Brewers reacquaint with powerful Dodgers in battle for top NL record

Coming off a series sweep in San Diego, the Milwaukee Brewers must finish a grueling 17-game stretch without an off day by facing their biggest test – a four-game series against the mighty Los Angeles Dodgers with the best record in the National League on the line.

The Brewers (74-47) have that top spot, but the Dodgers (73-48) have tightened the race considerably. So have the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves (73-48), who temporarily have a tiebreaker with the Dodgers and technically stand as the No. 2 seed.

The top two teams get a bye in the NL postseason, a little more than six weeks away, while the No. 3 seed must play in the wild-card round. With a hot Chicago Cubs team just three games back of the Brewers in the NL Central Division, the footsteps are closing in on Milwaukee.

Few teams inspire the same level of vitriol from Brewers fans as the Dodgers. The two-time reigning World Series champ is the perceived favorite to win the NL again and swept the Brewers in last year's National League Championship Series, moving to 3-0 against the Brewers in the postseason.

The big-budget Dodgers and Brewers have become the poster children for two sides of the existential argument leading into a potential 2027 labor stoppage – the resource-rich Goliath against the scrappy small-market team that's become one of baseball's consistent winners without the luxury of big player contracts.

That became a central talking point again when the Dodgers acquired Tarik Skubal at the trade deadline, with the Brewers seemingly finishing as the runner-up to Los Angeles again.

How have the Dodgers done this year?

The Dodgers are 73-48 and 8½ games up in the NL West as they coast toward a 14th consecutive playoff appearance. They're a chief threat to the Brewers for the best record in baseball, though the Braves are a threat, too.

The Dodgers are still the team everyone expects to win the World Series, right?

Yes, don't let that record – which is still the third-best in baseball – fool you. Remember, this team only won 93 games last year and still won a second straight championship, needing some remarkable magic in the World Series but crushing the Brewers in the NLCS.

They're loaded with an otherworldly rotation – including Blake Snell, fresh off the injured list – and have a lineup full of household names.

Who's pitching in the series between the Brewers and Dodgers?

• Thursday, Aug. 13, 9:10 p.m. CT: Brewers LHP Shane Drohan (6-4, 3.87) vs. Dodgers RHP Roki Sasaki (5-5, 4.54)
• Friday, Aug. 14, 9:10 p.m. CT: Brewers LHP Robert Gasser (3-4, 4.57) vs. Dodgers RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto (11-7, 2.65)
• Saturday, Aug. 15, 6:40 p.m. CT: Brewers RHP Jacob Misiorowski (11-5, 1.76) vs. Dodgers LHP Justin Wrobleski (11-4, 3.44)
• Sunday, Aug. 16, 3:10 p.m. CT: Brewers RHP Logan Henderson (6-2, 2.88) vs. Dodgers LHP Tarik Skubal (7-6, 2.93)

The start time Aug. 15 is different because of national TV

Jacob Misiorowski will pitch for the national TV cameras on Fox on Saturday, hence the strange start time for a West Coast game of 6:40 p.m. CT.

Ah yes, Tarik Skubal vs. the Brewers. Surely, that won't be a national story

It was well documented that the Brewers made a credible run to acquire the two-time reigning Cy Young winner from the Tigers at the deadline but lost to the Dodgers. Now – of course – the Brewers will face Skubal just a few weeks later.

Not only that, he's squaring off with Logan Henderson, who was perceptively untouchable at the deadline and has some eerily similar stats to Skubal, not to mention several years left on his contract.

It's a perfect made-for-narrative series finale. Which, of course, won't matter nearly as much as what's awaiting in October.

What are the Dodgers' weaknesses, if any?

Last year, it seemed like the Dodgers' bullpen was a mess, but it delivered just fine against the Brewers. This year, there are also some concerns, particularly because closer Edwin Díaz returned from injury, and it's been rocky early.

The Dodgers' bullpen ERA is 4.02, squarely in the middle of the pack in Major League Baseball, though it's 4.73 since June 1, 21st in the league.

What's really been surprising are the recent offensive struggles. Los Angeles is down to a 94 wRC+ since July began, ranking 18th in the league (the Brewers rank 15th in the same timeframe). It's been 94 since August began, too, good for 20th (the Brewers are 22nd). A wRC+ of 100 is average.

Why isn't the Dodgers offense dominating?

Among the players who have struggled is Mookie Betts, whose OPS is just .714. Kyle Tucker, the prized offseason free-agent pickup, has been just average, with a .718 OPS and 11 homers.

Will Smith is on the 60-day injured list, his replacement Dalton Rushing is also hurt and, while Shohei Ohtani remains excellent (.937 OPS), he's not quite at superhuman level this year. He finished last year with a 1.014 OPS and 55 homers. This year, he has a mere mortal 27 bombs, including one Aug. 12.

Part of that relates to Ohtani's injury history. He hasn't been able to pitch since July 3 because of knee discomfort.

There are two Wisconsin players on the Dodgers

Two players on the active roster hail from Wisconsin.

River Falls native Alex Call has appeared in 66 games in the outfield for the Dodgers this year, with a .679 OPS. Call was traded from the Washington Nationals to the Dodgers last year and won a ring. He's a reliable defensive replacement who can play all three outfield spots.

Catcher Ben Rortvedt, from Verona, was brought back to the Dodgers because of their catching injuries. He was also on last year's World Series winner but was reacquired in early August from the New York Mets.

Who are the Dodgers' best players?

Ohtani is at the top of the list. Obviously.

Outfielder Andy Pages is next in WAR, according to Baseball Reference, with a 4.9 mark. The center fielder who made one of the most memorable plays of a highly memorable World Series last year has a .790 OPS and 19 homers, third on the team.

Yamamoto has a 2.65 ERA and would be in the Cy Young conversation most years, although he isn't quite the strikeout weapon that other top pitchers are (he has 127 strikeouts in 139 innings), but that's nit-picking. It goes without saying that the rotation with a healthy Ohtani and Tyler Glasnow, Snell, Skubal and Yamamoto would be among the best ever assembled, but that assumes a lot of health.

Veteran corner infielders Max Muncy and Freddie Freeman have been reliable as always. Muncy has 22 homers and an .823 OPS. Freeman, who turns 37 in September, still has an .852 OPS and made his eighth consecutive All-Star Game.

How did the Brewers do against the Dodgers earlier this year?

Los Angeles came to Milwaukee and won two of three in May. Henderson outdueled Wrobleski in the first game, a 5-1 Brewers win boosted by a four-run first inning. But Sasaki held the Brewers in check and the Dodgers exploded late for an 11-3 win in the second contest, and Yamamoto handled the Brewers in the series finale, a 5-1 win for the Dodgers.

The Brewers would need to win three of four in the series to claim the season series and the tiebreaker should the two teams wind up deadlocked in record at the end of the season.

Remember when the Brewers went 6-0 against the Dodgers last year?

Surely you do. The incredible stat became even more eye-opening when the Dodgers then beat the Brewers in the NLCS, 4-0.

Is the series a perfect litmus test for a Brewers team that's been wilting a bit through the dog days of summer? Somewhat, sure. Just don't think it speaks to what's going to happen in October should they meet again.

If the season ended today, would the Brewers face the Dodgers in the playoffs?

Not immediately, but they'd be lined up to meet again in the NLCS if both teams won in the NLDS.

The Brewers have the No. 1 seed at the moment and would face either Chicago or San Diego in the NLDS after those two teams met in the wild-card round – an exact replica of last year's postseason.

The Braves and Dodgers would face off in an NLDS before getting to the Brewers as things stand today. But they're tied one game behind the Brewers, so it's functionally three elite NL teams – and we shouldn't count out the Cubs, three games back of Milwaukee and two behind the other two – fighting for top-two playoff positioning.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brewers reacquaint with powerful Dodgers in battle for top NL record