Championship Series GameThread, 10/17

Do you want to see the Dodgers versus the Astros again? I don’t. Give me Brewers-Red Sox. It keeps a good chunk of the country involved and it has the potential for some fun and weird baseball. Milwaukee deserves the attention and Boston needs to meet their match. It would be hard to pass up a battle of the former middle infielder managers.

BREWERS @ DODGERS - NLCS GAME 5
Series tied, 2-2

Wade Miley (5-2, 2.57 ERA) vs. Clayton Kershaw (9-5, 2.73 ERA)

The Brewers are already pitching a starter on three days’ rest. On Saturday, Wade Miley threw 74 pitches in 5.2 innings (0 runs, 2 hits, 3 K, no walks) and it really all went to heck for them as soon as Craig Counsell removed him from the game. The Dodgers overall are still not quite as good against lefties as they are against righties (.733 OPS vs. .796), so even on short rest, Miley might be able to hold them to a run or two in 3-4 innings.

Now, the real question is what the the Brewers are going to do without Josh Hader and how they’re going to handle Jeremy Jeffress (who will be available) giving up multiple baserunners. Knebel has also thrown 2.2 innings the past two days, so he’ll be out as well. The team did place Gio Gonzalez on the disabled list (making him ineligible for the World Series) and brought up 25-year starter Zach Davies (finally, a Zach with an H!), so they do have some “length” available.

Still, the Brewers will be in trouble if they can’t score early and often. The only shred of good news is that they might actually be facing the right guy for that strategy to work.

Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images

Lineups:

BREWERS

1. Lorenzo Cain, CF
2. Christian Yelich, RF
3. Ryan Braun, LF
4. Jesús Aguilar, 1B
5. Hernán Pérez, 2B
6. Mike Moustakas, 3B
7. Erik Kratz, C
8. Orlando Arcia, SS
9. Wade Miley, P

DODGERS

1. Cody Bellinger, CF
2. Justin Turner, 3B
3. David Freese, 1B
4. Manny Machado, SS
5. Max Muncy, 2B
6. Chris Taylor, LF
7. Enrique Hernanadez, RF
8. Austin Barnes, C
9. Clayton Kershaw, P

Why is Bellinger leading off?

RED SOX @ ASTROS - ALCS GAME 4
Boston leads, 2-1

Rick Porcello (17-7, 4.28 ERA) vs. Charlie Morton (15-3, 3.13 ERA)

Rick Porcello has been effective in five-inning bursts (since August 3rd, he’s pitched more than 5 innings in only 4 of his 12 starts, postseason included), while Charlie Morton hasn’t seen any game action in over two weeks and has pitched four total innings since September 23rd. He allowed 8 runs in 10.1 innings against the Red Sox this season.

It’d be a little surprising if the Red Sox took a commanding 3-1 lead, but then again, the Astros really had something like this coming. Between the injuries, the cheating, and the full-throated support of a domestic abuser, the magical fun train of baseball’s most forward-thinking and talented organization has derailed. Such is the window of success in professional sports. Of course, a win today and it’s still a series. A series loss doesn’t mean they won’t be back, either. But maybe this year... it’s time to cool it with the Astros.

Lineups: