Brewers-Dodgers NLCS Game 4 FAQ (8 ET, FS1/FOX One)

LOS ANGELES -- It’s been 44 years since the Brewers last reached the World Series. They’re one win away.

Milwaukee brings a commanding 3-0 lead into Game 4 of the National League Championship Series on Thursday night. But the Dodgers are the champs until they’re not, and they’ve faced plenty of adversity on their way to World Series titles in each of the past two seasons.

Never like this though. In all best-of-seven postseason series, teams with a 3-0 lead have gone on to win that series 41 times out of 42 -- with 32 of those series ending as sweeps. Only two teams have ever even forced a Game 7 after trailing 3-0, and only the 2004 Red Sox, in the ALCS against the Yankees, have come all the way back to win.

“It's certainly possible,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, himself a fabled part of that Red Sox rally. “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.”

While the Dodgers chase baseball history, the Brewers can make a bit of their own with a win on Thursday. A year ago, they were swept by the Dodgers in the very same round. If they can return the favor, they would become the first team to be swept out of the playoffs, only to sweep the same team -- in any postseason series -- a year later. But they’re not getting ahead of themselves.

“We have yet to complete anything,” Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio said through an interpreter. “The job's not finished for us. So we have to come with the same mentality. Which is to win.”

Here’s what you need to know about Game 4:

When is the game and how can I watch it?
Game 4 is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT/5 p.m. PT on Thursday at Dodger Stadium and will air nationally on FS1.

All series are available in the US on MLB.TV with authentication to a participating Pay TV provider. Games also are available live internationally, although not in Canada. Sportsnet is MLB's exclusive English language broadcaster in Canada for every Postseason game, while TVA Sports will be covering the entire AL Postseason and the World Series in French and Broadcaster RDS will cover the entire NL Postseason in French.

Who are the starting pitchers?
Brewers: TBD
Key stat: Milwaukee’s staff has a 1.74 ERA this postseason, the lowest mark of all 12 entrants

“Pitching tomorrow?” a reporter asked Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy after the Brewers’ win in Game 3. They were hoping for a name.

“Yeah,” Murphy responded instead, “there will be pitching.”

The Brewers didn’t immediately name a starter, but they have plenty of fresh options. Left-handers Kyle Harrison and Shane Drohan and right-hander Chad Patrick have been on the roster for both the NLDS and NLCS, but have yet to pitch in any of the Brewers’ first seven games. Midseason pickup Dustin May, the former Dodger who won a World Series ring with L.A. in 2020, pitched an inning in NLCS Game 2 on what would have been a bullpen day had he been lined up to start Thursday. They are all options to start what will amount to a bullpen game for the Brewers.

Dodgers: RHP Tyler Glasnow
Key stat: 3.60 ERA in three career elimination games

The Dodgers' 7-0 postseason record when Glasnow pitches is more of a quirk than anything else, but the right-hander has gotten the results to back it up. In four starts and three relief appearances, Glasnow has recorded a 1.73 ERA (five earned runs in 26 innings). Glasnow had command issues when he last pitched against the Braves in NLDS Game 4 -- issuing five walks -- but limited the damage to one run in 4 2/3 innings.

What might the starting lineups look like?
Brewers: Against right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Game 2, the Brewers fielded this lineup and produced the second postseason game in franchise history in which five different players tallied multiple hits.

1. Jackson Chourio, LF
2. Brice Turang, 2B
3. William Contreras, C
4. Jake Bauers, 1B
5. Christian Yelich, DH
6. Garrett Mitchell, CF
7. Cooper Pratt, SS
8. Sal Frelick, RF
9. David Hamilton, 3B

Dodgers: The Dodgers are sticking with Shohei Ohtani despite the superstar dealing with lingering right biceps and left knee issues that have likely played a role in his extended slump. He and a scuffling Will Smith have been dropped in the lineup in the past couple games, although both contributed to L.A.'s lone run-scoring rally in Game 3.

1. Mookie Betts, SS
   2. Freddie Freeman, 1B
   3. Teoscar Hernández, LF
   4. Kyle Tucker, RF
   5. Will Smith, C
   6. Shohei Ohtani, DH
   7. Andy Pages, CF
   8. Max Muncy, 3B
   9. Miguel Rojas, 2B

How will the bullpens line up after the starter?
Brewers: Right-handed setup man Abner Uribe, who has appeared in each of the first seven games of the postseason, finally wilted a bit in Game 3, walking three batters ahead of Smith’s two-run double in the sixth inning. But left-hander DL Hall kept the game on track by stopping the rally there and recording seven enormous outs. Then Trevor Megill logged a four-out save. That’s a lot of work for those last two arms, so lefty Aaron Ashby figures to play a prominent role in Game 4 if the score is tight.

Dodgers: It's all hands on deck, with the possible exception of Justin Wrobleski, who threw 32 pitches to cover the final 1 2/3 innings of Game 3. Roberts made a point of saying that he will get closer Edwin Díaz --- the only Dodgers reliever who has not pitched this series -- into Game 4.

Any injuries of note?
Brewers: None.

Dodgers: Ohtani (right biceps, left knee) and Freeman (right knee) are managing lingering injuries. World Series hero Will Klein (right elbow discomfort) has faced hitters, but he has not pitched in a game since July 31 and is viewed as more of a depth option. Blake Treinen (right shoulder inflammation) is unlikely to pitch this postseason.

Who is hot and who is not?
Brewers: Chourio’s .642 OPS in this postseason doesn’t tell anything about his impact. His leadoff home run in Game 3 marked his second homer of the 2026 postseason and sixth of his career, breaking a brief tie with William Contreras for the most homers in Brewers’ postseason history. Three of them have led off a postseason game, which matched Hall of Famer Derek Jeter, Jimmy Rollins and Ohtani for the second-most in history, trailing only Kyle Schwarber, who has five leadoff home runs in the postseason. And with his 18th career postseason RBI, Chourio also broke a tie with Hall of Famer Andruw Jones for the most postseason RBIs prior to a player’s 23rd birthday. … With his eighth-inning base hit, Contreras became the first Brewers player with 10 hits in this postseason.

Dodgers: Tucker (.304) has consistently swung the bat well through seven games, but he has been the exception to the rule for a cold Dodgers offense. In Game 3, Ohtani (113.5 mph single) and Smith (two-run double) showed some positive signs, but they have been L.A.'s most notable slumping bats this postseason.

Anything else fans might want to know?
• Orel Hershiser and Mike Scioscia will throw out the ceremonial first pitch and say, "It's time for Dodger baseball!" as part of the pregame ceremonies.

• According to the Elias Sports Bureau, this is the eighth time two teams met in the postseason one year after one swept the other in the previous postseason. The only team to be swept and then win a rematch the following postseason is the 1923 Yankees, who won that year's World Series over the New York Giants in six games.

• Brewers owner Mark Attanasio said it struck him that it’s been 44 years since the Brewers made it to the World Series, and 44 is one of the franchise’s retired numbers for Hall of Famer Hank Aaron. This year marked the 50th anniversary of Aaron’s 755th and final home run, which he hit while playing for the Brewers in 1976.

• This marks the sixth time a team has taken a 3-0 series lead against the reigning World Series champion in a best-of-seven series. Four of the previous five -- 1990 WS, Reds vs A’s; 1966 WS, Orioles vs Dodgers; 1963 WS, Dodgers vs Yankees; 1914 WS, Boston Braves vs Philadelphia Athletics -- ended in a sweep. The other (2017 NLCS, Dodgers vs Cubs) concluded with the Dodgers winning in five games.