Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
The Dodgers handled their business in the NLDS, advancing in four games against the Phillies. They didn’t get much from some key bats and the bullpen continued to be troublesome, but Tyler Glasnow and Roki Sasaki came up huge in Game 4 and the Dodgers took an instant classic in 11 innings thanks to an all-time boner by Orion Kerkering.
The Dodgers survived the two-seed in the NL and find themselves four wins away from another World Series appearance. Standing in their way are the Brewers (97-65), who finished as the top seed in the NL and with the best record in baseball. They got off to a hot start in October, taking the first two NLDS games against the Cubs by a combined 16-3 score. However, they dropped both games in Chicago forcing a decisive Game 5, which they won 3-1 thanks to three solo homers.
Allan wrote a series preview yesterday and while the Brewers don’t have the household names than the Dodgers (or Phillies) have, they’re a strong well-rounded team that doesn’t strike out much and has some real weapons out of the bullpen. They’re the top seed for a reason, and despite that there’s still a David v Goliath narrative floating around that’s already getting very tired.
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| 5:08 PM | Milwaukee | ||
| DH | Ohtani (L) | RF | Chourio |
| SS | Betts | DH | Yelich (L) |
| RF | T. Hernández | C | Contreras |
| 1B | Freeman (L) | 2B | Turang (L) |
| C | Smith | 1B | Vaughn |
| 2B | Edman (S) | CF | Frelick (L) |
| 3B | Muncy (L) | 3B | Durbin |
| LF | K. Hernández | LF | Collins (S) |
| CF | Pages | SS | Ortiz |
| P | Snell (L) | P | Ashby (L) |
Blake Snell gets the ball in Game 1 and his third start of the postseason for the Dodgers. He’s been excellent in his previous two. He opened the postseason in Game 1 against the Reds and allowed two runs and four hits over seven innings with nine strikeouts and one walk. He followed that up with a strong start in Philly in Game 2 of the NLDS, allowing only one hit over six shutout. He did walk four batters in that start and needed 99 pitches to get through those six innings, but struck out nine again.
Snell will be on six days rest, which was a pretty good thing for him this season. He made five starts on six days rest this season and allowed four runs in 29 1/3 innings and struck out 38 batters with 11 walks allowed. Snell was injured both times the Dodgers saw the Brewers this season, but turned in a strong start when he faced them last September. He needed 95 pitches to get through five innings, but held Milwaukee to a run on four hits and two walks with eight strikeouts.
As a team, the Brewers were very balanced against righties and lefties this season. They posted identical 107 wRC+’s against righties and lefties, but their slugging percentage did drop a bit (.395 vs lefties and .407 vs righties). Milwaukee had nine hitters with over 100 plate appearances against left-handed pitching this season and seven turned in a wRC+ over 100. Five of those were between 100 and 110, but Jackson Chourio destroyed lefties this season. Chourio posted a 168 wRC+ against lefties which was the eighth-best in baseball (why did Cody Bellinger wRC+ 180 against lefties?).
The Brewers are rolling with an opener today and as far as I’ve seen, it’s uncertain who the bulk guy will be. Freddy Peralta will start Game 2, and seemingly either Jose Quintana or Quinn Priester will take down the bulk of today’s game. Aaron Ashby will serve as the opener. The 27-year-old lefty saw the Dodgers three times this season and allowed an earned run in each outing. He allowed three runs in 3 2/3 innings and struck out six with three walks and six hits allowed.
Pat Murphy tells @AdamMcCalvy the odds of Quinn Priester pitching tonight are 73%.
— Curt Hogg (@CyrtHogg) October 13, 2025
You do the math.
It’ll likely be Priester as the bulk guy, but that’s not a guarantee. Priester struggled hard in his postseason debut in Game 3 against the Cubs last Wednesday. He got the start and allowed a leadoff homer, two walks and two singles before being pulled after recording only two outs. Priester did turn in a very good start in LA back in July, tossing six shutout with three hits and 10 strikeouts. It was his first and only career start against the Dodgers. Despite his success against the Dodgers earlier this season, Dodger fans should be praying he’s the bulk option and not Quintana.
Quintana would be a Hall Of Famer if he only ever pitched against the Dodgers. He’s faced them 15 times in his career (12 starts) and allowed a .636 OPS and a 2.32 ERA in 73 2/3 innings, his second lowest ERA against any team (only higher than his nine career starts against the Nats). The Dodgers have scored 19 earned runs against Quintana, and four of them came in his last start against them in June, the most they’ve ever scored off him (other than when they scored five unearned runs after errors by Gordon Beckham and Conor Gillaspie). Shohei Ohtani and Esteury Ruiz both took Quintana deep in this game, but Lou Trivino gave up the lead in a game the Brewers eventually won 6-5.
Nothing surprising in the lineup, as Enrique Hernandez starts in left and Tommy Edman starts at second.
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The Dodgers made one change to their postseason roster, with Ben Casparius joining the roster as Dalton Rushing was dropped.
Chad nailed this in his roster prediction from a couple days ago. It makes sense if Will Smith is actually healthy, which he seems to be after catching all but nine innings in the NLDS including 11 innings in the clincher. They opt to keep Justin Dean and Hyeseong Kim as runners and defensive replacements, as Casparius gives the Dodgers another multi-inning option out of the bullpen. 25 of his 46 appearances this season lasted more than one inning. Tanner Scott is also off the roster (as we all knew he had to be), with Justin Wrobleski remaining on after taking Scott’s place during the DS.
The Brewers also made one change, with Nick Mears off the roster in favor of Tobias Myers.
Asked whether the decision to remove Nick Mears from the roster in favor of Tobias Myers was an injury situation or just a baseball decision, GM Matt Arnold said, "more about length."
— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) October 13, 2025
Take that how you will. Murph is scheduled to meet the media at 3 p.m. https://t.co/gYAmzCW915
Mears threw three times in the NLDS and and allowed a hit and a walk in 1 2/3 scoreless frames. They opted for length with Myers, who’s a bit of a Dodger-esque starter/reliever hybrid. He took down two or more innings in 15 of his 22 outings this season and made 25 starts last season.
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First pitch is scheduled for 5:08 PM PT and will be on TBS and HBO Max.
