The Los Angeles Dodgers evened their National League Championship Series with the Milwaukee Brewers at two games apiece with a
2-1
http://www.giantsfanproshop.com/authentic-willie-mays-jersey , 13-inning win on Tuesday night.The Dodgers and Brewers have a short turnaround
following that five-hour marathonas they play Game 5 on Wednesday.Here's a look
at some pertinent information for the game as well as a quick preview and
pick.Game 5 InformationDay and Time: Wednesday, 5:05 p.m. ET on FS1Live Stream:
Fox Sports GoTicket Info: Tickets can be purchased throughStubHub. Preview and
PickAce left-hander Clayton Kershaw will get the ball for L.A. as he looks to
avenge a rough start (three innings, six hits, four earned runs) in a Game 1
NLCS loss. Kershaw needed 74 pitches to get through his three frames, which
included a home run to Brewer pitcher Brandon Woodruff.Despite the rough outing,
Kershaw is still one of MLB's best pitchers. He threw eight shutout innings
against the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS and had a 2.73 ERA on the year.Some may
point to his4.26 playoff ERA as evidence that he's not nearly as good in the
postseason. That may be true, but whether it's simply a coincidence or a
legitimateproblem is hard to tell.The bigger issue is that Kershaw's usual
dominance has taken a hit. Per FanGraphs
Will Clark Jersey , Kershaw had never been hit harder than 28.9 percent of the time (2013) until 2018, when batters managed hard contact on 36.1 percent of
occasions. That's an 8.7 percent increase from last season.Furthermore, Kershaw
isn't inducing nearly as many swings and misses: His strikeout rate (23.9
percent) is its lowest since 2008, and his swinging strike rate (11.0 percent)
is his lowest since 2010. Furthermore, batters are making contact on 78.5
percent of his pitches, which matches a career-high.Decreased velocity on his
fastball may be a culprit. Kershaw threw around a 93 mph fastball for most of
his career, but his velocity has dipped to 90.9 mph this season. FanGraphs
actually marked him with -3.4 fastball runs below average.Kershaw isn't the same
pitcher we're used to seeing
Barry Bonds Jersey , but we're talking about the best in the game over the past 10 years. His 2018 work would be welcome on any pitching staff, where he'd be
the ace on almost every club.The Brewers send out left-hander Wade Miley, who is
pitching on just three days rest. Miley has been effective in two playoff
starts, tossing 10.1 innings of shutout ball.However, the pressure is on Miley
to provide length on Wednesday. The Brewers turned to seven different pitchers
on Tuesday night, and a couple of their top bullpen arms (notably Corey Knebel
and Josh Hader) were used.Hader has now pitched seven innings in 13 days and 4.2
frames over his last five days. He also threw 20 pitches Tuesday night, so Hader
may not be available for more than an inning.Knebel could be out entirely. He's
thrown 7.2 innings in 13 days and 4.2 frames over the last five days. He's
pitched in all four NLCS contests and thrown 68 pitches (including 18
Tuesday).The team did save right-hander Jeremy Jeffress
http://www.giantsfanproshop.com/authentic-madison-bumgarner-jersey , who went 8-1 with a 1.29 ERA and struck out 89 batters in 76.2 innings. He could
be called on to pitch two full innings Wednesday night.The Brewers' problem is
that Miley has thrown six full frames in just 15 of his last 50 regular-season
starts.Miley might shut down L.A. yet again for some time, but if he gets hit
hard early, the already taxed Brewer bullpen has to find a way.Given that
Kershaw is on the mound and is a better candidate to ease the burdens of his own
team's tired relief staff, the pick is for the Dodgers to win Game 5 and head
back to Milwaukee with a 3-2 series lead.Pick: Dodgers 6, Brewers 3 MILWAUKEE
(AP) — Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell says he will open the National
League Division Series against the Colorado Rockies with a bullpen day on the
mound.The Rockies are turning to Antonio Senzatela to start Game 1 at Miller
Park on Thursday. The right-hander is 6-6 with a 4.38 ERA in 23 games, including
13 starts.Counsell says he hasn’t decided the order of relievers he’ll use in
the series opener. The bullpen is a strength for the Brewers, who will have had
two days’ rest after beating the Chicago Cubs on Monday in a tiebreaking game
for the NL Central.Counsell says right-hander Jhoulys Chacin will start Game 2
on Friday. Chacin has been the team’s best starter after going 15-8 with a 3.50
ERA in 35 starts in his first season in Milwaukee.Manager Bud Black says he’s
leaning toward starting Tyler Anderson (7-9
Juan Marichal Jersey , 4.55) in the second game. After a day off Saturday, Black says he’ll start either German Marquez (14-11, 3.77) or Kyle
Freeland (17-7, 2.85) in Game 3 on Sunday.
