MILWAUKEE -- It’s the Brewers’ (mostly) homegrown talent against the Dodgers’ high-priced stars as the teams line up their starting rotations for the National League Championship Series.
The Brewers’ top two pitchers (Jacob Misiorowski and Logan Henderson) were drafted and developed by Milwaukee, and the third (Robert Gasser) was acquired as a prospect via trade. Game 4 could be a bullpen game.
Contrast that with the Dodgers, who will feature a second-half rental (Tarik Skubal) followed by three mega-free agent pickups (Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow).
Here is a look at how the two rotations should look through the first few games of this best-of-seven series.
Dodgers
Game 1: Tarik Skubal, LHP
Skubal would have started a winner-take-all Game 5 against the Braves on Friday, but the Dodgers took care of business in four. So they'll send their big Trade Deadline reinforcement to the hill for the NLCS opener against the Brewers, who were among the other teams interested in acquiring him this summer.
In Game 1 of the NL Division Series, his Dodgers postseason debut, Skubal showed exactly why the back-to-back champions swung big to acquire him from the Tigers this summer. He struck out seven across six innings of one-run ball against the Braves, lowering his postseason ERA to 1.97 in seven starts.
Game 2: Yoshinobu Yamamoto, RHP
The Dodgers raised eyebrows by waiting until Game 3 -- when his postseason legend continued to grow with seven innings of one-run ball against the Braves -- to start Yamamoto in the NLDS. They actually made that decision with the NLCS in mind, as Yamamoto will jump ahead of Snell to start Game 2 on Monday on his usual five days' rest. Yamamoto would then be available to start a potential Game 6 on Oct. 18 on his normal rest as well.
Yamamoto has never started on fewer than five days' rest with the Dodgers, but he won last year's World Series MVP honors after closing out Game 7 on zero days' rest. The right-hander said he would be open to pitching on shorter rest and/or in relief again this postseason, but L.A. will try to keep him working on his typical rest unless the situation necessitates it.
Game 3: Likely Blake Snell, LHP
Snell showed some rust when he started NLDS Game 2, which was just his third appearance in the span of 2 1/2 weeks because of left groin tightness that flared up in mid-September. Being pushed to Game 3 gives him extended rest once again, but having some more time to fine-tune his delivery might be helpful given how little he has pitched recently.
Brewers
Game 1: Jacob Misiorowski, RHP
Misiorowski (16-5, 1.80 ERA in the regular season) wasn’t even a lock to pitch in the postseason as a rookie last year after fading at the finish line as a starter. But the Brewers did include him on the postseason roster as a reliever, then they rode that wave of confidence from three electric appearances against the Cubs and Dodgers into one of the most dominant seasons ever for a starting pitcher, leading the Majors in ERA (1.80), strikeouts (252), WHIP (0.80) and opponents' average (.157) – the lowest opponents’ average on record by a starter and the third-lowest WHIP.
He came out with more of the same in NLDS Game 1, firing a 104.8 mph first pitch that represented the hardest fastball in the postseason since pitch tracking began in 2008. But it was quite a slog from there, as the Padres fouled off 30 pitches in Misiorowski’s four innings and had him out of the game by the fifth. Misiorowski warmed up in the ninth inning of Game 4 in case things went sideways for closer Trevor Megill, and would have started a Game 5 had San Diego rallied to win. When the Brewers slammed the door, it meant they would have their ace ready for the Dodgers.
“It was sick for the bullpen to keep that guy fresh so he can take care of Game 1,” Megill said. “I’m glad he didn’t come in. We didn’t really need him.”
They will need him Sunday.
Game 2: Logan Henderson, RHP
The Brewers’ other 24-year-old right-hander has started 24 Major League games in the regular season and postseason. He’s never allowed more than three runs. One of those starts was an August 16 duel with Skubal at Dodger Stadium in which Henderson outpitched the lefty, throwing a career-high seven innings for a victory that gave the Brewers the series, the season series and cemented their position atop MLB’s overall standings for the remainder of the regular season after Misiorowski had pitched Milwaukee back to that perch the previous day. That’s why the Brewers have home-field advantage for as far as they can go in the playoffs.
It was especially satisfying for Henderson and the Brewers because he was one of the young arms that selling teams like the Tigers tried to pry away from Milwaukee at the Trade Deadline. After the Brewers held onto Henderson, he said he found president of baseball operations Matt Arnold and told him, “Thank you for not dishing me away.”
“There hasn’t been a pitch in a situation this season that’s looked like it’s been too big for him,” Milwaukee first baseman Jake Bauers said. “What impresses me most is just the poise, and you can feel it on defense. You look at him and he looks rock-steady up there.”
Good thing the Brewers held onto Henderson at the Trade Deadline.
“I didn’t want to lose Logan. I don’t care who it’s for,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “As long as he stays healthy, he’s going to pitch for a long time.”
Game 3: Robert Gasser, LHP
Gasser has earned one of these starts with a strong finish to the regular season (1.67 ERA in his final six outings) and a gritty start in Game 4 of the NLDS against the Padres in which he had to work around some defensive lapses. His confidence is high right now, so his 5.91 ERA in a pair of career starts against the Dodgers might not be the best gauge of his current competency.
The plan right now is that Gasser gets Game 3 over right-hander Dustin May, the former Dodger acquired by Milwaukee from St. Louis at the Trade Deadline. May’s stuff grades well, but he has not been getting the results he or the Brewers expect, including in a NLDS Game 3 start in San Diego in which manager Pat Murphy pulled May in the middle of an at-bat after he missed the strike zone with five straight pitches to begin the bottom of the fourth inning.
Plans can change, but for now, the Brewers are leaning toward a bullpen game for Game 4, meaning May would be available in relief for this series.