Dodgers, Brewers to clash in NLCS
MILWAUKEE – As they chase the goal of a National League pennant, the Brewers and Dodgers share plenty of commonalities.
Both rank highly among the most analytically driven clubs, helmed by sharp young executives.
The Brewers are owned by a Los Angeles resident, Mark Attanasio, and boast a trio of former All-Stars who hail from SoCal.
Neither club likely would be in this NL Championship Series were it not for a bevy of trade acquisitions, with Manny Machado leading the Dodgers’ cavalry and Mike Moustakas lending the Brewers some late-season gravitas.
The manner both teams will chase that pennant, however, will vary greatly in an NLCS that on paper would favor the Dodgers, though it’s the Brewers who haven’t lost since Sept. 22.
A look at the first playoff meeting between the clubs:
Game 1, Friday – Clayton Kershaw (9-5, 2.73 ERA during regular season) vs. Gio Gonzalez (10-11, 4.21), 8:09 ET, Miller Park
Game 2, Saturday – Walker Buehler (8-5, 2.62) or Hyun-jin Ryu vs. Wade Miley (5-2, 2.57), 4:09 ET, Miller Park
Game 3, Monday – Buehler or Ryu vs. Jhoulys Chacin (15-8, 3.50), 7:39 ET, Dodger Stadium
Game 4, Tuesday – Rich Hill (11-5, 3.66) vs. TBA, 9:09 ET, Dodger Stadium
Game 5*, Wednesday – 5:05 ET, Dodger Stadium
Game 6*, Oct. 19 – 8:39 ET, Miller Park
Game 7*, Oct. 20 – 9:09 ET, Miller Park
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts proved last postseason how aggressive he can be running a pitching staff in a playoff environment.
Craig Counsell, his Brewers counterpart, might reply with, “You haven’t seen anything yet.”
The Brewers swept the Rockies in the NL Division Series while getting just 122⁄3 innings from their starting pitchers, much of that by design. Jhoulys Chacin, their de facto ace, hasn’t completed at least six innings since Aug. 31. Lefty Wade Miley carried a shutout into the fifth inning of the NLDS clincher but was out before he could qualify for the win. And Wade Miley figures to be on an even shorter leash against a Dodgers lineup that will throw a bevy of right-handers at any southpaw.
And now Counsell pulls out a significant surprise: The lefty Gio Gonzalez, who did not pitch at all in the NLDS and made just five starts after an Aug. 31 trade from Washington, will get the ball in Game 1.
The Dodgers’ dominance of Atlanta in their NLDS was so thorough Roberts didn’t have to show many cards: Clayton Kershaw pitched eight scoreless innings and Hyun-jin Ryu seven, giving up six combined hits. Given Kershaw’s diminished velocity and plunging strikeout rates (8.6 per nine innings, compared to 10.4 the previous two seasons), it will be interesting how long the vet will be allowed to go if the Brewers show greater resistance than Atlanta.