The Milwaukee Brewers will play either the Cleveland Guardians or the Tampa Bay Rays in the World Series, but regardless of who they play, their southpaws will be at a huge advantage.
The Brewers dominated the Dodgers in the National League Championship Series, and a lot of the credit goes to the pitching staff. Specifically, the Brewers' array of elite left-handed pitchers has dominated in the postseason.
On a pitching staff that features Jacob Misiorowski and Logan Henderson, it's been the bullpen and Robert Gasser that have been the biggest story. Gasser has had the two best starts by Brewers starting pitchers this postseason, and left-handers Aaron Ashby, JoJo Romero and DL Hall have been phenomenal.
How good have they been? Well, the Dodgers had the sixth-best wRC+ and the fifth-best OPS against left-handed pitching. The Brewers' group of Gasser, Ashby, Romero and Hall combined to allow just seven hits in 17 2/3 innings. They struck out 13 batters as well.
The Guardians ranked 25th in wRC+ against lefties and 27th in OPS against left-handed pitching in the regular season. The Rays ranked 26th in wRC+ and 25th in OPS. If the Dodgers couldn't crack the code against the Brewers' lefties, the Guardians and Rays might be doomed.
The Rays have been better against lefties in the postseason, but the Guardians' struggles have continued.
The Brewers have relied on their bullpen a ton during this run, and their group of lefties combined with power right-handers like Trevor Megill, Abner Uribe and Jacob Misiorowski make them a tough team to face.