Well now we know from whence commit our next opponent. Who do you prefer? Milwaukee or Arizona? Pitching wise, both present challenges. But the earliest either’s number one can start is game two of the NLDS in Los Angeles. Milwaukee’s two main studs are Burnes and Peralta. Woodruf is their best starter, but he has pitched in only 11 games all year. He is 5-1 with a 2.28 ERA. But the Dodgers actually hit him pretty well, .267, and he has a 5.79 career ERA against LA. They also hit Burnes well, .275. He has a career 2-2 record against LA. His ERA against them is 6.12. Peralta on the other hand, the Dodgers do not hit well at all, sub .200 and he is 2-1 lifetime. The Dodgers handled the Brewers this year, 5-1. They took two of three at Milwaukee in May, and swept them in LA in August, the last win was a 1-0 thriller.
Arizona’s top guns are Gallen and Kelly. Beyond those two, their starting pitching really does not scare anyone. The Dodgers do not hit Gallen well, but they have a 4-1 career edge on him. All of his losses have come at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers hit Kelly very well, .315. He is 0-11 in his career against the Dodgers, five of those losses came in LA. So, they own him at home or on the road. Ginkel is 9-1 out of the pen with a 2.29 ERA.
Their offense hit .250 with 166 homers. They steal a lot of bases, 166, second in the league to the Braves. They have a Rookie of the Year candidate in Corbin Carroll, and their big power man is Christian Walker. Marte and Gurriel Jr. are the other two power bats. Their defense is very good. They made only 55 errors this season. No player had more than 8. That was Marte. Ahmed also had 8 but he has been released.
Milwaukee’s defense is one below the Dodgers, 5th, in the league. They had 77 errors. One more than LA. Their offense hit .240 with 165 homers. They stole 129 bases. Good for 7th in the NL. Their best hitter is their catcher, William Contreas, who hit .291 with 17 long balls. Adames leads the team with 24. Yelich had a nice bounce back season hitting .278 with 19 homers. Santana, picked up at the deadline pitched in 11 bombs in 52 games.
The Dodgers hold edges on both teams having beaten the D-Backs 8 of 13 and the Brewers 5 of 6. I think I would much rather face the Diamondbacks. Less travel, more familiarity, and a better track record against their two big guns. I would hope the Wild card series goes three games and puts a strain on both bullpens. Since all three are being played in Milwaukee, the travel might affect Arizona more.
The Diamondbacks beat the Dodgers five of their first eight meetings. They lost the next 5 convincingly. The Dodgers have always played Milwaukee tough. But Milwaukee to me would have an edge in low scoring games. Their bullpen has one of the best, Devin Williams. 1.53 ERA and 36 saves. Of course, the Dodgers have had the best pen in the majors for the last couple of months. But it would be a hard-fought series.
So, who do you prefer, Milwaukee, or Arizona??? Love to hear your ideas.
Discussion (17)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Texas, Phiilie, Minnesota and Arizona all won. Burnes got lit up for three bombs, Milwaukee blew a 3-0 lead.
Pretty funny Mark
Could the Dodgers go with 12 pitchers?
Maybe…
One factor: Former Dodgers Luke Raley is out with an injury. He doesn’t look the part, but the Rays had him in CF part of the time this year. He’s big but moves pretty well.
I shrugged at the time, but that trade certainly worked out for the Rays. The Dodgers got a talented arm but he’s not considered a top prospect like those on the Tulsa crew.
That attendance is pretty bad for a playoff opening. Perhaps the Rays should find a new home.
I didn’t anticipate the nerves we saw by the Rays. They were charged with four errors, and it could have been more. I saw at least eight plays that weren’t made including the errors. The center fielder was an adventure, as well as Diaz at first base. How was the misplay in center field, the bottle ball, and the overthrow to the dugout the score seeker. Is this Little League or what? How about the Tampa Bay fans? They draw 19,000 fans for the opening game of the playoffs. That’s just an embarrassment. They drew 1.4 million fans for the season. The Dodgers drew over 3.8 million. And the ballpark’s a dump. I just as soon the Rangers win that series, so I don’t have to watch the game played in an aircraft hangar. It also pisses me off that ESPN shows highlights of the game in progress on ABC. Plenty of us watch and record both games and I absolutely don’t want to know the score of the other game in progress.
Don’t do this again this year!! To get the flag, we have to go over whoever is in the way. It will be a Grind! Ferguson & Vesia will be there in the roster. Lynn will there in the roster. Rosario will be there on the roster. Miller, Sheenan and Grove and Pepiot will be. We will have good days and we will have bad days, but we will prevail.
Go Dodgers!!
I see Phil Nevin is out as the Angel’s skipper. Arte Moreno will be on his fifth manager since 2018. The future of general manager Perry Minasian remains unclear. I hope they retain everybody as I’m totally fine with them being terrible.
The entire organization stinks. I watch their A+ franchise and their player development is nonexistent. They play brutal fundamental baseball, and I don’t see any coaching going on. I have no clue as to their hitting approach. It’s a pitcher’s league but they never hit, year after year.
I understand that the main goal in the minors isn’t to win games but to develop skills and talent. But I hate that “no need to win” philosophy as it permeates the organization. They don’t develop winners. The Big Club went 73 & 89. Only 3 teams had a worse record in the AL. In AAA, the SL Bees were 70 & 79, 8th out of 10 teams in PCL West. AA Rocket City was 58 & 80 in the Southern League, 7th out of 8 teams. A+ Tri City was 58 & 72, 5th out of 6 teams. Single A ball, 68 & 61, the only winning franchise in the entire organization and 4th out of 8 Cal League teams. That’s 327 & 381 for the organization.
I’ve watched their 17th pick in baseball, in 2018, spend 3 seasons in A+ hitting .222. Despite that, he got promoted to the Big Club this year for 17 games, He hit .125. A 2nd rounder in 2019, hit .250 in MiLB, skipped AAA and debuted with the Angels for 15 games this year. He hit .100.
We are so spoiled watching the Dodgers make great draft picks at lower spots but especially develop talent. Mike Trout and Ohtani have been wasted in a lousy organization.
I would probably prefer to play the D backs simply because the Brewers are the better and more experienced team. Both teams present challenges and either will be a test for the Dodgers, but the Dbacks limped into the playoffs. They lost their last 4 games and scored a total of 3 runs in their last 4 games. They rolled over at home and were swept by the Astros when they were trying to clinch a playoff berth. Unfortunately, the ineptitude of the Dbacks in the last series helped the Astros win the AL west and get a bye instead of the last seeded wild card. Even if Brewers don’t have Woodruff, they still have Burnes, Peralta and Miley who present pitching challenges. Against either opponent the Dodgers will need to bring the offense and use their pitching depth to counter strong starting pitching of opponents.
“I think you guys are underestimating the D’Backs. Let’s see how we end up after 8 of the first 10 against them before we write them off.”
Posted on 31st March after game one of 162.
For this reason alone I sincerely hope that the Brewers take care of the D’Backs.
Many here wrote them off after ONE game as not being a .500 team but here they are, potentially standing in our way of advancing to the NLCS.
Sham Diego were everyone’s darlings. Look how that worked out.
Never a good idea to bad mouth an opponent after just one victory. Let’s hope there doesn’t have to be any Crow eaten.
Milwaukee please.
I think everyone owes Mr Bauer an apology.
As the Duke Lacrosse case shows us, you all were told some fantastic lies….
I was thinking about our piggyback option and I believe it will become the standard approach to pitching in the next couple years. It would be interesting to look at the top three starters on every team at the start of the year and find out how many made it through the season without missing time because of injury. I’ll bet the number is really low. Today seven innings is a great game and that is dropping to five or six (look at Clayton). There are no more complete games as pitchers throw too hard, start too young, and don’t last. It does make sense to have a group of solid pitchers who can go three or four innings, then give the other team a different look so no one goes through the order more than two times. This saves arms, makes it harder on the offense, and keeps pitchers healthy. I think this will become the norm.
I sure hope the Dodgers win it this season! The only sad thing is if they do I believe Clayton retires and I wouldn’t blame him one bit! What a class act! I must say, other than a few blips, Friedman has filled that dugout with quality people. If Roberts doesn’t win manager of the year, there shouldn’t be one given. but I won’t be surprised if he finishes behind D-backs, Braves, and Brewer’s managers. Oh well can’t win every award out there, no MVP, Cy Young, rookie of the year, or comeback player. funny, Bellinger wins that one! enjoy the playoffs everybody, I know I will and then wait on college basketball!
If the Dodgers play Milwaukee, they will have to play at least one game there… if they sweep the Brewers. The Games will be Wednesday, October 11th and possibly Thursday, October 12th.
Why did Emmett Sheehan pitch 3 innings for Glendale last night in the Arizona Fall League? Is it a tune up for the playoffs? Will he come in the game after Kershaw in Game 1 Saturday? I prefer to play the Brewers with a weaker lineup,mainly a right handed starting staff and no Woodruff and the home field advantage against them in particular.
I want to go to Milwaukee and see a game… or two. My son and I are looking forward to that!
The D’backs raced out of the gates and gave the Dodgers a bit of scare early with their speed and aggressive play. They were beating a Dodger team that, at the start, was improbably led by Outman and Max–and thank goodness for that.
The 2023 Dodgers, I think, didn’t really find their rhythm until Mookie moved to the infield, Heyward started getting starts in RF, everybody started doing the Freddie and the bullpen found its groove. It was the finished version of the 2023 Dodgers that dominated the D’backs in the second half.
I guess I’m rooting for the Brewers in the first round. The D’backs, I think, are just damn glad to make the postseason. Their season should already be considered a success. The Brewers won their division and, as you point out, pose a challenge because of their pitching. . It would be good for the Dodgers to face a serious challenge and triumph.
Plus, I like the aesthetics of division winners facing each other. I don’t generally don’t want wild card teams to succeed–unless, of course, their success could help the Dodgers
Go Phillies!
I believe Woodruff is out for the postseason with an injury.
I think we beat either, I guess id prefer Milwaukee as I would go to game 3 and a potential 4 game. But I dont see us having a problem beating either.