Milwaukee and San Diego have surged as the two hottest NL clubs, rewriting postseason math with strong pitching, elite defense, and a willingness to lean into power in a power-driven era. The Brewers and Padres aren’t built on home runs, but they’re converting balls in play into outs at a top-tier rate and riding deep bullpens and wipeout front-line arms toward October.

Power matters more than last decade’s small-ball bias in the current postseason math. The Brewers have quietly added Andrew Vaughn and Brice Turang to lengthen their lineup and boost slug, while San Diego’s late-season upgrades Ramon Laureano and Ryan O’Hearn bolster the middle of the order and provide plate discipline upfront. The Padres also rely on trio Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr., and Gavin Sheets to supply the bulk of their power, while Jackson Merrill’s resurgence hints at upside on the mound.

This matchup isn’t about fluff; it’s about a shift in how teams win in October. The data show home runs correlate more strongly with World Series success than avoiding strikeouts, and the 2025 landscape favors power with contact. The Astros, Yankees, Dodgers, and Mariners are still poised to capitalize on that, but Milwaukee and San Diego are proving you can win with a composite of speed, defense, and big blasts when the lineup breathes and the bullpen holds the late innings.

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In MLB action, Monday features a Brewers-Cubs showdown and Padres-Giants in a doubleheader. Nestor Cortes is listed for San Diego and Robbie Ray for San Francisco, with Manny Machado favored to homer at +290 in the Padres-Giants tilt. DraftKings ties the promotions across both leagues, offering the same bonus structure and Sunday Ticket savings.

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Dodgers rally behind a relentless bullpen and timely power to clinch the weekend sweep of the Padres in Dodger Stadium. Betts delivered the go-ahead blast in the eighth, setting off a two-run swing that Vesia finished off in the ninth. Freeman opened the scoring with a three-run homer and Pages followed with a solo shot while also making a crucial defensive play, and the bullpen—seven relievers strong—held the line over 10 innings as L.A. stretched its NL West lead.

The skid that briefly knocked them off course is fading as the Dodgers leaned on a mix of veterans and up-tempo youngsters. Hernandez and Conforto supplied multi-hit weekends while Betts moved past a rough stretch to drive in the decisive run. San Diego, once humming, was swept for the first time in weeks, and the Dodgers used the weekend to reinforce their identity: depth, late-game execution, and a willingness to pass the torch when needed.

It all reinforced the Dodgers’ core: a bullpen that can grind through high-leverage spots, a lineup capable of exploding early, and a manager who trusts his players to seize moments. The Padres, meanwhile, left with more questions than answers as the two teams prepare for a late-season showdown elsewhere and a reminder that this division race remains squared away by the club that can sustain pressure best.

Clayton Kershaw, at 37 with a battered body, anchored the Dodgers in a tense win over the Padres, six innings of two hits and one run lifting Los Angeles into a first-place NL West tie. He spat through trouble, set the tone for a series that matters down the stretch, and stayed in the middle of the postseason rotation chatter with a 7-2 mark and a 3.01 ERA.

Los Angeles rode defensive plays at the corners and a late bullpen save to seal it, with Kershaw delivering the kind of big-game calm that fantasy managers crave in frontline starters. The win also underscored the Dodgers’ plan to protect their veteran by keeping him on a measured leash as October approaches.

Padres star power supplied the drama: Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado featured prominently, and Ramon Laureano’s long homer for San Diego was a rare bright spot amid a series that added a fresh chapter to the West’s roiling rivalry. Shohei Ohtani and Teoscar Hernández contributed on the Dodgers’ side, with Hernández delivering a seventh-inning homer that proved decisive, while Laureano’s curveball-miss kept the tension high.

In a wider sense, this opener reestablished old-school baseball energy: pitching, defense, and competitive edge. It set the tone for a brutal two-week stretch where the Dodgers and Padres collide six times, each win carrying postseason vibes and fantasy implications as Kershaw and his peers navigate a crowded playoff race.