Skubal vs. Misiorowski: NLCS Game 1 Preview Has It All

The National League Championship Series is about to deliver the pitching matchup October baseball fans have been waiting for. The Los Angeles Dodgers announced Friday that Tarik Skubal will take the mound for NLCS Game 1 against the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday at American Family Field, with Yoshinobu Yamamoto lined up to start Game 2 on Monday, according to reporting by AP via TSN.

Milwaukee is expected to counter with its own ace, Jacob Misiorowski, setting up a duel between two of the most dominant arms in the game. Misiorowski has been nearly untouchable against Los Angeles this season, posting a 1.59 ERA across 17 innings against the Dodgers in 2025-26. Sunday's first pitch is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. PDT, and the atmosphere in Milwaukee figures to be electric.

Why Skubal gets the ball for NLCS Game 1

Skubal has been lights out this October. In his Dodgers postseason debut, he threw six innings of two-hit, one-run ball with seven strikeouts to beat the Atlanta Braves 5-3 in Game 1 of the NLDS. That performance locked up his spot at the front of the rotation for the league's biggest stage so far, and the Dodgers are riding the hot hand.

Yamamoto earned the Game 2 nod with an equally sharp showing. He struck out 10 batters over seven innings in NLDS Game 3, according to the Associated Press, carving through a Braves lineup that had no answer for his splitter. With the top two starters dealing, Los Angeles looks every bit like the two-time defending champions.

There is one injury wrinkle to watch. Veteran infielder Miguel Rojas is dealing with a back injury, and his roster spot for the NLCS remains uncertain. Rojas has been a clubhouse leader and a steady glove, so his status will be something to monitor when the roster is finalized.

A rematch with real history

This series is a rematch of the 2025 NLCS, which the Dodgers swept 4-0 on their way to a second straight World Series title. Milwaukee has not forgotten. The Brewers won 103 games this season, the best record in baseball, and they took the regular-season series from Los Angeles 4-3, so this is not the same overmatched underdog from last October.

That regular-season edge matters. The Brewers proved they can hang with the Dodgers' star-studded lineup, and their pitching staff was built for exactly this moment. Misiorowski's dominance against LA is the headline, but Milwaukee's bullpen has been a shutdown unit all year, and home-field advantage at American Family Field is a real weapon.

For the Dodgers, the mission is straightforward: get back to the World Series and chase a three-peat. They added Skubal to a rotation that already featured Yamamoto and one of the deepest pitching arsenals in the sport, a move that signaled the front office was all-in on October. So far, the gamble is paying off.

What to watch on Sunday

The first few innings will tell the story. If Skubal settles in the way he did against Atlanta, the Dodgers can play their game: patient at-bats, big swings, and a bullpen that shortens the game. If Misiorowski baffles them early, Milwaukee can lean on its home crowd and turn Game 1 into the statement win that flips the script from last year's sweep.

Keep an eye on the strikeout totals. Both starters rack up whiffs in bunches, and a pitcher's duel between two aces at their peak is the kind of October theater that reminds everyone why this month is the best on the sports calendar. The Dodgers opened the series as favorites, but a 103-win Brewers team at home is nobody's pushover.

How the rotations stack up for NLCS Game 1

Beyond the NLCS Game 1 headliners, both rotations run deep. The Dodgers can follow Skubal and Yamamoto with a wave of high-leverage arms, while Milwaukee's staff has thrived on mixing power fastballs with a bullpen that shortens games to six innings. Whichever starter blinks first in NLCS Game 1 will hand the other dugout a real edge, because neither lineup wants to chase a lead against these bullpens.

The advanced numbers favor a classic. Skubal's strikeout rate has climbed all season, and Misiorowski's 1.59 ERA against Los Angeles is the kind of split that keeps hitting coaches up at night. NLCS Game 1 could easily come down to one hanging breaking ball or one perfectly placed fastball on the corner. In October, the margin between hero and goat is measured in inches.

October baseball is back, the lights are brightest, and the Brewers are playing for revenge after last year's heartbreak. First pitch is Sunday at 5:00 p.m. PDT. Clear your schedule.