Can anyone stop the Los Angeles Dodgers from repeating? So far, the answer has been no, as they made easy work of the Cincinnati Reds in the Wild Card round before finishing off a 3-1 series win over the Phillies on Thursday night to advance to the National League Championship Series.
It really feels like if anyone is going to slow the big blue juggernaut down, this is the season to do it. The Dodgers claimed their fourth straight NL West crown, but with a final record of 93-69, they looked more vulnerable than ever while doing it. Injuries played a big part, but the fact remains that Dave Roberts' club didn't look nearly as invincible as everyone believed they would be.
If the Dodgers are going to fall short of a return trip to the Fall Classic, it'll be either the Milwaukee Brewers or the Chicago Cubs who take them out. Those NL Central rivals are currently embroiled in a nationally televised blood feud, with the Cubs holding serve in the last two games at Wrigley Field to send their NLDS matchup to a deciding Game 5.
That game will be played on Saturday night at American Family Field, where the Brewers won 52 of their MLB-leading 97 games. Millions of baseball fans will be tuning in, and there's sure to be a wide range of rooting interests. The Cubs are always a popular choice for their history as the lovable losers and the possibility of seeing more October baseball at the Friendly Confines. The Brewers are used to being in the scrappy underdog role themselves, but a red-hot summer catapulted them to the top of the standings and the No. 1 seed in the NL. They lack the national cachet of the Cubs, but many fans will be drawn to their unlikely dream season.
Both teams would be a worthy adversary to the Dodgers. The question is, which one would L.A. rather face to give them the best chance to advance? With just one more sleep until we find out which team will get there, we decided to tackle that very question.
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What to know about the Cubs
The Cubs have been getting their money's worth in the postseason, first by surviving a deciding game against the Padres and now by taking the Brewers to the limit. They get by with a mix of power and speed, as they're sixth in the Majors in homers and tied for third in steals. Some of their best hitters struggled in the second half of the season, though: Pete Crow-Armstrong looked like an MVP candidate through the All-Star Break, but he came back to earth down the stretch, while Kyle Tucker also went through a late power outage with just five homers from the beginning of July until the end of the regular season.
Tucker has woken up with three multi-hit games in the playoffs, and he did slug a home run in Thursday night's Game 4. PCA has continued to struggle, though, and he still doesn't have an extra-base hit this postseason. Other Cubs have picked up the slack, including Seiya Suzuki, who ended the regular season with five homers in his final four games, and Nico Hoerner, who has 12 hits in 27 at-bats since the playoffs began.
If there's one player who should worry the Dodgers more than anyone, it's Michael Busch. The 27-year-old infielder was drafted by the Dodgers in the first round of the 2019 draft, and after making his way through their Minor League system, he appeared in just 27 Major League games before being traded to the Cubs. The Dodgers had such a loaded infield that there wasn't any room for Busch, but he could be primed for revenge if he goes against his old club in the NLCS. He's turned into a monster in Chicago, leading the team this season with 34 home runs and an .866 OPS in the regular season.
Craig Counsell has made the curious decision to sit Busch sometimes against lefties, but there's no denying that he destroys right-handed pitching. That's bad news for the Dodgers, who are likely to send out Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow in three of the first four games of the NLCS.
The Cubs' pitching staff is just barely getting by, a fact that should have the Dodgers' stacked lineup salivating. National League Rookie of the Year frontrunner Cade Horton has been out since his final regular-season start with a rib injury, and it's not known at this time if he'll be able to make it back for the NLCS. Justin Steele made only four starts this year before his season was ended by a UCL injury.
Shota Imanaga hasn't been sharp in a while. Other than a four-inning, two-run outing against the Padres last week, he's allowed three runs or more in seven straight starts. Matthew Boyd was money in Game 4 against the Brewers, but he was lit up in a disastrous six-run first inning in Game 1. Cubs fans are lying if they say they'd be confident that the good Boyd would show up against the Dodgers.
Only three teams struck out fewer batters than the Cubs this year, but with arguably baseball's best defense, it's a system that works. They're especially strong up the middle with Dansby Swanson, Hoerner and Crow-Armstrong.
The Cubs took four of seven from the Dodgers this season, but it's important to note that the Dodgers would have home-field advantage if they met. If it's the Brewers who advance, four of the seven games in the NLCS would take place in Milwaukee.
What to know about the Brewers
This year's Brewers are one of the more amazing success stories in recent MLB history. Just in the last couple of years, they've lost stars like Corbin Burnes, Devin Williams and Willy Adames, yet they've somehow only gotten better. They play good team baseball, and don't have a glaring weakness.
The Brewers don't hit for much power, but they beat you in other ways. They were tied for second in the Majors in batting average, fourth in walks and second in steals (the Cubs were third). Will Smith is an above-average defensive catcher, but he'll have his hands full whichever team makes it through. Even if he manages to throw out a runner or two, it's unlikely to slow the Brewers down, as they were caught stealing more times than any other team but kept the same aggressive mindset throughout the year.
The Brewers' offense doesn't have the same name recognition as the Dodgers', but they come at you in waves with a lineup that's dangerous from top to bottom. Jackson Chourio looks to be breaking out as a bona fide superstar as he rakes despite dealing with a hamstring injury. William Contreras is one of the best hitting catchers in the game. Christian Yelich, Brice Turang, Sal Frelick ... there are no easy outs in this lineup. Even Andrew Vaughn has continued his unthinkable hot streak after being traded from the White Sox in June.
The Brewers are above average defensively, and their pitching staff struck out the fifth-most batters in the regular season while allowing the third-lowest batting average against. Freddy Peralta is the best starter of the bunch, but Milwaukee also has three others with a sub-4.00 ERA. If they meet the Dodgers, though, it could come down to a battle of the bullpens, as L.A. was first and Milwaukee fourth in bullpen innings pitched this year.
It's rare that a team with the best record in baseball has the same aura of The Little Engine That Could, but the Brewers have been defying the odds all year. They're like if a mid-major got a 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament. Their $115 million payroll is just over one-third of what the Dodgers spent, and even though they'd have home-field advantage, they'd still be the betting underdog.
The Dodgers have issues in the bullpen, meaning any team that hangs with them in the early innings is never out of it. The Cubs hit for more power, but the Brewers are better at getting on base, and their pitching staff from top to bottom has a better chance of holding the Dodgers in check.
If that's not enough, there's one simple stat that should make the Dodgers root for a Cubs upset in Game 5. In six games against the Brewers this year, they lost every single one. Oddly enough, the Angels also went 6-0 against the Dodgers this year, but there's no worry of seeing the Halos in the playoffs. The Dodgers should want to avoid the Brewers at all costs, because as powerful as the Dodgers are, Milwaukee has their number.