The Dodgers' biggest October threat just arrived in LA

Existentially, the biggest threat to the Los Angeles Dodgers is the Dodgers. Sometimes they look to be strolling when they should be sprinting after a third straight World Series title. But with October baseball in mind, the Dodgers have another problem: the Milwaukee Brewers. And those Brewers are in Los Angeles for a four-game series at Dodger Stadium that starts Thursday, Aug. 13. The Brewers manifested from small-market magic. The Dodgers consume almost endless resources in the second-largest media market. The two teams met in the National League Championship Series last year, when the Dodgers swept the series 4-0. It would be no surprise if the Dodgers and Brewers met in the NLCS yet again. So with the regular season about 75% complete and October looming, now might be the perfect time for the Dodgers to size up their most formidable foes. Jacob Misiorowski vs. Dodger hitters Last week, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts noted his team is struggling to hit fastballs. That could not be more troubling than with Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski in town. He’s scheduled to start Saturday in Game 3 of the series, and at times the 6-foot-7 right-hander has been almost unhittable. Start with the triple-digit fastball that has reached speeds of 105.5 mph. He’s also been sharper in his second year in the big leagues and leads all pitchers in ERA (1.76), strikeouts (204) and WHIP (0.74). But Misiorowski isn’t unbeatable, as the Dodgers know firsthand. In Game 3 of the NLCS last year, for example, Misiorowski struck out nine batters in five innings and gave up just one earned run during his appearance. Yet the Dodgers still won, 3-1. It's nothing to count on. The Dodgers faced Misiorowski once during the 2025 regular season. He struck out 12 batters in six innings and allowed just one earned run while the Brewers won, 3-1. This will be an optimal chance for Dodgers hitters to prove they can hit the fastball. Misiorowski and Brewers staff vs. Dodgers pitching conundrums No one else on the planet sets off a radar gun like Jacob Misiorowski does. But the Brewers pitching staff goes beyond Miz -- far enough that the Dodgers hitters will have to be locked in. Milwaukee has the fourth-best ERA (3.54) in the majors, and Kyle Harrison has been a strong No. 2 starter. But on Monday, Aug. 11 he gave up eight earned runs in 4 2/3 innings in an 11-2 loss to the Padres. The Brewers rotation is mortal, and World Series favorites led by Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman would capitalize. Lucky for the Dodgers, they'll just miss Harrison, who is scheduled to pitch next Tuesday vs. Seattle. The loss of Ohtani from the Dodgers pitching staff because of knee inflammation clearly has impacted the team. He was 8-2 with a 1.79 ERA after his last start, July 3.   Yoshinobu Yamamoto has looked strong as the Dodgers' No. 1 starter. But the team still is trying to figure out its rotation with Blake Snell back from elbow surgery and Tyler Glasnow expected to return soon from back spasms. The Brewers will help test Roki Sasaki, the Dodger pitcher who's set to start Thursday and has made notable progress over the past month. The Dodgers' trade for Tarik Skubal hasn’t paid off immediate dividends, but he'll get another chance with a scheduled start Sunday. Fire vs. Ice? Brewers manager Pat Murphy has yet to put his signature stamp on the 2026 season. Which is to say he has not been ejected. Murphy, when disappointed with the umpires, has a penchant for expressing himself forcefully. It resulted in two ejections in 2025 and five ejections in 2024, the year he took over as the Brewers manager. He also had five ejections in 2015, during the 96 games he spent as manager of the San Diego Padres. The fiery nature is cited as part of Murphy's success, and the Brewers respond. During Murphy's three years in Milwaukee, the Brewers have won two NL Central division titles and last year finished with the best regular-season record in baseball. Murphy is now the reigning two-time National League Manager of the Year. If Murphy is fire, Dodgers manager Dave Robert is ice. Well, maybe less scorching. He’s calm and cerebral, and his demeanor won’t ever be confused for Murphy’s. Since taking over as manager of the Dodgers in 2016, he’s been ejected at least once each season -- with the exception of 2026. But the next time you see Roberts implode and humiliate an umpire will be the first. At times, Dodger fans have yearned for more fire from the Dodgers manager. In fact, that might have been the case when the Dodgers recently lost eight of nine games. But Roberts seems especially adept at keeping his team from panicking – such as while guiding the team to back-to-back World Series titles and three World Series titles in the past six years. Slumbering bats Not all of the bats are slumbering, but some expensive ones are. Christian Yelich, the Brewers’ highest-paid player, hardly resembles the three-time All-Star he is. He has a meager eight home runs and is batting .231. Also struggling is All-Star catcher William Contreras, who in his seventh big-league season is having one of his least productive years at the plate. Breakout performances from either of them could help separate two well-matched teams. Los Angeles has a similar situation. Mookie Betts, in the middle of a 12-year, $365,000 contract, has returned to action after missing 35 games due to an oblique strain. But what happened to his bat? He’s hitting just .235, but he showed signs of life Tuesday, Aug. 11, when he went 3-for-4 with a home run and a double in the Dodgers’ 5-4 victory over the Royals in 10 innings. It’s been a similar story for Kyle Tucker, who’s in his first year of a $240 million, four-year deal with the Dodgers, underdelivering while batting .241. But two homers in his past seven games offered a glimmer of hope – especially for a team trying to separate itself from the Brewers. Suddenly the Dodgers are getting back on track, and the Brewers have lost three in a row. With about two months before the playoffs begin, two juggernauts head into a four-game homestand from which they could emerge with a better sense of who they are and how far they can go. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: The Dodgers' biggest October threat just arrived in LA