Jake Bauers is the Key to Brewers Finishing Off Dodgers

Image courtesy of IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Brewers Video

Outside of Jacob Misiorowski in the rotation, the Brewers don’t have a full-fledged superstar on their team. They have a few players who are just below that line, though, and that fraternity has a new member this year. The Crew took Games 1 and 2 of the NLCS over the Dodgers and are on the doorstep of their first National League pennant. The linchpin of the lineup that might finally get that monkey off their back is Jake Bauers.

Game 1's Recipe for Success Was Not Sustainable

Milwaukee edged out Los Angeles 2-1 in the NLCS opener. While a Brice Turang equalizer of a solo homer, a Luis Lara go-ahead base hit and a lockdown bullpen can clearly lead to a win, it’s not feasible to expect the Dodgers to score just one run a game throughout the series.

The Brewers’ offense was second in MLB with 5.1 runs per game, but the Dodgers weren’t far behind, at 4.9 (fourth-best). Playoff games have a reputation for being more pitcher-friendly, as there are more breaks built in for arms to stay fresh, but Los Angeles still managed to score 14 runs (3.5 per game) in a 3-1 series win over the Atlanta Braves to get here. They scored four times in Game 2, too. The Brewers needed to hit well to win that game, and they'll need to do so again to get to the World Series.

Bauers’s Career Year

That Bauers drew a crucial walk (on 12 pitches, against the great Yoshinobu Yamamoto) is one of the most improbable pages in the storybook of this playoff run to date—unless you've been paying close attention to his breakout 2026 campaign. He was on five teams over the course of six years, but has since found some stability in Milwaukee. Entering the 2026 season, Bauers had 58 home runs over 613 career games; last season brought the first real evidence that he could hit enough to hold onto a full-time role.

This year, though, the 31-year-old slugger has hit a new gear. His 28 round-trippers and 86 runs batted in set career highs by wide margins, as Bauers went from a fringe-starter to an everyday contributor with 144 games played. He posted a .389 on-base percentage, playing the Brewers’ brand of baseball to perfection and serving as a true reinforcer in the middle of the lineup. Every championship aspirant needs a thumper. Bauers, who paced the team in homers and had 50 extra-base hits, is just that.

Numbers Don’t Lie

So where did this power surge come for Bauers, and how is he doing it? For one, he’s working with the same major-league coaching staff for the third consecutive year. Before this stint in the Cream City, he hasn’t had that luxury of continuity.

Take a look under the hood, and he isn’t doing this by accident. According to Baseball Savant, Bauers is hitting the baseball on the screws. He ranked in the top 10 percent of major-league hitters in hard-hit percentage, average exit velocity, barrel percentage, sweet-spot percentage and bat speed. The last of those cruised up to a career-best 76.5 miles per hour this year, but one of the real keys is that his launch angle is down to 12.1 degrees. Two years ago, it was at 22.6°. What were popouts or deep flyouts last year more often got out of the ballpark this season, as Bauers found the right trajectory more often.

The Knockout Blow

What makes Bauers so important to the Brewers’ success? Look no further than last year’s NLCS showdown, a 4-0 sweep for the Dodgers. Shohei Ohtani went 3-for-3 with three homers and a walk in Game 4.

Milwaukee can be pesky, and Bauers can be part of that. He kept the line moving in Game 2, and it was Christian Yelich who delivered the scoreboard-flipping hit. Sooner or later, though, there’s going to come a point where they have to put up a crooked number and swing momentum to put the Dodgers away with authority. The most efficient way to do that is through one big swing, and Bauers is the most likely candidate to get that job done.