Both teams closed out their Division Series on Wednesday and come in with the same rest. The Dodgers took 2 straight in Atlanta to finish off the Braves in 4. Milwaukee also finished in 4, beating the Padres 3-1 in San Diego, and that win ended a road postseason losing streak that had run 12 games, all the way back to 2018. A franchise that couldn't win a playoff game away from home for 8 years now gets to start the pennant round in its own building.
Milwaukee's NLDS was tight from start to finish. Every game against San Diego was decided by 1 or 2 runs, and the Brewers scored just 13 runs across the 4 games. The clincher showed how they win: Garrett Mitchell tripled and scored the go-ahead run in the 5th, then ran down Manny Machado's drive at the wall in the 8th. The Brewers win with defense, pitching and enough timely hits to get by, not by slugging.
The Dodgers' pitching was just as stingy against Atlanta, allowing 8 runs in 4 games, and the Braves never scored more than 3 in any of them. So this looks like 2 pitching staffs at the top of their game and 2 lineups that have had to scrape for runs. Game 1 is Sunday at 7:00 PM CT on FOX. Milwaukee has its likely starter lined up and has been playing 1-run games for a week. Los Angeles has the scar tissue of last year's sweep on its side and a bullpen that's thinner than it looks on paper.