Dodgers vs. Brewers NLCS Game 2 picks Monday: It's hard to bet against playoff superstar Yoshinobu Yamamoto

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It looks to be another good pitching matchup today when the Dodgers visit the Brewers in Game 2 of the NLCS

Oct 12, 2026 at 9:00 am ET • 4 min read

My theme of today's story regarding Game 2 of the NLCS between the Dodgers and Brewers from Milwaukee was going to be that batters on both sides are probably so thrilled to not be facing a dominant former/future Cy Young winner in Tarik Skubal or Jacob Misiorowski, as they did in Game 1. But the pitchers for today are pretty darn good, too, in Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Logan Henderson so I'm not expecting offensive fireworks. Bet $5+ on today's MLB games to get $200 in bonus bets at DraftKings Sportsbook:

It's a 5 p.m. ET first pitch, so the good folks in Beer Town will have to cut out of work early to attend, with FOX having the telecast. The weather looks quite nice, so maybe the roof is open at American Family Field. It was for Game 1 – which the Brewers won 2-1. At -137 via DraftKings, the Dodgers are taking 89% of handle and 77% of bets. There's a decent lean on Under 6.5.

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Dodgers vs. Brewers MLB same-game parlay

• Los Angeles money line
• Alt Under 8.5

DraftKings SGP price: +144 (subject to change)

Be aware that these teams don't play, Tuesday, which means both bullpens likely are used quite liberally if necessary. The Dodgers were -160 on the series line entering Game 1 with the Brewers at +130, and now it's Milwaukee -130 and Dodgers +110. The Brewers had lost seven straight playoff games to L.A. before squeaking it out Sunday despite only 4.1 innings from the Miz.

This marks only the eighth time the teams with the two best records in MLB meet in the postseason since it was first expanded in 1995. The last time it happened was five years ago when the 107-victory Giants faced the 106-win Dodgers in the NLDS.

I almost feel sorry for the Brewers having to face Skubal and now Yamamoto, who is establishing himself as a postseason legend. The 28-year-old reigning World Series MVP was 14-9 with a 2.53 ERA during the 2026 regular season and improved to 8-1 with a 2.14 ERA in 11 career playoff appearances. That's after dominating the Braves in Atlanta in Game 3 of the NLDS with one run and four hits allowed over seven and 10 strikeouts (tying his postseason high). He outdueled Chris Sale in that one.

Yamamoto was outstanding in two regular-season outings vs. Milwaukee. The righty allowed a run on four hits over six innings in a home win on Aug. 14 and surrendered a run over seven in a road victory on May 24. He pitched in Milwaukee in Game 2 of last year's NLCS and threw a complete game with three hits and one run allowed.

The SportsLine Projection Model forecasts Yamamoto at 6.5 innings, 6.6 strikeouts, 4.8 hits allowed and 2.6 earned runs. Not many Brewers have good regular-season career splits off him, with Jackson Chourio (2-for-11, HR) and Andrew Vaughn (also 2-for-11, HR) the only ones to go yard off him. Former NL MVP Christian Yelich is 0-for-7 off him with two Ks. 

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I was shocked that Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy didn't play Yelich in the opener, even facing such a tough lefty as Skubal.  I would expect a few lineup changes by Murphy going from facing a lefty in Skubal to a righty in Yamamoto and certainly Yelich should be in there tonight.

As for the Milwaukee righty Henderson, he had a career year at 11-3 with a 2.47 ERA and 0.82 WHIP that would have ranked second in the majors behind Misiorowski (and just ahead of Yamamoto) had Henderson pitched enough innings to qualify. This was the 24-year-old's first full year in the Show and the team treated him cautiously, holding Henderson to 18 starts and 98.1 innings; he also spent some time on the injured list. He and Arizona's Zac Gallen (2019-20) are the only pitchers in the majors since 1893 to allow three runs or fewer in each of their first 23 career regular-season starts.

Henderson's postseason debut was a no-decision at home vs. San Diego in Game 2 of the NLDS, when he allowed two runs (one earned) over five. Henderson was a bit wild early -- perhaps some playoff butterflies -- but then settled in. He was 2-0 this year vs. the Dodgers (not many pitchers can say that) with a minuscule 0.75 ERA in 12.0 innings. L.A. batters hit a collective .128 against him.

The model projects Henderson at 5.4 innings, 5.9 strikeouts, 4.2 hits allowed and 2.2 earned runs. Max Muncy is the only Dodgers player to have hit one out off him. Ohtani has two singles in five at-bats and two Ks. He is clearly not 100% healthy, not having homered since Aug. 18, which is just hard to believe, even having missed some time.

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I just can't go against Yamamoto, even though I rarely bet road teams in any sport. The Brewers also used top reliever Andy Ashby for two innings Sunday, so I'm wondering if he's ready to go tonight. If L.A. hadn't hit into three double plays in Game 1, it probably would have won. Check out other expert picks in the SportsLine daily newsletter.