Teams that know each other well—having met in this same stage a year ago—the Dodgers and Brewers open the National League Championship Series with a battle on the mound that’s unparalleled. On one side, one of the more accomplished current stars on the mound in Tarik Skubal for the Dodgers; on the other, the likely future Cy Young winner, Jacob Misiorowski.
Both teams did what was expected of them in advancing in the NLDS, but neither had what you’d describe as an easy time. Heading into such an important
moment, these two organizations will feel battle-tested—not only for what they’ve faced in the grand scheme of things over these past two seasons, but in particular for how hard they were pushed by the Braves and Padres.
As far as the Dodgers’ choice to roll with Skubal as their leading starter in this postseason, the benefits of having Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitching second in a seven-game series have been well-documented—integral to this decision. Last time a Cy Young-winner left-handed ace opened a playoff series against the Brewers; things worked out well, as Blake Snell dominated in Milwaukee to kick off last year’s NLCS.
Counting the regular season and playoffs, the Brewers take the field for Game 1 of the NLCS, having won each of Misiorowski’s last 10 starts, including one at Dodger Stadium in which he tossed six innings of one-run ball. Dominant anywhere, The Miz had as many earned runs allowed at home (16) as he had starts (16) in the regular season.
Beyond the imponderable that surrounds any baseball game, especially in the playoffs, anything besides a pitcher’s duel here would be downright shocking. There is really no way to put it. First and foremost, it’ll be about the small victories for these two offenses, forcing an extra pitch or two, and putting a bit of pressure on the basepaths—more so the Brewers. Misiorowski had some issues with his pitch count in Game 1 of the NLDS, exiting after four as he was averaging 22 pitches per inning versus the Friars.
NLCS Game 1 info
- Teams: No. 2 seed Dodgers at No. 1 seed Brewers
- Series: First game
- Ballpark: American Family Field, Milwaukee
- Start time: 5:16 p.m.
- TV: FOX (Joe Davis, John Smoltz, Ken Rosenthal, Tom Verducci, and Tom Rinaldi)
- National radio: ESPN Radio (Jon Sciambi, Doug Glanville)
- Local English radio: AM 570 (Stephen Nelson, Rick Monday)
- Local Spanish radio: KTNQ 1020 AM (José Mota, Luis Cruz)
