The NLCS series kicks off tonight with the winner claiming the National League pennant and a place in the World Series. The divisional series were both quite one sided with the Brewers sweeping the Rockies and the Dodgers comfortably beating the Braves 3-1. This should be a lot more competitive and they match up surprisingly well with neither side having a clear advantage overall personnel wise. However their history couldn’t be more different.
Milwaukee may have won 11 straight games including their recent sweep, however they have only been sporadic post season participants, with this seasons tie breaker win being only the 4th Divisional title in their 50 year existence. Their sole World Series appearance was in 1982 (a 4-3 defeat to the St Louis Cardinals).
This compares to the Dodgers who have won their division for the last six seasons running. They were finalists last year and overall have been in 19 World Series (including as the Brooklyn Dodgers). However their last win was back in 1988.
On the field they measure up well with both having quality players in key positions, however it is on the mound where they differ the most. The Dodgers have one of the best starting rotations in Baseball having a starting quartet of Clayton Kershaw, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Walker Buehler and Rich Hill. These guys had an average combined 2.82 ERA this year which is staggering. By comparison the Brewers will start with Gio Gonzalez who’s stats are good but not great (4.21 ERA and a overall losing record as a starter). Next up will probably be either Wade Miley or Jhoulys Chacin again solid starters but none of them could break into the Los Angeles rotation. The Dodgers are so stacked with starters that they have even sent Kenta Maeda & Alex Wood to the Bullpen as reinforcements. Both would probably have been considered for Milwaukee’s rotation.
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This is a big advantage but you have to finish games and this is where the Brewers have an edge as their Bullpen is excellent. They can call on a number of quality arms including Josh Hader, Jeremy Jeffress, Corey Knebel, Brandon Woodruff and Corbin Burnes, a group have a combined 2.54 ERA average. More importantly they are averaging over 1.33 strikeouts per inning, which comes in handy in high pressure games. If Milwaukee’s starters can keep the games close then they should have a good chance to win.
Overall we picked this match up when making our pre-playoff predictions and from what we saw in the ALDS games we are sticking with the Brewers, although it will be close and they will probably come up short in the World Series Final.
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