Last night, the National League (NL) Championship Series began with Game 1 between the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers and the Milwaukee Brewers.
Last year, the Dodgers swept the Brewers in this best-of-seven series before defeating the Toronto Blue Jays in the World Series. Hoping for a different outcome this fall, the Brewers got off to a good start, rallying for a 2-1 win in front of their frenzied home fans. Milwaukee’s bullpen prevented the Dodgers from retaking the lead after starter Jacob Misiorowski failed to complete five innings.
Today, the Dodgers will attempt to even the series against the Brewers, while the Tampa Bay Rays host the Cleveland Guardians in Game 1 of the American League (AL) Championship Series.
Dodgers at Brewers (5:00 PM EDT)
Seeking to avoid returning to Los Angeles trailing 0-2 in the series, the Dodgers will turn to right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who was named World Series MVP last year after throwing 2 2/3 innings of relief on zero days’ rest to help his team win Game 7 in extra innings.
Following another strong regular season, Yamamoto remains Los Angeles’ postseason ace. He earned the win in Game 2 of the NLDS against the Atlanta Braves, allowing one run on four hits over seven innings while striking out 10. This evening, the Japanese right-hander will look to record his second consecutive quality start.
The Brewers will counter with rookie right-hander Logan Henderson, who has considerably less postseason experience than his counterpart. Henderson earned the No. 2 spot in Milwaukee’s playoff rotation after finishing the regular season with an 11-3 record and a 2.47 ERA in 18 starts.
He took the mound in Game 2 of the NLDS against the San Diego Padres and received a no-decision after allowing two runs, one earned, on two hits over five innings. It will be interesting to see how Henderson fares this afternoon against the Dodgers’ star-studded lineup.
Guardians at Rays (8:00 PM EDT)
In Tampa Bay, the AL East champion Rays and AL Central champion Guardians will square off for the AL pennant.
The Rays are rested and ready after sweeping the New York Yankees in the Division Series, while the Guardians’ heavily taxed pitching staff had just one day off following a comeback victory over the Chicago White Sox. Cleveland won the final three games, including two in Chicago before clinching the series at home in a winner-take-all Game 5.
Tampa Bay’s ace right-hander Drew Rasmussen will make his second start of the postseason, looking to pitch as well as he did in his team’s playoff opener. Rasmussen was nearly perfect in that outing, holding the New York Yankees to one hit over eight innings while striking out 10. Pitching at home against a Guardians offense that often struggles to score, Rasmussen could once again set the tone for the Rays with a dominant performance.
With both Parker Messick and Gavin Williams unavailable after starting the final two games of the previous round, the Guardians will turn to left-hander Foster Griffin.
The southpaw, who the team acquired from the Washington Nationals at the trade deadline, will make his first career postseason start. Griffin pitched once in the Division Series, earning the win in Game 3 after allowing one run over 2 2/3 innings of relief.
Which teams will move a step closer to the World Series tonight?
