Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
The Dodgers dropped Game 1 of the NLDS in a tight 2-1 loss that saw some of the NLDS struggles return for LA. They got Jacob Misiorowski out of the game after only 4 1/3 innings, but were shut down by four Brewer relievers. It wasn’t for a lack of baserunners, as they had seven hits and six walks in the game but went 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base. The Brewer offense didn’t fare much better against Tarik Skubal, but Brice Turang homered and they smallballed the game-winning run on a walk, bunt and RBI single in the fifth. It wasn’t the most promising start to the NLCS, but the Dodgers send Yoshinobu Yamamoto to the hill today to try to even the series.
Today’s #NLCS Game 2 Dodgers lineup at Brewers: https://t.co/re1NTN8Ni0
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) October 12, 2026
Bring that same energy?: FOX ?: WTMJ#WinOurWay https://t.co/vPo2NdAcoV
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) October 12, 2026
Yamamoto was stellar in his NLDS Game 3 start in Atlanta. All the talk going into that game was how the series shifted in Atlanta’s favor after they won a bullpen game in LA and had Chris Sale going in Game 3, but Yamamoto got the best of him. He held Atlanta to four hits and a run over seven innings with a playoff-career-high 10 strikeouts and only one walk in a 3-1 Dodger win. Yamamoto allowed two singles over the first four innings before running into trouble in the fifth, starting with back-to-back singles. He got a popout before issuing a walk to load the bases with only one out, but got a pair of groundouts to limit the damage to one run. He put up two more perfect innings to get through seven before giving way to the Dodger bullpen to wrap up the win. It was another dominant road outing for Yamamoto in October. His last five playoff outings have been away from Dodger Stadium, and in 33 2/3 combined innings over four starts and one relief outing he’s allowed four runs on 17 hits and four walks with 32 strikeouts. The first of those starts came in Milwaukee in Game 2 of the NLCS last season, which is the same scenario he faces today. Yamamoto threw a complete game, giving up three hits and one Jackson Chourio solo homer for the lone Milwaukee run in a 5-1 Dodger win. Chourio’s homer came on the very first pitch of the game, after which Yamamoto only gave up three hits, a walk and a runner on a Max Muncy error through nine innings on 111 pitches. Yamamoto saw Milwaukee twice this season and was similarly dominant, combining to allow two runs in 13 innings in the two games. He only struck out three batters when they played in Milwaukee and he gave up seven hits but was still able to limit the damage.
The Dodgers face off against rookie Logan Henderson who has been excellent in his limited time in the Majors. Henderson got a cup of coffee last season and gave up five runs in 25 1/3 innings over five starts before an elbow issue ended his season. That elbow carried a bit into the Spring and he didn’t break camp in the rotation, but joined in May and gave up five runs in 21 innings over four starts. That included a start against the Dodgers in Milwaukee, where he gave up two hits and a season-high three walks in five shutout innings. After that start, Henderson hit the IL with back tightness and missed about six weeks. He came back strong with a 2.39 ERA in 75 1/3 innings over 13 starts over the last couple months, and Milwaukee went 11-2 when he started. He didn’t allow more than three runs in a game this season, but he only completed six innings in seven of his 18 starts. Henderson got the Game 2 start against the Padres in the NLDS and was a bit wild but did a nice job limiting damage. He only allowed two singles and a run over five innings but walked three, hit a batter and threw a wild pitch.
The Brewers’ unwillingness to trade Henderson is probably why Skubal is a Dodger and not a Brewer. However, Henderson’s been good enough that they’re not really getting any flack for that. Among pitchers with 90+ innings pitched this season, Henderson’s 29.6 percent strikeout rate was the 10th-best in baseball and his 5.1 percent walk rate was tied for the 10th-best. He does it despite not having overpowering stuff (especially compared to Miz), as his fastball’s 93.1 percent average velo is in the bottom half of pitchers. He throws it 46.4 percent of the time and hitters are only hitting .155 with a .273 slugging percentage off it. He throws a changeup off the fastball, averaging about 10 MPH slower (82.9 MPH) and mixes in a cutter (15.2 percent) and a sweeper (3.1 percent). His fastball has some natural movement, with 14.7 inches of vertical drop. Despite that, his 30.7 percent ground ball rate is the lowest among pitchers with 90+ innings. This could mean the Dodgers won’t hit into three double plays today, but who knows.
Tommy Edman returns to the lineup for the Dodgers, hitting ninth and playing second after Enrique Hernandez did so in the last two games. Will Smith drops down to fifth in the order after another hitless game yesterday, with Teoscar Hernandez hitting third in front of Shohei Ohtani. Milwaukee makes a couple changes today with a righty on the hill. Christian Yelich starts at DH over Andrew Vaughn, and Sal Frelick plays right after Luis Lara did so yesterday. David Hamilton gets the start at third over Joey Ortiz.
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First pitch is scheduled for 2:00 PM PT and will be on FOX.
