The top two teams from the regular season face off tonight in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series in Milwaukee. The 103-win Brewers, after beating the Padres in four games in the NLDS, will hand the ball to NL favorite Cy Young. Jacob Misiorowski. The 100-win Dodgers, having also eliminated the Braves in four games, will go with the southpaw. Tarik Skubal.
Los Angeles is starting with 13 pitchers this time, one more than they had in the NLDS. The new addition is Justin Wrobleski. The 6’1″ lefty pitched a career-high 140 innings with a solid 3.66 ERA, 41.5% ground ball rate and impeccable 5.4% walk rate. He was named an All-Star thanks to his strong first half, although he fell off a bit as the season progressed. Wrobleski had a 6.13 ERA from July 21 and particularly struggled with the long ball, giving up 11 home runs in four starts from July 28 to August 15. After spending two weeks on the IL for left forearm inflammation, Wrobleski was increasingly used out of the bullpen and seemed to be settling in there. This will be his role in this series, in the role of Skubal, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake SnellAnd Tyler Glasnow have the rotation more than covered.
Adding Wrobleski claims bench player casualty Hyeseong Kim. He was a somewhat surprising inclusion to the NLDS roster, and he ultimately appeared only once in the series as a defensive replacement late in Game 4. This had in part to do with Miguel Rojas not being available off the bench. Rojas left Game 3 early due to a back injury and later received a cortisone injection. He remains on the NLCS roster and will primarily be used off the bench against left-handed pitchers.
Meanwhile, the Brewers roster is unchanged from the NLDS. They used Misiorowski, Logan Henderson, Dustin MayAnd Robert Gasser as the starter and will follow the same rotation this time around, with Henderson likely to start in Game 2. Henderson was the only one of the four to last five innings in his start. May lasted only three innings in Game 3, while Misiorowski and Gasser each went four innings.
The Dodgers had a little better luck with Skubal and Yamamoto combining for 13 innings, although Snell and Glasnow only combined for 8 1/3 frames between Games 2 and 4. Both teams’ bullpens should be decently rested after three days off, so it will be interesting to see how aggressively they are used in a seven-game series.
On offense, the Brewers will look for more from the second baseman Brice Turang. He went just 2 for 16 with two walks in the NLDS, his only hits being singles in Games 3 and 4. Cooper Pratt And Jackson Chourio weren’t as bad, going 7-for-31 in this series. Chourio was at least successful in the clutch, delivering a game-tying home run in Game 1, a single in Game 2, as well as an RBI single in Game 4. More consistency and clutch play from these three will be key to defeating the Dodgers, who swept Milwaukee in four games in last year’s NLCS.
As for the Dodgers’ roster, the biggest question mark is whether Shohei Ohtani can change things. Ohtani’s left knee has been bothering him since July and preventing him from throwing ever since. He also spent time on IL in September for right bicep inflammation. He was just 2-for-13 with two singles in the NLDS, although he did manage to steal a base, so the hope is that he’s in a better position health-wise for the remainder of the postseason.
Complete NLCS rosters for both teams are provided below.
Brewers
Seekers: William Contreras, Gary Sanchez
Infielders: Jake Bauers, David Hamilton, Joey OrtizCooper Pratt, Brice Turang, Andrew Vaughn
Outfielders: Jackson Chourio, Sal Frelick, Luis Lara, Garrett Mitchell, Christian Yélich
Left-handed pitchers: Aaron Ashby, Shane DrohanRobert Gasser, DL room, Kyle Harrison, JoJo Romero
Right-handed pitchers: Logan Henderson, Dustin May, Trevor MegillJacob Misiorowski, Chad Patrick, Antonio Senzatela, Abner Uribe
Dodgers
Seekers: Hunter Feduccia, Will Smith
Infielders: Bets on Mookie, Freddie Freeman, Max MuncyMiguel Rojas
Voltigeurs: Jose De Paula, Teoscar Hernández, Andy Pages, Kyle Tucker
Utility drives: Tommy Edman, Kiké Hernández
Designated hitter: Shohei Ohtani
Left-handed pitchers: Kris Bubic, Tanner ScottTarik Skubal, Blake Snell, Alex VesiaJustin Wrobleski
Right-handed pitchers: Edwin DiazTyler Glasnow, Edgardo Henriquez, Evan Phillips, Roki Sasaki, Brock StewartYoshinobu Yamamoto
Photo courtesy of Michael McLoone, Imagn Images
Gn sports
