Brewers Snubbed, Left Behind Two Other NL Contenders As Dodgers' Biggest Competition

The Milwaukee Brewers are increasing their lead atop the MLB standings, entering Monday at 74-44 and 2 1/2 games ahead of the AL's Tampa Bay Rays (71-46).

The Los Angeles Dodgers, meanwhile, have been scuffling, going just 1-7 in August and have fallen four games behind the Brewers in the standings. This, despite landing two-time reigning AL Cy Young award winner Tarik Skubal ahead of the MLB trade deadline.

Los Angeles is still the two-time defending World Series champion though and it would be foolish to count out Shohei Ohtani and company.

With Milwaukee racing toward possibly finishing the regular season with the best record in baseball for the second straight year, many presume that the Brewers are the Dodgers' biggest threat to a three-peat.

That's not the case, according to Fox Sports' Deesha Thosar and Rowan Kavner.

Thosar and Kavner were prompted with the question: "What team is best-equipped the Dodgers?" and both MLB writers answered teams other than the Brew Crew.

"In the NL, I’ll go with the Phillies," Thosar said. "Philly has Zack Wheeler, Cristopher Sanchez, and Jesus Luzardo as a formidable top three in its starting rotation."

"The Phillies (despite how they’re playing lately) and Cubs (who just swept the Dodgers in Chicago) stand out most to me as the biggest threat to the Dodgers’ three-peat, if either can get the Dodgers in a short series when the depth of L.A.’s rotation won’t be as big of a factor and more randomness can come into play," Kavner added. "If I had to choose one, I guess I’d lean toward Philadelphia based on what we saw last October. That NLDS was a lot closer than the Dodgers’ 3-1 series victory might have indicated. Having starting pitchers Cristopher Sánchez, Zack Wheeler and Jesús Luzardo available in a short series gives them a chance against anybody, and the addition of Luis Arraez adds an important element to an offense that has struggled to reach base consistently. "

Brewers' Underwhelming Trade Deadline, Past Postseason Failures Could Haunt Them

Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Jake Bauers and relief pitchers Abner Uribe and Dl Hall — Aug 9, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Jake Bauers (9) is doused with water by relief pitcher Abner Uribe (45) and relief pitcher Dl Hall (37) after a game-winning hit against the Minnesota Twins in tenth innings at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Michael McLoone-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

While Milwaukee has yet to win a World Series title and hasn't been to the Fall Classic since 1982, both the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies have had experience on the big stage in the past decade.

The Cubs broke their Curse of the Billy Goat by winning their first championship in 108 years in 2016, while the Phillies won it all in 2008 and won the NL pennant in 2022.

Kavner said that the Brewers' playoff struggles could continue this fall.

"I think the Cubs -- with an MVP contender in center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong plus lineup depth behind him, excellent defense and now pitching reinforcements at the deadline -- will have a better shot at knocking off the Dodgers than the Brewers," he wrote. "As we saw in last year’s NLCS, Milwaukee lacked the star power to contend on the biggest stage against L.A. And even with Cy Young favorite Jacob Misiorowski reaching an entirely different level this year, I don’t see that changing for a team that ranks last in MLB in home runs despite its continued regular season dominance."

Milwaukee fell short in its pursuit of Skubal ahead of the MLB trade deadline and settled on the likes of Antonio Senzatela, Dustin May and JoJo Romero.

While neither the Cubs nor Phillies landed Skubal, both teams picked up important trade acquisitions.

Chicago added Clay Holmes and Kevin Gausman to give it a loaded starting rotation, while Philadelphia brought in All-Star infielder Luis Arraez.

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