dpMilwaukee has had a rough start to its seven-game West Coast road trip, suffering a sweep at the hands of the Padres in a series that included two one-run losses. It won’t get any easier this weekend as the Brewers take on the back-to-back defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers for a four-game set. With a win tonight, the Dodgers would move into a tie with the Brewers for the best record in the NL (the Rays are currently a half game up on Milwaukee).
Starting tonight for Los Angeles is Roki Sasaki, who seems to be finding his footing in his second year since coming over to Major League Baseball from Japan. The 24-year-old right-hander was talked about as the next Japanese star in the vein of Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, but injuries and rough on-field performance limited him to just 10 regular-season appearances in 2025. He has a 4.54 ERA this year, but don’t let that deceive you — he’s finally starting to pitch like many thought he would when he came to Los Angeles. Sasaki has allowed two runs or fewer in each of his last four starts.
On the hill for the visiting Brewers is Shane Drohan, who’s coming off probably his worst outing as a Brewer. Despite that start, a six-run blowup against Minnesota, Drohan has been a valuable piece at the back of the rotation, going out every fifth day and putting the Brewers in position to win more often than not.
Run prevention is easier said than done against the formidable Dodgers lineup, but Drohan does a solid job of limiting hard contact and should be able to keep Milwaukee in the game. The bigger issue recently has been figuring out how to score enough runs to win; the Brewers have scored more than four runs in a game just twice this month.
That task gets even harder tonight with Brice Turang, the team leader in hits, RBIs, and doubles, out of the lineup. Per Milwaukee Journal Sentinel beat reporter Curt Hogg, Turang is “day-to-day” with left knee pain. An MRI earlier today didn’t reveal anything serious, and according to Brewers manager Pat Murphy, there’s a “chance he plays this series.”
With Turang out, David Hamilton will play second base and bat ninth. Jackson Chourio gets the nod in the leadoff spot ahead of Garrett Mitchell, Gary Sánchez — playing first base tonight — and right fielder Jake Bauers. Hitting fifth and playing third base is Andrew Vaughn. Rounding out tonight’s lineup are designated hitter Christian Yelich, catcher William Contreras, shortstop Joey Ortiz, and Hamilton.
Tonight’s game will be available on Brewers.TV, WTMJ 620, and the Brewers Radio Network. First pitch is set for 9:10 p.m.
