Brewers Announce Starting Pitcher For Game 1 Vs. Blake Snell, Dodgers

Bullpen games are nothing new...

Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy relieves pitcher Aaron Ashby (26) during the sixth inning of their National League Division Series game against the Chicago Cubs Saturday, October 11, 2025 at American Family Field n Milwaukee, Wisconsin. | Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

One of the biggest differences between the Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers in this week's National League Championship Series will be the pitching game plans.

The Dodgers are living out every team's postseason dream. They've got four studs in their starting rotation, and beginning with Blake Snell in Game 1, they'll roll them out one at a time and let their prized arms go as long as they can before turning to their bullpen.

But the Brewers have only one arm that they truly feel confident throwing a max-length start, and Freddy Peralta won't be rested enough to go until Tuesday's Game 2. So on Monday, it's back to familiar territory -- the bullpen game.

Brewers announce Aaron Ashby as Game 2 starter

Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Aaron Ashby (26) pitches to Chicago Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner (2) during the first inning of the National League Division Series game at American Family Field in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Oct. 6, 2025. | Mike De Sisti / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

On Monday afternoon, the Brewers announced lefty reliever Aaron Ashby as the "starting pitcher" (or more accurately, opener) for Game 1 against a potent Dodgers lineup. He pitched in all but one of Milwaukee's four games against the Chicago Cubs in the division series and got the start in Game 2.

Using Ashby as the opener famously did not work out for manager Pat Murphy last Monday, but fortunately, his offense quickly erased a 3-0 deficit that came from Seiya Suzuki's monster home run in the top of the first.

Ashby will be expecting to face Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani as the first batter of the game, and that matchup has been Advantage: Ohtani. In three career plate appearances (all this season), the three-time Most Valuable Player is 2-for-2 (two singles) and a walk against Ashby.

The Brewers have used a reliever as an opener in three of their six postseason games to this point, including Monday. And Quinn Priester, the only starter to take the ball besides Peralta, was removed from Game 3 last Wednesday after just two-thirds of an inning.

Ashby is one of the Brewers' lefty-killers, and he'll be trusted to neutralize Ohtani and Freddy Freeman early in this one. But every arm outside of Peralta should be ready at a moment's notice, because it takes a full team effort to dethrone the reigning champs.

More MLB: Brewers Announce NLCS Roster, Including Major Pitching Staff Change