LOS ANGELES – The Milwaukee Brewers need one more win to end a 44-year wait for the World Series. The Los Angeles Dodgers need four straight victories to keep their bid for a third consecutive championship alive, starting with Tyler Glasnow in Thursday’s NLCS Game 4.
Milwaukee leads the best-of-seven series 3–0 after Jake Bauers helped turn Game 3 into a 6–2 Brewers win. First pitch at Dodger Stadium is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET on October 15, with national coverage on FS1 and additional coverage on FOX Deportes and FOX One.
According to MLB’s Game 4 preview, teams taking a 3–0 lead have won 41 of the previous 42 best-of-seven postseason series. That is a historical record, not a prediction, but it captures the scale of the Dodgers’ task.
Glasnow must find command as Milwaukee turns to its bullpen
Glasnow is Los Angeles’ scheduled starter. In his previous outing, the NL Division Series Game 4 clincher against Atlanta, he allowed one run in 4 2/3 innings despite walking five batters.
Keeping runners off base matters against a Milwaukee team that has found different ways to win throughout this series. The Brewers’ bullpen protected a 2–1 lead in Game 1; their hitters then supplied seven runs in the second game.
Milwaukee plans a bullpen game, but its opener was still unannounced in MLB’s preview. Dustin May, Kyle Harrison, Shane Drohan and Chad Patrick were listed among the available starting options, not as confirmed selections.
The pitching decision also concerns who finishes. DL Hall recorded seven outs in Game 3 and Trevor Megill earned a four-out save, leaving manager Pat Murphy to weigh their workloads against the chance to close out the series immediately. MLB identified Aaron Ashby as a potential important option if Game 4 stays close.
Projected batting orders, not confirmed lineups
MLB offered the following possible orders. These are projections and should not be read as the teams’ official Game 4 lineup cards. Milwaukee’s projection draws on its lineup against right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Game 2.
Milwaukee Brewers
- Jackson Chourio, LF
- Brice Turang, 2B
- William Contreras, C
- Jake Bauers, 1B
- Christian Yelich, DH
- Garrett Mitchell, CF
- Cooper Pratt, SS
- Sal Frelick, RF
- David Hamilton, 3B
Los Angeles Dodgers
- Mookie Betts, SS
- Freddie Freeman, 1B
- Teoscar Hernández, LF
- Kyle Tucker, RF
- Will Smith, C
- Shohei Ohtani, DH
- Andy Pages, CF
- Max Muncy, 3B
- Miguel Rojas, 2B
Los Angeles needs more than a strong start
The Dodgers collected only five hits in Game 3 after managing three in Game 2, according to the Field Level Media preview carried by CBS Sports. Will Smith’s two-run double supplied a moment of encouragement Wednesday, but sustained pressure has been missing.
Ohtani is managing lingering right-biceps and left-knee problems, while Freeman has a right-knee issue, MLB reported. Those limitations are part of the context for an offense trying to avoid elimination, not an explanation that changes the series score.
A sweep would reverse last October’s result
Milwaukee was swept by Los Angeles in the same round a year ago. Winning Thursday would reverse that result and send the Brewers to the World Series for the first time since 1982.
The Dodgers can point to manager Dave Roberts’ place in the 2004 Boston Red Sox comeback against the Yankees, the only successful recovery from a 3–0 deficit in a best-of-seven MLB postseason series. They cannot attempt four wins at once: Glasnow and the lineup must first make a fifth game necessary.
For readers following the wider postseason, our baseball hub explains the competition and its terminology. Thursday’s immediate stakes require little explanation: Milwaukee can clinch a pennant, while Los Angeles must win to play again.
