MILWAUKEE -- It was a rematch of the 2025 NLCS on Friday night at American Family Field, but for the Dodgers, the matchup with the Brewers was all too similar to the forgettable regular-season meetings instead of the memorable games in October that sent Los Angeles to the World Series.
The Dodgers dropped the opener, 5-1, in a series between two first-place squads that could once again meet in the postseason. And that’s where the Dodgers want them, apparently, after they were once again unable to solve the Brewers in the regular season. Los Angeles swept Milwaukee in four games in the playoffs, but were 0-6 against the NL Central-leading Brewers on the way there.
Returning to Milwaukee for the first time since that series, after taking two of three from San Diego to remain atop the NL West, what the Brewers did last season was still in the minds of those inside the Dodgers’ clubhouse.
They just weren’t able to stop it.
“It’s a really good team. I don’t think that people appreciate how well this team plays baseball,” manager Dave Roberts said of the Brewers before the game. “There’s not a lot of fanfare as far as the name recognition, but the way [Brewers manager] Pat Murphy gets these guys to play, it’s a fun brand of baseball. … Last year, during the regular season, we couldn’t beat these guys once. So I expect us to just play better baseball.”
Despite coming in playing some of their best ball to date, winning seven of their last eight, the Dodgers were once again ambushed by the Brewers. This time it was to the detriment of Justin Wrobleski, who gave up six hits and faced 10 batters in a four-run first inning that was ignited by a three-run homer from William Contreras before Wrobleski had recorded an out.
“They put the ball in play and they were hits. And obviously the home run there, that kind of hurts the whole outing,” Wrobleski said. “It sucks to only get through five there and give up those runs in the first and put our team in a hole.”
The left-hander had been one of Los Angeles’ best starters to date, entering with a 2.49 ERA, but soft contact and limited strikeouts -- Wrobleski’s calling card -- didn’t match up well against a Brewers team that is one of the best at putting the ball in play. However, Wrobleski gritted his way through four more frames, ending his outing with three scoreless innings after settling in with his pitch execution.
“I give him a lot of credit for bearing down and finding a way to get through five innings,” Roberts said. “And again, just to save the ‘pen. It wasn’t his best outing, but I think if you look at [innings] 3-4-5, being more efficient, being more like he was [was big].”
The bats were kept quiet by starter Logan Henderson, though, as Los Angeles didn’t pick up a hit until Shohei Ohtani’s single in the fourth. That ended up being one of the Dodgers’ best chances for a big inning, with Freddie Freeman and Andy Pages later walking in the frame, but Max Muncy popped out to second base to strand the bases loaded. Ohtani provided the only run with a sacrifice fly in the seventh.
The Dodgers finished 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position, left nine on base and were held to only three hits.
Things were made worse in the eighth when Muncy was hit in his right wrist and exited the game. The initial X-rays came back negative, and the Dodgers are hopeful they avoided the worst, but Roberts said that Muncy, who leads the team with 12 home runs, will not play Saturday or Sunday as they wait for the swelling to go down.
It was the latest bad day in Milwaukee as the Dodgers have now been outscored 20-5 in their last four regular-season games at American Family Field.
It’s a long season, and the Dodgers will face the Brewers five more times (at least) this year. But series like this are a good measuring stick for a club looking to complete a historic three-peat. They know the way they have played in Milwaukee lately simply isn’t good enough.
“When we play really good teams, your margin is smaller and you got to play good baseball,” Roberts said before the game. “No one likes to get embarrassed. … It’s a team that’s leading their division, they play good baseball, we got to be ready to play good.”