This will be quite the interesting National League Championship Series as two really good pitching teams will have to face off against two excellent hitting sides which could set up an incredibly epic series. The Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers will square off as the Brewers will be looking to win the National League pennant for the first time and make their first World Series appearance since 1982 while the Dodgers are making their third consecutive appearance in the NLCS and hoping to repeat as NL champions. With that being said, let’s take a look at the series.
Milwaukee Brewers
The Brew Crew are coming into this series with a lot of momentum as they have won 11 straight games, however, what’s more remarkable is that their pitching staff managed to shut down a powerful hitting Colorado Rockies by only allowing two runs in the three games that were played. They need to keep that going as the Dodgers have a lot of big bats in their lineup. However, the key will be their bullpen as once they’re handed a lead, it’s a pretty safe bet that Milwaukee will win the game with arms like Joakim Soria, Josh Hader, Corey Knebel, and Jeremy Jeffress in there. As mentioned in the NLDS article, they have a lot of weapons on offense and have a ton of depth that they should be able to score some runs to help win the game. However, their rotation needs to continue to pitch well and their lineup needs to continue to produce if they want to win, but they almost feel like the complete package of the National League.
Los Angeles Dodgers
While Milwaukee’s pitching has been phenomenal, the Dodgers’ pitching staff has been almost as good as they shut out the Atlanta Braves in the first two games of the series and then allowed just two in the series clinching win. On paper, they do have more talent in their pitching staff, but the key will be for them to match the Brewers’ staff. Offense should not be an issue as they’ve got big bats like Cody Bellinger, Manny Machado, Justin Turner, and Yasiel Puig. Los Angeles undoubtedly has the better offense and they need to show why their offense is so potent and so deep in this series if they want to reclaim their title as National League Champions. They have the best pitcher in the league in Clayton Kershaw leading their stacked rotation and the hope is that the Dodgers can take advantage of that. Yes, their record is “worse” than last year’s, but from May 15 and on, the Dodgers went 76-45, the best in the NL in that span.
Notes: Dodgers won the season series 4-3.
Predictions:
James Rowe: Brewers. I personally think this will go seven games, but I feel like the Brewers are the best side at this point. Yes, the Dodgers are more talented despite being even in bench depth and defense with Milwaukee, I just think the Brewers are riding a momentum that will be hard to stop. I just hope it’s a great series.
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