Tuesday, October 13, 2026 — the two-time champions head home in a hole.
The Brewers beat the Dodgers 7-4 in Milwaukee on Monday night to take a 2-0 lead in the NLCS. The series moves to Dodger Stadium for Game 3 on Wednesday, and Los Angeles’ bid for a third straight championship is suddenly in real danger.
Yamamoto Can’t Hold It
Yoshinobu Yamamoto has been one of the most reliable postseason pitchers in baseball. On Monday, he lasted just 2⅔ innings — the shortest postseason start of his career — and left with the Dodgers trailing 3-2.
The Dodgers kept fighting back. They took the lead three different times in the first five innings, partly thanks to two errors by Brewers starter Logan Henderson, who allowed four runs (two earned) in four innings. Milwaukee answered every time.
Contreras Takes Over
William Contreras tied the game with a 436-foot homer to center off Kris Bubic in the fifth. An inning later, David Hamilton was hit by a pitch and moved to second on an errant pickoff throw by Brock Stewart, and Contreras singled him home for the lead. Brice Turang and Jake Bauers added RBI singles in the eighth.
The Bullpen Wall
The most alarming number for Los Angeles: Milwaukee’s bullpen retired the last 15 Dodgers in a row. Dustin May, JoJo Romero, Abner Uribe and Aaron Ashby combined to shut the door after Henderson’s exit. In two games, Brewers relievers have been nearly untouchable.
That is a problem the Dodgers have to solve quickly. Their offense struggled with runners in scoring position in Game 1, and in Game 2 it went silent against the bullpen after the fifth.
What’s at Stake
The Dodgers are trying to become the first team to win three straight World Series since the 1998-2000 Yankees. Teams that fall behind 0-2 in a best-of-seven series have come back before, but it requires a team playing its best baseball — and so far, Los Angeles hasn’t been that team this October.
Last year, the Dodgers swept Milwaukee in the NLCS. This time, the roles are reversed.
The Read
Three games at Dodger Stadium give Los Angeles a chance to reset. But if the rotation doesn’t pitch deeper and the lineup doesn’t solve Milwaukee’s bullpen, the defending champions’ run could end sooner than anyone expected.
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