The National League Championship Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Milwaukee Brewers is set to begin this Sunday, but for the Brewers, the series might feel like a direct consequence of a decision made months ago, back on August 1.
That was the day the Dodgers finalized a trade for pitcher Tarik Skubal. The Milwaukee club had also expressed strong interest in acquiring Skubal but ultimately declined to include a promising young pitcher in their deal. Now, in a scenario the Brewers hoped to avoid, Skubal is scheduled to start Game 1 of the NLCS, pitching against them.
The Dodgers enter the series with one of baseball’s most formidable starting rotations. They are positioned to deploy Skubal and presumptive Cy Young winner Yoshinobu Yamamoto, potentially getting four starts out of the pair. Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy acknowledged the challenge for an opposing team, saying, "Obviously, that wouldn’t be very fun to come in here and face Miz then Skubal," referring to Jacob Misiorowski and Skubal. Brewers captain Christian Yelich also recognized the strength of the Dodgers' staff, noting, "Every night when you play these guys, you know you’re going to face a Cy Young-caliber pitcher."
In contrast, the Milwaukee Brewers are expected to counter with Misiorowski, followed by rookie Logan Henderson. Henderson is the pitcher the Brewers would not part with in the Skubal trade, and he posted a 2.47 earned-run average in 18 games this season, a mark better than both Yamamoto (2.53) and Skubal (2.72). If the Brewers were to fall behind in the series, their pitching depth could include former Dodger Dustin May and rookie Robert Gasser.
Brewers president of baseball operations Matt Arnold offered little comment on facing Skubal, only stating that "Every team was looking to acquire good players at the deadline, and, ultimately, they landed a really good one there in Tarik Skubal." Misiorowski called Skubal "insane," expressing hope that his teammates "can do their job and handle business with him." Dodgers’ Andrew Friedman is noted as wanting "chaos," a sentiment that could be well-served by this matchup against a talented 103-win Milwaukee team.
The Brewers' decision to retain six years of Henderson rather than acquire two months of Skubal, who is eligible for free agency and expected to command a record-setting contract (surpassing Yamamoto’s $325-million deal), was a rational long-term financial choice. Yet, it has led them to this immediate playoff challenge. Despite being in baseball’s smallest market, the Brewers are hardly underdogs; they won the most games in the National League this year and last, and have secured a division championship for four consecutive years, and five out of six. This success comes even as owners push for a salary cap, claiming small-market teams cannot consistently compete.
Arnold maintained that "Nobody here is worried about that right now. We’re focused on trying to win." Brewers manager Pat Murphy expressed gratitude for the opportunity to compete against the "dominant baseball organization" of the Dodgers, saying he would want a "storybook ending" for a Brewers championship to go through Los Angeles. Yelich confirmed the team's long-standing focus, stating, "We’ve been expecting having to play them in this round since spring training."
As the series unfolds, the Milwaukee Brewers will confront the immediate implications of their August 1 trade decision. If they win the series, it will validate their strategy; if they don't, the decision from that summer day could cast a long, cold shadow over the Milwaukee winter. Arnold concluded, "I would consider it an opportunity to go win it this year." For local fans, nothing is guaranteed in October. What happens here makes no difference to the owners’ league-wide salary cap demands, but for the Brewers, the question of putting their players in the best position to win hinges on this series.
