game 3), William Contreras (12 for 37 with three homers over his last 10 games), Jake Bauers, Brice Turang and Christian Yelich. In the bullpen: Abner Uribe, Aaron Ashby, DL Hall and closer Trevor Megill.

Projected Dodgers lineup (via MLB.com): 1. Betts, SS; 2. Freeman, 1B; 3. T. Hernández, LF; 4. Tucker, RF; 5. Smith, C; 6. Ohtani, DH; 7. Pages, CF; 8. Muncy, 3B; 9. Rojas, 2B.

On the injured list

Dodgers: relievers Brusdar Graterol, Ben Casparius, Will Klein, Blake Treinen and Jake Cousins, plus Gavin Stone and Eric Lauer (all on the 60-day IL).

Brewers: Grant Anderson (15-day IL), plus Brandon Woodruff, Brian Fitzpatrick, Quinn Priester and Angel Zerpa (60-day IL).

The line

The AP preview listed the Dodgers as -167 favorites, with the Brewers at +136 and an over/under of 7 1/2 runs.

What to watch

Glasnow's control. Five walks against Atlanta is survivable. Against a Brewers lineup that keeps cashing in, it may not be.
The first time through Milwaukee's pitchers. The Dodgers have led at some point in every game of this series but have been shut down by the bullpen late. They likely need to get to Drohan, or whoever opens, early.
Ohtani and Smith. Both have been moved down in the order. Both drove in runs in the Dodgers' only scoring rally of Game 3.
The heat. ESPN's game-time forecast shows about 90 degrees at Chavez Ravine.

Sources: AP game recaps and preview via ESPN; MLB.com; Sports Illustrated; Sportsnet.