Milwaukee won 102 games this season. Los Angeles won 99. The two best teams in the National League meet in the NLCS starting Sunday at 8 p.m. ET at American Family Field, and the Brewers have home field.
They have also seen this movie. The Dodgers swept them out of the NLCS last year.
The Schedule Favors Milwaukee, Barely
Game 1 is Sunday night in Milwaukee. Game 2 is Monday at 5 p.m. ET. The series then shifts to Los Angeles for Game 3 on Wednesday at 8 p.m. and Game 4 on Thursday at 9 p.m. FOX and FS1 have the coverage.
Home field matters here more than usual, because these teams are close enough that two games in a loud building is a real edge. Milwaukee earned it over 162 games.
Jacob Misiorowski is listed to start Game 1 for the Brewers. Los Angeles had not confirmed a Game 1 starter as of Friday, which is less a mystery than a luxury. The Dodgers have had rotation depth all year and no obligation to tip it early.
Milwaukee Got Here the Hard Way
The Brewers beat San Diego 3-1 in the NLDS, closing it out at Petco Park. Los Angeles handled Atlanta 3-1, finishing at Truist Park on Wednesday.
Both teams are rested and both teams are coming off road clinchers. There is no fatigue argument available to either side, which means this comes down to pitching matchups and whether Milwaukee’s offense travels.
That last part is the Brewers’ real question. They won 102 games with a deep, balanced lineup rather than a collection of stars, and lineups like that are the ones that go quiet for four days in October.
The Revenge Framing Is Lazy, But It Is Also the Point
Nobody in that Milwaukee clubhouse is going to say this is about last year. It is about last year. You do not get swept in a Championship Series by the same opponent and treat the rematch as just another series.
The Dodgers have the postseason pedigree, the payroll and the recent head-to-head result. Milwaukee has the better record, home field and a roster that has beaten expectations for three straight seasons.
Take the Brewers in six. Not because the Dodgers are overrated, but because a 102-win team with home field and a chip on its shoulder is worth more than the market gives it, and Milwaukee has spent the entire season being underestimated by people who should know better by now.
One factor nobody is talking about: Misiorowski in Game 1 means Milwaukee is willing to lead with power rather than experience. That is a confident choice against a Dodgers lineup that punishes mistakes, and it tells you the Brewers are not planning to play this series conservatively.
Seven games between the two best teams in the league. Baseball could do a lot worse in mid-October.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.