On Saturday, the Milwaukee Brewers put the Chicago Cubs away in the NLDS. Now, they prepare themselves to take on the LA Dodgers in the NLCS, which begins on Tuesday in Milwaukee.
The Brewers have luck on their side as they went 6-0 against the Dodgers during the regular season, plus home-field advantage. Conversely, the Dodgers have the upper hand in being the defending World Series champions. Not too mention loaded with elite veteran talent.
As a result, Brewers veteran pitcher Brandon Woodruff embraces the title of underdog going into the series, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
“When you go against the Dodgers and that payroll,” Woodruff said, “we’re the underdogs, man. We’ve been like that all season. We got nothing to lose, which is a freeing thing for our team. I know we played well against them during the regular season, but this is a different time, so we’ll see how we stack up.”
Even though some would expect Woodruff to boast more given what works in their favor, he maintains his position.
“Watch out,” Woodruff said. “But we’re still the underdogs every time, man. There’s no getting around it. Anytime you go up against the Dodgers, you’re the underdog. But we proved this year we can play with them, so we’ll see what happens.”
Can the Brewers defeat the Dodgers?
Despite the regular-season numbers and home-field advantage, a few other things work in the Brewers' favor. They have a solid depth in their pitching rotation with the likes of William Contreras, Andrew Vaughn, and Jackson Chourio.
Each of whom stepped up in the NLDS. Also, manger Pat Murphy has used his bullpen in very strategic ways including starting some of them against the Cubs. Nevertheless, the Dodgers are much more healthier than they were during the season.
Plus, they have the veteran core Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, and Blake Snell on the mound. Combined that with Ohtnai, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman at the plate and the overall lack of power amongst the Brewers, that puts Milwaukee in a vulnerable position.
However, in October, anything is possible.
