As many expected all year, the Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers are set to face off in the National League Championship Series.
Just like last year, the Brewers are the No. 1 seed after winning the most games in all of baseball. However, that did not stop the Dodgers from sweeping them last year. What will be different this time around? Well, the Brewers' pitching staff is in a much better spot, but it remains to be seen whether it's good enough to beat the Dodgers.
The Brewers' four-man rotation features Jacob Misiorowski, Logan Henderson, Dustin May and Robert Gasser. Meanwhile, the Dodgers have Tarik Skubal, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow. The Dodgers seem to have the edge agains, but the Brewers are much closer to them than last year. The Brewers bullpen is much better than the Dodgers' and has been exceptional in October. However, how each team's starting pitching does could ultimately decide the series.
It won't matter how good the Brewers bullpen is if it is overused because of short starts. On the flip side, the Brewers won't be able to attack the Dodgers bullpen if starters go deep into games.
Although pitching matchups have not been announced yet, here's what they could look like in the first four games:
- Game 1: Jacob Misiorowski vs. Tarik Skubal
- Game 2: Logan Henderson vs. Yoshinobu Yamamoto
- Game 3: Robert Gasser vs. Blake Snell
- Game 4: Dustin May vs. Tyler Glasnow
After Game 4, things could get tricky for the Brewers. Assuming Misiorowski is back in line for Game 5, he would be working on four days of rest, which he has not done often this year. The Brewers could go with a bullpen day, but the series has to get there first. The issue with saving Misiorowski for Game 6 is that they would not have him for Game 7 most likely. He could work on four days rest and then short rest for Game 7 if he started Game 5.
Game 1 is the matchup that every baseball fan will want to tune in for. Misiorowski is going to win the National League Cy Young Award, and Skubal has won the last two American League Cy Young Awards. It will be a race to the bullpens, and it will likely be a low-scoring game.
Game 2 will feature the Brewers' young star, Henderson, who was phenomenal against the Dodgers in his last start against them. For the Dodgers, the purpose of starting Yamamoto in Game 3 against the Atlanta Braves was so he could be on his normal five days of rest for Game 2 of the NLCS. He would then be able to go in Game 6 on normal rest as well.
Robert Gasser will likely jump up a spot in the rotation after outplaying May in the National League Division Series and pitching well against the Dodgers in the regular season.