Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy and his squad are no stranger to the Los Angeles Dodgers, and head of the National League Championship Series, he offered a prediction about how the games will go.
A rematch is set
Murphy had to begin by addressing the elephant in the room: The Dodgers swept the Brewers in last year’s NLCS, a dominant performance punctuated by superstar Shohei Ohtani’s stellar 10 strikeout, three home run performance in Game 4.
After having to think about that sweep for a full year, Murphy said his squad is better prepared in 2026 than they were in 2025.
“We’re going to be more ready than we were last time, I believe,” he said.
However, Murphy stopped short of promising his team would be the dominant one this season.
In fact, he seemed to be projecting humility more than anything, noting that even if the Brewers are more ready, “that doesn’t guarantee anything.”
“We’ve got to be ready for what they say is the best team in baseball, but we think we are, so we’re going to try to do our best to stay with them and beat them in seven games,” he said.
While the “seven games” comment could be a an offhand remark about how long the series could go, it also might be an indicator that Murphy expects his team to continue their postseason ways, for better or for worse.
Is this NLCS really going to go seven games?
Ahead of Wednesday night’s clinching Game 4 in San Diego, the Brewers had lost 12 straight road games, a streak that dated back to 2018.
In franchise history, they’re now 7-24 on the road in the playoffs, a figure that’s very unlikely to garner confidence among the team’s fans.
If Murphy is predicting a seven game series, that means the Dodgers likely win all three games at home, or at least pick up a win in Milwaukee to offset any home losses.
The good news for Murphy and the Brewers is that they have home field advantage, meaning they can still make to the World Series without winning another game on the road.
The bad news is that the Brewers also had home field advantage last season, and that didn’t work out in their favor.
Do you think Pat Murphy is right and this series will go seven games?
