Dodgers Beat Braves, Set NLCS Rematch With Brewers as Three-Peat March Continues

The Los Angeles Dodgers are two steps closer to history. A 4-1 win over the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday night closed out the NL Division Series 3-1 and sent the defending champions back to the National League Championship Series, where a familiar foe is waiting.

The Dodgers will face the Milwaukee Brewers in an NLCS rematch. The Brewers punched their ticket by beating the San Diego Padres 3-1, clinching the series with a 3-1 win in Game 4 in San Diego on Oct. 7. Center fielder Garrett Mitchell preserved the victory with a wall catch on Manny Machado's deep drive, one of the defining defensive plays of this postseason.

The NLCS schedule is set: Game 1 sends the Dodgers to American Family Field in Milwaukee on Sunday, Oct. 11. Games 1 and 2 will be played in Milwaukee, with Games 3 through 5 shifting to Los Angeles.

The three-peat march

The Dodgers are chasing a third consecutive World Series title, and the confidence in their clubhouse is unmistakable. Players have been wearing T-shirts that read "Take October," and third baseman Max Muncy put the team's October comfort in simple terms after the series win, telling the New York Post:

"I think it just goes to this clubhouse, man."

It is a team that has learned how to win this month. Back-to-back championships have turned October into a routine, and the Dodgers played the Braves series like a team that expected to be playing in late October all along.

The Brewers' answer

Milwaukee will not be an easy out. The Brewers dispatched a dangerous Padres team in four games, and Mitchell's catch on Machado showed a team making the plays that decide postseason series. The Brewers' pitching held San Diego in check, and their defense has been a weapon all October.

Home-field advantage for the first two games gives Milwaukee a real opening. The Dodgers have been the better team on paper all season, but the Brewers have spent this October proving that paper does not play the games.

What to watch

The rematch adds a layer of history to the series. These two clubs have met before on this stage, and both know exactly what the other brings. The Dodgers bring October experience and championship pedigree. The Brewers bring home field, momentum and a defense that is already producing postseason highlights.

Game 1 on Sunday in Milwaukee will set the tone. If the Dodgers take the first two on the road, their path to a third straight pennant looks short. If the Brewers hold serve at home, the series returns to Los Angeles with the defending champions under real pressure.