The Milwaukee Brewers won Game 1 of the National League Championship Series, but the job is far from done.
At no point in this postseason have the Brewers thrown a pitch in a game that was not within a two-run margin. Every game has been close, and pitching and defense have been at the forefront. Luckily for the Brewers, their offense has done enough and their defense is elite. Joey Ortiz is a vacuum at third base, and he was one of the best hitters on the team in the second half.
With how close these games have been for the Brewers, Ortiz and his glove need to be in the lineup. The only problem is that his bat has cooled off. On June 14, Ortiz had a .561 OPS and a .207 batting average. In his final 74 games of the regular season, he slashed .310/.348/.491 with 21 extra-base hits. He became an everyday player essentially, but David Hamilton would still get occasional starts at third base when manager Pat Murphy thought the opposing starter's pitch shapes did not favor Ortiz.
The Brewers were hoping Ortiz would continue his hitting ways in October, knowing they needed to keep his glove in the lineup. However, he is 1-for-13 in the postseason. Even with the Dodgers' offense scuffling, the Brewers know they're going to need more from their offense, and Ortiz was a big reason they were able to score in bunches in the second half.
Christian Yelich and William Contreras were great in the National League Division Series. Jackson Chourio, Garrett Mitchell, Jake Bauers, Sal Frelick and Cooper Pratt all made big contributions in that series as well. However, the Dodgers' pitching staff is on another level, and it's going to be even harder to score runs.
The Brewers saw left-handed hitter Brice Turang come up with a big swing against Dodgers southpaw Tarik Skubal, but the Brewers have another tough matchup against a southpaw coming up in Blake Snell. The right-handed hitters have to step up, and it starts with Ortiz. The Brewers can't platoon at third base without sacrificing a ton on defense.
Ortiz proved that he can be a good hitter in the regular season, and it's hard to imagine the Brewers getting past the Dodgers without Ortiz stepping up slightly at the plate in October. Production from the bottom of the order is going to be important in this series.