The 2025 National League Championship Series was the best-of-seven playoff in Major League Baseball's 2025 postseason between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers for the National League (NL) pennant and the right to play in the 2025 World Series. The series began on October 13 and ended on October 17. The Dodgers won the series in a four-game sweep to become National League (NL) champions and advance to the World Series for the second consecutive year. Two-way player Shohei Ohtani won the NLCS MVP for his three home runs, six innings pitched, no runs allowed, ten strikeout performance in Game 4 to secure the sweep. This was the first sweep in an NLCS since 2019.
The Dodgers gave up just four runs in the series (one run each game), and the Brewers hit .118, which was the lowest ever batting average of any team in the postseason in a series of at least three games.[1]
The games were televised on TBS and TruTV, and streamed on HBO Max in the United States.[2][3]UniMás broadcast the series in Spanish.[4]
The Los Angeles Dodgers qualified for their league-leading thirteenth consecutive postseason appearance on September 19 and won the National League West on September 25 via a road victory against the Arizona Diamondbacks.[9] As the third-best division winner by record, they played and swept the sixth-seeded Cincinnati Reds in the Wild Card Series in two games.[10] The Dodgers then defeated the National League East champion Philadelphia Phillies in four games in the National League Division Series, highlighted by an errant throw by Orion Kerkering that gave the Dodgers the series walk-off win.[11] This was the Dodgers' second consecutive NLCS appearance and the eighth in the last 13 years (2013, 2016–2018, 2020–2021, 2024–2025), as well as their league-leading 17th overall appearance in the round. The Dodgers were looking to become the first back-to-back National League champions since they had done it in the 2017 and 2018 seasons, as well as the first back-to-back World Series champions since the 1999–2000 Yankees.
The Brewers swept the regular season series against the Dodgers, 6–0. It was the first time a National League team swept the Dodgers in a regular season series since the 2006 Cardinals.[12] This series marked the third postseason meeting between the Brewers and the Dodgers, and a rematch of the 2018 NLCS, which the Dodgers won in seven games. Their previous postseason meeting was also in the 2020 NL Wild Card Series, which the Dodgers won in a two-game sweep. Managers Pat Murphy and Dave Roberts were on the same coaching staff, the 2015 San Diego Padres, during the rookie season of their MLB coaching careers.[13]
With the bases loaded and one out in the top of the fourth inning and the game scoreless, the Brewers pulled off the first ever postseason 8-6-2 double play. On the play, Max Muncy hit a deep fly ball to center field. Brewers outfielder Sal Frelick leaped to catch it, but the ball bounced off his glove, then hit the wall and went back into his glove. Teoscar Hernandez, not knowing the ball went off the wall went back to tag up, something he didn't need to do because according to rule 8.2.4: "If a fair or foul batted ball is caught, other than a foul tip, each base runner shall touch his base after the batted ball has touched a fielder" (note that the ball doesn't necessarily need to be secured by the fielder).[18] This means that Hernandez leaving third base after the ball went off of Frelick's glove would've been a legal tag up had it been ruled a catch. However, because it went off the wall, it wasn't a catch, and as a result, there was a force at every base. Hernandez's errant second tag up gave the Brewers enough time to relay and force him out at home. After getting the out at home, Brewers' catcher William Contreras ran down and touched third base, getting the force out on Will Smith, who had returned to second when he thought Frelick made a clean catch.[19]
The game was still scoreless through five complete innings in until the top of the sixth inning when Freddie Freeman hit a solo home run off Chad Patrick to give the Dodgers a 1–0 lead. Dodgers starter Blake Snell recorded ten strikeouts, allowed only one hit, and forced the Brewers to go scoreless through eight innings. With the bases loaded at the top of the ninth inning, Abner Uribe issued a walk to Mookie Betts, allowing the Dodgers to take a 2–0 lead. However, in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Brewers' were able to get to Dodgers closer Roki Sasaki. An Isaac Collins walk followed by a Jake Bauers double put the tying runs in scoring position with one out. Jackson Chourio hit a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Collins and cutting the Dodgers' lead to 2–1. However, Blake Treinen struck out Brice Turang to escape a bases-loaded jam for the final out of the game to get the save as the Dodgers took Game 1 of the NLCS.[20]
Game 2
Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched a complete game and struck out seven batters for Los Angeles in Game 2.
In the bottom of the first inning, Jackson Chourio hit a solo leadoff home run off Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the first pitch to take a 1–0 lead for the Brewers, however, that was all the Brewers would get. In the top of the second inning, Teoscar Hernández homered off Freddy Peralta to tie the game, followed by an Andy Pages RBI double, scoring Enrique Hernández, putting the Dodgers up 2-1 and giving Yamamoto all the run support he'd end up needing. In the top of the sixth inning, Max Muncy hit a solo home run to extend the Dodgers' lead to 3–1, it was his 14th career postseason home run, a new Dodger franchise record.[21] Peralta pitched 5+2⁄3 innings, allowed five hits, three runs, and walked one batter while striking out four batters. In the top of the seventh inning, Shohei Ohtani scored Enrique Hernández on an RBI single, further extending the lead to 4–1. In the top of the eighth inning, Tommy Edman hit a RBI single, allowing Will Smith to score and extend the lead to 5–1. Yamamoto struck out seven batters, surrendering only three hits and one run in his complete game victory, as the Dodgers took a 2–0 series lead. Yamamoto threw the first complete game in the postseason for the Dodgers since José Lima did it in the third game of the 2004 NLDS and the first for any MLB pitcher since Justin Verlander in Game 2 of the 2017 ALCS. He was also the first Japanese pitcher to throw a complete game in the postseason.[22][23] Chourio’s first inning home run would be the only lead Milwaukee had for the series.
Game 3
Tyler Glasnow (pictured with the Altoona Curve) pitched 5+2⁄3 innings and struck out eight batters for Los Angeles in Game 3.
In the bottom of the first inning, the Dodgers quickly took a 1–0 lead with a Shohei Ohtani triple followed by a Mookie Betts RBI double. Brewers openerAaron Ashby pitched a 1⁄3 of an inning, allowed two hits, one run, and walked one batter while striking out one. In the top of the second inning, Caleb Durbin scored on an RBI single by Jake Bauers, tying the game at 1−1. Dodgers starter Tyler Glasnow pitched 5+2⁄3 innings, allowing three hits, one run, and walking three batters while striking out eight. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Will Smith scored on an RBI single from Tommy Edman, putting the Dodgers ahead at 2–1. Freddie Freeman then scored on a throwing error from Brewers reliever Abner Uribe, extending the Dodgers' lead to 3–1. Roki Sasaki struck out Durbin for the final out of the game for the save as the Dodgers took a 3–0 series lead.[24]
Game 4
2025 NLCS MVPShohei Ohtani pitched six scoreless innings, struck out ten batters, and hit three home runs in Game 4.
In the bottom of the first inning, Shohei Ohtani hit a solo leadoff home run off of José Quintana to take a 1–0 lead for the Dodgers. Tommy Edman then scored Mookie Betts on a RBI single to extend the lead to 2–0 and gave Ohtani all the runs he needed. Edman scored when Teoscar Hernández ground out to first base to extend the lead to 3–0. Quintana pitched two innings, allowing six hits, three runs, and walking one batter while striking out one. In the bottom of the fourth inning, Ohtani hit his second home run of the game, extending the lead to 4–0. The 469-foot solo home run was hit out of Dodger Stadium,[25] which was the second home run that was hit out of Dodger Stadium in as many weeks, following Kyle Schwarber's home run in Game 3 of the NLDS. He pitched six scoreless innings, allowing two hits, zero runs, and walking three batters while striking out 10. In the bottom of the seventh inning, Ohtani hit his third home run of the game off Brewers reliever Trevor Megill, further extending the lead to 5–0. With the leadoff hitter’s third home run of the game, Ohtani was the second player in MLB postseason history to hit three home runs from the leadoff spot, joining George Brett, who did so at the Yankees in Game 3 of the 1978 ALCS.[26] In the top of the eighth inning, Brice Turang grounded into a force out to score Caleb Durbin and get the Brewers on the board, cutting the Dodgers' lead to 5–1. Dodgers closer Roki Sasaki got the final out to complete the sweep and seal the series, thus sending the Dodgers to the World Series for the second consecutive season.[27]
This was the Brewers' eleventh straight road postseason loss. As a team, the Brewers hit .118 in the NLCS, which was the worst batting average by any team in any postseason series of at least three games in MLB history.[28] This was the Dodgers' first sweep in a seven-game series since the 1963 World Series; in that series against the Yankees, they also allowed just four runs combined, just like this series. With the series win, the Dodgers are the first MLB team to play in back-to-back World Series since the Houston Astros did in 2021 and 2022. Additionally, they will be the first team to play in the World Series as the defending champion for the first time since the Philadelphia Phillies did so in 2009.
The Dodgers receive the NL Championship trophy on the field at Dodger Stadium.
Shohei Ohtani won the NLCS MVP, the first postseason award of his career.[29] His Game 4 performance was considered one of the best ever in MLB postseason history.[30][31][32][33]
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