San Diego allowed one run in two games while sweeping the Cubs. Milwaukee now presents a different test: a 103-win club that scored 832 regular-season runs and can start the series with Jacob Misiorowski’s 1.80 ERA.
The Brewers host the first two games of the best-of-five National League Division Series, with Games 3 and 4 scheduled for Petco Park. San Diego won four of the teams’ six regular-season meetings and outscored Milwaukee 26–21, including a three-game home sweep in August.
Full series schedule
Best of five; the first team to three wins advances. Games marked * are played only if needed. Times are Eastern (ET) and Mountain (MT), using EDT and MDT for these dates.
| Game | Date | Ballpark | ET | MT | U.S. TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sat, Oct. 3 | American Family Field | 8:30 pm | 6:30 pm | FS1 |
| 2 | Sun, Oct. 4 | American Family Field | 4 pm | 2 pm | FS1 |
| 3 | Tue, Oct. 6 | Petco Park | 9:30 pm | 7:30 pm | FS1 |
| 4* | Wed, Oct. 7 | Petco Park | 10 pm | 8 pm | FS1 |
| 5* | Fri, Oct. 9 | American Family Field | 4:30 pm | 2:30 pm | FS1 |
Start times and broadcast assignments are subject to change. If only one NLDS Game 5 is needed on October 9, it starts at 8 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. MT on FOX.
How to watch and listen
FS1 currently lists all five games in the United States, with streaming on FOX One and Spanish-language coverage on FOX Deportes. In Canada, Sportsnet and Sportsnet+ carry the postseason. Check the daily television guide for the Sportsnet channel.
ESPN Radio has national coverage. Milwaukee’s team broadcast is on WTMJ 620, and San Diego’s is on KWFN 97.3. Saturday’s opener is at 7:30 p.m. Central in Milwaukee and 5:30 p.m. Pacific for Padres viewers.
Milwaukee’s first two starters are set
| Game | Padres | Brewers |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | TBD | Jacob Misiorowski |
| 2 | TBD | Logan Henderson |
| 3 | TBD | TBD |
| 4* | TBD | TBD |
| 5* | TBD | TBD |
Misiorowski struck out 252 hitters in 174⅔ innings, with a 0.80 WHIP and 44 walks. San Diego’s first task is to create baserunners against a pitcher who allowed fewer than one hit or walk per inning on average. Waiting for several consecutive hits is a demanding plan against that line.
Logan Henderson follows in Game 2 after a 2.47 ERA and 0.84 WHIP in 98⅓ innings. Milwaukee can begin with two pitchers who limited traffic, even though Henderson’s workload was much smaller than Misiorowski’s. The next assignment is still open.
MLB.com’s pitching report projects Buehler or Ray for Game 1, King for Game 2 and Pivetta for Game 3. None is confirmed.
The calendar makes a Sunday start useful for Michael King: it would leave four days off before a potential Friday Game 5. King started the September 29 Wild Card opener. Nick Pivetta worked Game 2 on September 30, giving San Diego separate decisions about its first game and the order behind him.
| Pitcher | ERA | IP | K | BB | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jacob Misiorowski | 1.80 | 174⅔ | 252 | 44 | 0.80 |
| Logan Henderson | 2.47 | 98⅓ | 110 | 19 | 0.84 |
| Michael King | 3.21 | 185 | 159 | 70 | 1.18 |
| Walker Buehler | 4.63 | 153⅔ | 131 | 57 | 1.35 |
| Mason Miller | 1.67 | 70 | 129 | 26 | 0.90 |
| Trevor Megill | 2.63 | 61⅔ | 69 | 15 | 0.89 |
Milwaukee creates more scoring opportunities
| Team | Record | Run diff. | HR | OBP | OPS | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Padres | 91–71 | +41 | 183 | .319 | .717 | 3.99 |
| Brewers | 103–59 | +214 | 154 | .341 | .744 | 3.51 |
The Brewers hit 29 fewer home runs than the Padres but scored 110 more runs. Their .341 on-base percentage against San Diego’s .319 helps explain how a club with 154 homers could sustain that offense. Milwaukee does not need to match every opposing home run if it consistently puts more runners aboard.
Jackson Chourio finished with a .291 average, 25 homers and 23 steals. Brice Turang reached base at a .366 rate and drove in 100 runs. Jake Bauers’ .389 on-base percentage and 26 homers added both patience and power. San Diego needs outs through that stretch of the lineup before Milwaukee can turn the game into repeated high-stress innings.
Fernando Tatis Jr. gives the Padres a .358 on-base percentage, 25 homers and 38 steals. Jackson Merrill supplied 26 homers and 27 steals, while Manny Machado hit 30 home runs. San Diego’s 164 steals were almost identical to Milwaukee’s 162; controlling the running game matters for both clubs.
Miller can shorten San Diego’s games
Mason Miller struck out 129 hitters in 70 innings and saved 38 games with a 1.67 ERA. Once San Diego has a lead, that kind of strikeout rate reduces the number of balls Milwaukee can use to move runners. The question is whether the Padres can provide the lead before the Brewers’ offense forces them to use their best relief innings just to stay close.
Milwaukee’s Trevor Megill had 30 saves, a 2.63 ERA and a 0.89 WHIP. The bye gave the Brewers time between their September 27 finale and Saturday’s opener. San Diego’s sweep also avoided a third Wild Card game, so the Padres had two days without a game before the NLDS.
Games 1 and 2 are consecutive, as are Games 3 and 4. A multi-inning appearance can affect the following game more directly than it would in the AL series, which have a day off between the opening two games. The travel days on October 5 and 8 offer a reset before Game 3 and a possible Game 5.
For the other Division Series, read Yankees vs. Rays ALDS preview, White Sox vs. Guardians ALDS preview and Braves vs. Dodgers NLDS preview. The complete postseason watch guide covers the later-round calendar.
Reporting checked October 2, 2026. Schedule, official probable starters, season statistics and head-to-head results: MLB schedule and MLB statistics, checked against MLB’s public statistical feed. Pitching options discussed in the text are distinguished from the announced starters in the table.
