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Christian Yelich won’t be in the Brewers lineup for Game 1 of the National League Championship Series.

Milwaukee has opted for a platoon advantage against Dodgers left-hander Tarik Skubal Sunday. Yelich, Brewers’ designated hitter and newly-named team captain, will be out for Game 1, but could come off the bench as a pinch-hit option.

“It’s about our team and what’s best for our team today,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy told reporters about the decision pregame. “It might not be the whole game, but it’s what’s best for our team today. You look at matchups, history, how a guy pitches a guy.”

For Yelich, the Dodgers are a familiar foe.

The Brewers and Dodgers have squared off four times in the last nine postseasons, with LA winning every series. Milwaukee believes the tide will turn in their favor this October.

Yelich, a Southern California native, attended Westlake High School in Thousand Oaks and graduated in 2010. He played varsity baseball all fours years in high school.

Yelich batted .451 with 37 hits, 25 RBIs, and nine home runs his senior year. While he originally committed to play college baseball at UCLA, Yelich was selected in the first-round of the 2010 MLB Draft by the Florida Marlins.

Yelich has spent he majority of his MLB career with the Brewers, earning all three of his All-Star selections and the 2018 NL MVP award with Milwaukee.

Now, the Brewers veteran is looking to win his first World Series and the Dodgers are the only thing standing in his way.

Rematch. A chance for redemption. A chance to rewrite the ending from last season. For the second consecutive year, the Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers will face off in the National League Championship Series with the right to advance to the World Series on the line.

Each of the last three times the Brewers have made the NLCS, their opponent has been the Dodgers. 2018 and 2025 were both dates with LAD and 2026 is no different. The Brewers have yet to defeat the Dodgers in a postseason series.

This year, the Brewers appear far better positioned than last to take down baseball’s evil empire. They’re coming off only a four-game NLDS series win against a non-division opponent, so they’ve had three full days of rest to recover and prepare for this matchup. They have three fully stretched out starting pitchers that all had strong performances in the NLDS, as opposed to last year where they had largely just one in Freddy Peralta.

The team feels more confident this year that they can take down the Dodgers. That kind of belief is paramount to success.

On the mound, both teams will be throwing their best. Jacob Misiorowski will get the start for the Brewers, while Tarik Skubal is starting for the Dodgers. The Brewers attempted to trade for Skubal at the Deadline this year, but the Tigers opted to send him to Los Angeles. Now, the Brewers get to face the very player they wanted to have and avoid playing against.

Pat Murphy elected not to make any changes to his roster for the NLCS. It’ll be the same group that faced the Padres in the NLDS.

However, the lineup will change a little bit for Game 1. Christian Yelich, after starting each game of the last series, will be sitting on the bench for this first game. Andrew Vaughn will get his first start of the 2026 postseason and is batting 5th in the lineup as the DH.

“It’s about our team and what’s best for our team today, and it might not be the whole game, but it’s what’s best for our team today. You look at matchups, and you look at history, and you look at how the guy pitches a guy potentially, and what it could bring.” Pat Murphy said.

Jackson Chourio will once again be leading off and playing left field. Murphy has been trying to find the right hitter to put behind Chourio to protect him in the order. Brice Turang will get that nod for Game 1. He will be followed by William Contreras and then Jake Bauers is batting cleanup. Garrett Mitchell will bat 6th and play centerfield. Cooper Pratt follows Mitchell, batting 7th. Another change in the lineup is that Luis Lara will get the start in right field and bat 8th. Then Joey Ortiz rounds out the bottom of the order at third base.

Dave Roberts’ difficult lineup decisions are in as well. Mookie Betts will leadoff with Freddie Freeman batting second. Will Smith will catch and bat third, while Shohei Ohtani is batting cleanup. Teoscar Hernandez and Max Muncy will follow Ohtani. Then Andy Pages, Kyle Tucker, and Kike Hernandez will round out the bottom of the lineup for the Dodgers.

MILWAUKEE –– Dave Roberts struggled to explain his belief.

When asked for the umpteenth time this week about any positive signs he saw from slumping and injury-hampered slugger Shohei Ohtani in the opening round of the playoffs, the Dodgers’ manager couldn’t give a clear reason for optimism.

During his 2-for-13 performance in the National League Division Series against the Braves, Roberts thought Ohtani “did a good job of controlling the [strike] zone.” He said he “saw some better swings” for the 32-year-old, and liked that he at least reached base in all four games (with the help of a couple walks).

Still, Roberts didn’t try to pretend the four-time MVP looked to be on the verge of a breakout.

He, like everyone else, saw a version of Ohtani almost unrecognizable to what the Dodgers have become accustomed to over the last three years.

So, why exactly has the skipper continued to insist that Ohtani will “come to life” at some point in this postseason?

“There’s nothing right now I’m going to hang my hat on,” he conceded, “outside of, I just believe in the person and the talent … I’m just never going to count Shohei out.”

For now, such blind faith is as good as the Dodgers can muster when it comes to Ohtani, who was slated to hit cleanup in Game 1 of the NL Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday.

They know the two-way star is still limited by left knee and right arm injuries. They are well aware he hasn’t hit a home run since Aug. 18, mired in a 22-game slump since then (including the regular season and playoffs) in which he has hit .157 and collected only one RBI.

However, hope continues to abound in what feels like an increasingly unlikely turnaround.

“I still think if he’s in the batter’s box, he’s still a threat,” Roberts said. “He swung the bat well against these guys last postseason. Those pitchers, their memories are long. Now it’s just up to Shohei to understand that and control the strike zone. They’re just not going to give in to him regardless of how he might be swinging the bat over the last couple months, in my opinion.”

Indeed, it was at this stage of last year’s playoffs that Ohtani emerged from a more routine, non-injury-triggered slump. After going 1-for-18 with nine strikeouts in the NLDS, then just 2-for-11 in the first three games of the NLCS against the Brewers, he exploded for an historic three-homer, 10-strikeout performance in the team’s pennant-clinching Game 4 victory, earning him series MVP honors.

This time, the Dodgers’ expectations are much more tempered.

Roberts only wanted to see Ohtani –– who has not spoken to reporters since before the start of last week’s division series –– find ways to “just get on base [and] take good at-bats,” especially against presumptive Cy Young Award winner Jacob Misiorowski in Game 1 of this year’s rematch.

“Shohei is known for his slug, but when you’re facing Jacob, it’s just you’ve got to take good at-bats,” Roberts said. “If you run into a homer, great. But if you can earn a walk, fantastic.”

For Ohtani and the rest of his Dodgers teammates, that process began during a Saturday night workout at American Family Field, when they tried to calibrate themselves for Misiorowski’s MLB-best 105 mph fastball by not only taking pitches off a velocity machine, but doing so from several steps in front of the plate to simulate the speed of his unprecedented heater.

“That’s actually an Albert Pujols drill,” hitting coach Aaron Bates said. “When Albert was with us in ’21, he used to do that every day before he started. So it just gets the transition [of your swing to happen] quicker and just [trains] the overall tempo. Obviously, Misiorowski throws hard, so it’s a good drill for that.”

For Ohtani, in particular, the focus of his rare on-field BP was “just trying not to flip the barrel so soon,” Bates said, theorizing that Ohtani –– likely because of his injuries –– has been overexerting himself on swings to try and create his normal bat speed and power at the plate.

“I think it happens incrementally,” Bates said. “I don’t think that guys necessarily know when they’re swinging harder. It just happens so minute and such in small little samples that eventually adds up to too much effort. So I think that any drills that you can do to control the effort level will always be beneficial.”

The mental cue the hitting staff has given Ohtani: Focus on sticking a controlled finish with his swing, and “reverse engineer” more consistent mechanics from that.

“His work’s been great in the cages, and even into the games too,” Bates said. “I think it was more about just, again, [about finding] the feels that he wants to feel.”

At this point, it’s just the latest reason for cautious optimism that the Dodgers will be clinging to.

They don’t know exactly how, or why, or when it might happen. But eventually, they are still expecting their blind faith in Ohtani to be validated.

With Tarik Skubal on the mound, the Milwaukee Brewers will send their captain to the bench for Game 1 of the National League Championship Series. 

The Brewers made a pair of changes to their standard lineup used in beating San Diego in the NL Division Series, opting for righty-swinging Andrew Vaughn at designated hitter in place of Christian Yelich and switch-hitting Luis Lara in right field. 

Skubal, the game's most dominant left-handed pitcher, won Game 1 of the Dodgers' NL Division Series against Atlanta. Milwaukee opted for the rookie Lara in right field, though lefty-swinging Sal Frelick will almost certainly be used against a right-hander later in the game. 

The Brewers beat Skubal in an Aug. 16 matchup at Dodger Stadium, two weeks after L.A. acquired th two-time Cy Young Award winner from Detroit. Catcher William Contreras batted leadoff that day, while Vaughn and first baseman Jake Bauers combined for six hits in the 6-2 victory.

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Brewers lineup today

1. Jackson Chourio (R) LF
2. Brice Turang (L) 2B
3. William Contreras (R) C
4. Jake Bauers (L) 1B
5. Andrew Vaughn (R) DH
6. Garrett Mitchell (L) CF
7. Cooper Pratt (R) SS
8. Luis Lara (S) RF
9. Joey Ortiz (R) 3B

The mountains that the Cincinnati Reds will need to climb to be relevant again in the National League will be on full display on Sunday night in Milwaukee as the Brewers play host to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series. The only question that will be answered is which mountain is tallest.

Milwaukee won 103 games during their brilliant regular season – the most in the sport this year. They’ll also be sending fireballer Jacob Misiorowski to the mound to start Game 1 as the presumptive NL Cy Young Award winner after leading the sport with a 1.89 ERA and 243 strikeouts during the regular season.

Cy Young Awards are nothing new to Tarik Skubal, who’ll get the start for a Dodgers club that tallied the second most wins during the regular season with 100. Skubal, twice a winner of the AL CYA while with the Detroit Tigers prior to his mid-year trade to LA, is searching for his first World Series title as he barrels towards what could be a record trip into free agency this winter.

FOX will carry this game, with first pitch slated for 8:00 PM ET.

MILWAUKEE — The Los Angeles Dodgers are batting slumping Shohei Ohtani cleanup in their opening game of the National League Championship Series on Sunday night against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Ohtani had just two hits in 13 at-bats (.154) in their National League Division Series victory against Atlanta, a continuation from his struggles beginning in August.

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“I still think, if he's in the batter's box, he's still a threat," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “He swung the bat well against these guys last postseason. Their memories [against] those pitchers, their memories are long. Now it's just up to Shohei to understand that and control the strike zone.

“They're just not going to give in to him regardless of how he might be swinging the bat over the last couple months, in my opinion."

Ohtani hit .357 with three homers and a 1.143 OPS in the Dodgers’ sweep against Milwaukee in last year’s NLCS, and also pitched six shutout innings with 10 strikeouts.The Dodgers still believe he’s a threat getting on base without the power, particularly against Brewers flame-thrower Jacob Misiorowski.

“It’s just get on base, take good at-bats, and we'll deal with whatever," Roberts said. “Honestly, it's the same message for everyone. Shohei is known for his slug, but when you're facing Jacob, it's just you've got to take good at-bats. If you run into a homer, great. But if you can earn a walk, fantastic."

The Dodgers for their first game of the National League Championship Series will have Kiké Hernández in the starting lineup for a third straight game. Hernández plays second base and bats ninth on Sunday against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Hernández, who homered in Game 3 against Chris Sale of the Braves, usually starts against left-handers, but this is is second straight start against a right-handed starting pitcher.

Shohei Ohtani in Game 1 of the NLCS bats fourth against Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski. For nearly all of Ohtani’s three years with the Dodgers, his placement in the lineup was more rigid, mostly all batting leadoff except when he was hitting second. But with Ohtani’s month-plus slump changed things. He’s batted second, fourth, and fifth so far in the postseason.

“I haven’t settled on that,” manager Dave Roberts said Friday, “But it’s probably somewhere between one and five, I would say, or two and five.”

The last home run for Ohtani was hit on August 18 at Coors Field. Since then he’s gone 101 plate appearances and 22 full games without a long ball, hitting just .151/.277/.198.

During the NLDS against the Braves, Ohtani had two singles and two walks in 16 plate appearances, including a stolen base in Game 4. Ohtani is the only Dodgers hitter who has homered off Misiorowski, doing so on July 8, 2025, the only run allowed by Misiorowski on that day, his fifth major league start. In three games against the Dodgers, including last year’s NLCS, the Brewers ace has a 1.59 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 17 innings.

Not that a home run is necessarily needed to get Ohtani out of his slump.

“It’s one of those things that for tomorrow it’s just get on base, take good at-bats, and we’ll deal with whatever. Honestly it’s the same message for everyone,” Roberts said Saturday night in Milwaukee. “Shohei is known for his slug, but when you’re facing Jacob, it’s just you’ve got to take good at-bats. If you run into a homer, great. But if you can earn a walk, fantastic.

“I think it’s more of — production is just doing anything positive for the club, and we need all guys to do their part.”

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For the second year in a row, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers will face off in the NLCS. The best-of-7 series determines which National League team moves on to the 2026 World Series.

It all gets started tonight, Oct. 11, at 5 p.m. PT / 8 p.m. ET.

Last year, the Dodgers swept the Brewers in four games on the road to their second consecutive World Series win. This year, they’re trying to make it three in a row. To do that, they’ll have to get past the Brewers, who finished the regular season with the best record in the MLB at 103-59. The Dodgers were the only other 100-win team this season.

In the NLDS, the Dodgers opened with a strong 5-3 victory over the Braves before dropping Game 2. They only needed two more games to advance, holding the Braves to just one run per game.

Milwaukee also opened the NLDS strong against the San Diego Padres, but lost a close Game 3, 4-3. In Game 4, the Brewers punched their ticket to the NLCS with a 3-1 win.

Here’s how to tune in to the Game 1 of the NLCS for free without cable.

Dodgers vs. Brewers start time

The Dodgers-Brewers NLCS is scheduled to begin with Game 1 today, Oct. 11, at 5 p.m. PT / 8 p.m. ET.

How to watch Dodgers vs. Brewers NLCS Game 1 for free

If you don’t have cable, you’ll need a live TV streaming service to stream the NLCS for free.

DIRECTV is our favorite service for trying live TV for free. Right now, you can take advantage of a five-day free trial before saving $30 on your first month. We recommend the Choice plan, which includes FOX as part of its 125+ channel options.

Dodgers vs. Brewers starting pitchers

The NLCS opens with a heavyweight pitching matchup. Midseason acquisition Tarik Skubal (12-7, 2.72 ERA) starts for the Dodgers, while Jacob Misiorowski (16-5, 1.80 ERA) will be on the mound for the Brewers.

Dodgers vs. Brewers NLCS schedule

• Game 1: Oct. 11, 5 p.m. PT / 8 p.m. ET (FOX)
• Game 2: Oct. 12, 2 p.m. PT / 5 p.m. ET (FOX or FS1)
• Game 3: Oct. 14, 5 p.m. PT / 8 p.m. ET (FS1)
• Game 4: Oct. 15, 6 p.m. PT / 9 p.m. ET (FS1)
• Game 5: Oct. 16, 6 p.m. PT / 9 p.m. ET (FS1)*
• Game 6: Oct. 18, 5 p.m. PT / 8 p.m. ET (FS1)*
• Game 7: Oct. 19, 5 p.m. PT / 8 p.m. ET (FOX or FS1)*

*if necessary

Why Trust Post Wanted by the New York Post

This article was written by Angela Tricarico, Commerce Streaming Reporter for Post Wanted Shopping, Page Six, and Decider.com. Angela keeps readers up to date with cord-cutter-friendly deals, and information on how to watch your favorite sports teams, TV shows, and movies on every streaming service. Not only does Angela test and compare the streaming services she writes about to ensure readers are getting the best prices, but she’s also a superfan specializing in the intersection of shopping, tech, sports, and pop culture. When she’s not writing about (or watching) TV, movies, and sports, she’s also keeping up on the underrated perfume dupes at Bath & Body Works and testing headphones. Prior to joining Decider and The New York Post in 2023, she wrote about streaming and consumer tech at Insider Reviews.

It’s Sunday once more, and you know what that means — it’s time for our weekly social media roundup! Last week, we had a lot of fun in this space, as the Yankees sent the Boston Red Sox home with two dominant wins that unleashed a fury of social media fun. This week? Well, truly, I really don’t want to do this. But, like Sisyphus and his giant rock, here I am, condemned to scroll through depressing social media feeds to bring this week’s roundup to you. And so, without further ado…let’s get this out of the way.

Congratulations, CC

We’re actually going to begin with something positive this week. This past Monday, Yankees legend CC Sabathia marked 11 years sober. In a Hall of Fame career that featured a Cy Young Award, a World Series championship, 3000 strikeouts, enshrinement in Monument Park, and a retired number, this marks the greatest accomplishment of CC’s career. Congratulations on the milestone, and here’s to many more!

11 years sober! One of the best decisions I ever made on this day in 2015. Grateful for everyone who has supported me along the way to regain control and wake up every day a better version of myself as a father, husband, and friend. For anyone out there battling, just know you’re not alone and please speak up. There is a light at the end of the tunnel 🙏🏾

Congratulations, Luke!

Earlier this year, Luke Pettitte, the son of Yankee legend Andy, began his journey in professional baseball after he was selected in the eighth round of this year’s draft. Well, as it turns out, that was not his only accomplishment in 2026, as this week, he got married!

At Least Suzyn Had Fun

As annoying and tough as this week was, at least Suzyn Waldman continued to bring the same energy she always does.

Scranton Rebrand

The Scranton No-Longer-The-RailRiders announced on Instagram that they will announce their new identity on November 7th. Yup, that’s right, we’ve got an announcement of an announcement.

Fade to Black.

*Sigh.* I’ve put this section off for long enough. Following the Yankees’ loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday, a number of members of the Yankees family took to social media to thank the fans for their support this season.

Still, overall, I think CC Sabathia reflects the entire fanbase.

Damn.

It’s been 10 years, as you know, since the Cubs won the World Series.

On their way to that win, there were some memorable games and over the next few weeks, I’ll post some highlights from those games so we can all remember.

The Division Series against the Giants had gone the Cubs’ way in Chicago. Javier Báez’ solo homer off Johnny Cueto won Game 1, then a raucous Wrigley Field crowd celebrated a Game 2 win that included a home run by Travis Wood.

The series moved west to San Francisco and it looked like the Cubs had Game 3 in hand when Jake Arrieta smashed a three-run homer in the second inning. But the Giants came back and had a 5-3 lead going to the ninth, when a walk by Dexter Fowler was followed by a game-tying homer from Kris Bryant. Unfortunately, the Cubs couldn’t score for four extra innings and the Giants walked things off in the 13th.

Game 4, then, was the Cubs’ second chance to win the series. The Giants took a 1-0 lead off John Lackey in the first, but David Ross tied things up with this solo homer in the third:

The Giants put a pair of runs on the board off John Lackey in the fourth to take a 3-1 lead, but the Cubs got one of those runs back on a sacrifice fly by Ross after Báez had reached third on a rare bad throw by Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford.

The Cubs brought in Justin Grimm and he allowed a pair of one-out hits putting Giants on second and third, and he was replaced by Wood, who gave up RBI hits to Conor Gillaspie and Joe Panik and San Francisco had a three-run lead.

Moore, meanwhile, was slamming the door shut on the Cubs. After the Cubs run in the fifth, Moore retired 10 of the next 11 Cubs, sending the game to the ninth with the Cubs trailing by three. I remember sitting in Oracle Park that night wondering if the Cubs would ever get another hit.

Moore had thrown 120 pitches through eight innings and allowed just one other hit besides Ross’ homer, a single by Anthony Rizzo in the fourth. No modern manager would allow a pitcher to throw that many pitches in a postseason game, showing you how much the game has changed in the last 10 years.

Derek Law entered the game to throw the top of the ninth. Bryant greeted him with a single and Bruce Bochy brought in Javier Lopez, back in the days before the three-batter minimum, and Lopez walked Rizzo. Out came Bochy for another pitching change, this time Sergio Romo.

Ben Zobrist doubled off Romo, scoring Bryant to make it 5-3, with Rizzo stopping at third. Now the tying runs are in scoring position with nobody out and Cubs fans, myself included, were stirring.

Bochy again trudged to the mound and summoned Will Smith to face pinch-hitter Willson Contreras (after Joe Maddon had sent up Chris Coghlan to bat for Addison Russell, which is why Bochy made the change in the first place — with the three-batter minimum, you can’t really do this now). Contreras’ hit tied the game:

Back in the day when sacrifice bunts were still a thing, Joe Maddon had Jason Heyward sacrifice. The bunt was successful, and when Crawford again made a bad throw, Heyward took second. That would turn out to be very, very important.

Báez was the next hitter. If you have ever sat with me at a Cubs game, you know I do not normally get very demonstrative. But when Javy sent a ground ball up the middle, I yelled out, “GET THROUGH!”, as if my words could make that happen.

It happened:

Ross then hit into a double play, ending the inning, but the Cubs had a ninth-inning rally for the ages:

Aroldis Chapman threw the ninth for the Cubs and struck out all three Giants he faced to send the Cubs to the NLCS. Here are all three K’s:

Here is the entire top of the ninth if you want to re-live it as it happened:

It’s one of the greatest games in Cubs franchise history, and one that’s nearly forgotten after the World Series run and what happened in Game 7. But no one connected with the Cubs wanted to see them have to go back to Wrigley Field and face Cueto again in a decisive Game 5, especially after scoring just one run off him in Game 1. This amazing comeback made that unnecessary, and it’s absolutely worth remembering and celebrating. The Cubs defeated the Giants 6-5 in Game 4 of the NLDS 10 years ago today, Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2016.

With the notable exception of the Dodgers, this has been the October of small market teams so far. Of the four teams remaining, three of them rank in the bottom half in terms of payroll. Remarkably, the two cheapest teams in the American League will battle it out for a spot in the World Series. 

While Nats fans have complained a lot about the lack of spending, and rightfully so in my opinion, there are ways to win without spending much money. Paul Toboni should be studying how teams like the Rays, Brewers and Guardians operate. Ideally, the Nats can become another version of that with a bit more spending power.

With how he is operating, I have no doubt that Toboni has learned a lot from the three small market teams that are still alive. There are unique things that each team does well, but there are also aspects of the game that tie all of them together.

These teams have shown the value of pitching. All four teams that are still alive have elite pitching staffs. The Nats are not there yet, but with all the trades he has made, Toboni clearly understands the importance of building a deep and nasty pitching staff.

There is actually a fun video I watched which argued that the Nats are taking a lot of things from the Brewers. From how they develop players to how they build the roster, there are things that the two clubs share. It took the Brewers a little while to become the well oiled machine they are today. Hopefully the Nats can get to that level as an organization.

Despite the fact smaller market teams are thriving, that is not an excuse to not use the free agent market. It should not be how you build the team, but free agency is a great way to augment the roster. In the last great era of Nats baseball, we saw that on full display. Jayson Werth, Max Scherzer, Daniel Murphy, Patrick Corbin and Anibal Sanchez were among the free agents who played big roles in making the team special in the 2010’s.

There should be money to spend this offseason. If that money is spent wisely, this team could take the next step quickly. When I look at some of these offenses in October, I am confident that the Nats are better than many of them. The numbers and the eye test show that. However, the pitching still needs to catch up.

When you watch a team like the Guardians, you can really see the value of an elite bullpen. Cade Smith just locks games down in the 8th and 9th innings. The Nats will either have to develop or acquire a true alpha in the back end. 

Each of the teams still in the hunt have elite bullpen arms, but the way they were acquired differs. The Dodgers spent a lot of money to acquire the likes of Tanner Scott and Edwin Diaz. However, they also developed Edgardo Henriquez and picked up Alex Vesia in a minor move. The Rays got Bryan Baker in a medium sized trade and made an already good reliever elite. 

There are a lot of ways to build bullpens, but the Nats need to have a good one to reach their potential. In October, you need a lot of solid arms. The teams that can develop the most arms are the ones that tend to have success. This postseason has shown us that you do not have to break the bank to have success. However, you need good pitching and it might take a big move or two for the Nats to have the necessary firepower to compete.