Brewers manager Pat Murphy made his intentions for Game 1 of the National League Championship Series clear.
“I just want to step on his throat,” Murphy said of Dodgers starter Tarik Skubal.
“I mean that respectfully.”
The Brewers lineup will be looking to exploit any mistakes from Skubal in Sunday’s game at American Family Field. A few months ago, Skubal wasn’t even donning Dodger blue.
The two-time Cy Young winner was highly-coveted at the trade deadline and it was the back-to-back World Series champions who managed to land Skubal in a blockbuster trade with the Tigers. Since his arrival to LA, Skubal is sporting a 2.61 ERA with 70 strikeouts across 61 innings pitched.
Now, the left-hander has been given the honor of starting NLCS Game 1 for the Dodgers.
It won’t be an easy feat as Skubal will have to fend off a Brewers lineup that is one of the best offenses in baseball. As Murphy hopes, Milwaukee looks to suffocate Skubal on the mound with their quality at-bats and small ball fundamentals.
Opposite Skubal is National League Cy Young candidate Jacob Misiorowski, who is bound to give the Dodgers lineup some trouble.
The matchup will be the Dodgers’ biggest test of October thus far and the competition will be much, much tougher than it was in 2025, when LA swept the Brewers in four games in the NLCS.
Sunday starts with the Dodgers’ crown jewel of the trade deadline — Skubal.
