Last year, the Los Angeles Dodgers swept the Milwaukee Brewers out of the National League Championship Series in four games. This year, things are already different.
In the 2026 rematch that got underway Sunday, Brewers held on for a nail-biting 2-1 win to take a 1-0 lead in this year’s NLCS.
Ahead of Game 2, set for Monday at 5 p.m. ET, the Dodgers announced a decision with a former MVP player that is becoming a familiar one this postseason, due in part to Shohei Ohtani’s ongoing slump.
Mookie Betts is slated to bat in the leadoff spot for the Dodgers in NLCS Game 2 Monday, the team announced about 3 1/2 hours before first pitch.
Los Angeles is 2-for-22 with runners in scoring position through five playoff games, according to The Associated Press, and the same leadoff man from Game 1 faces another right-hander on the mound for Milwaukee in Logan Henderson (11-3, 2.47, 110 Ks).
Betts led off Game 1 with Freddie Freeman, Will Smith and Shohei Ohtani behind him. He went 1-for-4 with a walk and flied out to the warning track in center with two on and two out in the ninth, to finish off the one-run loss. Yoshinobu Yamamoto starts Game 2 at 2 p.m. PT against rookie right-hander Logan Henderson, according to MLB.com.
| LOS ANGELES DODGERS STARTING LINEUP | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP: Yoshinobu Yamamoto (RHP) • 14-9, 2.53 ERA | ||||
| NLCS Game 2 • October 12, 2026 • American Family Field, Milwaukee, WI • 5:00 PM ET • Dodgers (0-1) at Brewers (1-0) | ||||
| # | Player | Pos | AVG | SLG |
| 1 | Mookie Betts | SS | .257 | .454 |
| 2 | Freddie Freeman | 1B | .288 | .430 |
| 3 | Teoscar Hernández | LF | .267 | .425 |
| 4 | Shohei Ohtani | DH | .275 | .512 |
| 5 | Will Smith | C | .260 | .426 |
| 6 | Max Muncy | 3B | .252 | .490 |
| 7 | Andy Pages | CF | .274 | .468 |
| 8 | Kyle Tucker | RF | .233 | .385 |
| 9 | Tommy Edman | 2B | .247 | .385 |
| Lineups confirmed. Regular season stats shown (AVG / SLG). NLCS Game 2 • Series: MIL leads 1-0. | ||||
Mookie Betts’ Leadoff Role for the Dodgers
Ohtani was slated to lead off against right-handers and Betts against left-handers once Ohtani returned from the injured list, according to NBC Sports. Henderson throws right-handed, yet the Dodgers announced Betts batting first again, with Ohtani dropped to the No. 4 slot.
“Mookie’s swinging the bat well,” manager Dave Roberts said, as quoted by Sports Illustrated. Roberts added that Betts chases fewer pitches and makes harder contact. Betts hit .366 (26-for-71) with six home runs and 21 RBIs in his first 18 games of September.
Betts has hit .295 with 229 home runs, 660 RBIs and 903 runs in 1,082 career games as a leadoff man, with a .375 on-base percentage and .910 OPS, according to StatMuse. This season he batted first in only nine regular-season games and hit .324 (12-for-37) with four home runs and nine RBIs, according to FanGraphs. He hit fourth in 43 games.
In this year’s playoffs, Betts is 4-for-18 with a .364 on-base percentage, no home runs and no RBIs, according to MLB.com. His career postseason line is .252 with eight home runs and 42 RBIs in 381 at-bats.
| MILWAUKEE BREWERS STARTING LINEUP | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP: Logan Henderson (RHP) • 11-3, 2.47 ERA | ||||
| NLCS Game 2 • October 12, 2026 • American Family Field, Milwaukee, WI • 5:00 PM ET • Dodgers (0-1) at Brewers (1-0) | ||||
| # | Player | Pos | AVG | SLG |
| 1 | Jackson Chourio | LF | .291 | .487 |
| 2 | Brice Turang | 2B | .268 | .450 |
| 3 | William Contreras | C | .270 | .417 |
| 4 | Jake Bauers | 1B | .266 | .484 |
| 5 | Christian Yelich | DH | .235 | .378 |
| 6 | Garrett Mitchell | CF | .262 | .416 |
| 7 | Cooper Pratt | SS | .281 | .368 |
| 8 | Sal Frelick | RF | .230 | .319 |
| 9 | David Hamilton | 3B | .245 | .336 |
| Lineups confirmed. Regular season stats shown (AVG / SLG). NLCS Game 2 • Series: MIL leads 1-0. | ||||
Betts and the Dodgers Face Offensive Questions
The Dodgers went 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position in Game 1, grounded into three double plays and left nine on base, according to the AP. Andy Pages’ second-inning single, which scored Ohtani, produced the only run. Smith is 1-for-19 this postseason, and Ohtani is 3-for-16 with no extra-base hits or RBIs.
Los Angeles has scored 15 runs in five playoff games, compared with 24 through the same stretch in 2024 and 29 in 2025, according to the AP.
“It’s encouraging because we keep applying pressure,” Betts said, as quoted by DodgersBeat. A loss Monday would leave the Dodgers down 2-0, a hole teams have escaped in a best-of-seven series 16 times in 95 tries, or 17 percent, according to MLB.com.
Betts turned 34 on Oct. 7. Born in Nashville, he attended John Overton High School, and the Boston Red Sox drafted him in the fifth round in 2011. He debuted June 29, 2014, won the 2018 American League MVP award and batting title, and joined the Dodgers in a trade before the 2020 season.
Betts owns four World Series titles, eight All-Star selections, six Gold Gloves and seven Silver Sluggers. He carries a .288 career average with 314 home runs, 982 RBIs and 198 stolen bases. This season he hit .257 with 23 home runs, 69 RBIs and a .780 OPS in 123 games.
Dodgers Announce Mookie Betts Decision Before NLCS Game 2 Against Brewers