Dodgers: National League Championship Series Positional Breakdown

Starting Rotation

Clayton Kershaw will get the ball game one in Milwaukee. He will continue to get the tag of “choker” until he can “win the big one” even though he has proven himself capable of showing out in October. That tag may never leave him no matter how dominant he is in October. But, Dodger fans should feel confident in their ace.

Hyun-Jin Ryu who got the ball in game 1 of the NLDS was absolutely brilliant in his start. Ryu is pitching for a contract and this is a win-win situation for both sides. Ryu has been great since returning from the DL. So much so that he started game one of the NLDS over Kershaw. He has provided the Dodgers with yet another reliable starter.

Walker Buehler finally looked like a rookie. After dominating in game 163 against the Rockies, the big stage looked like it got to the rookie in the third game of the NLDS. The fans were in his head early on and he could not find the zone, until he found Acuna’s bat for a grand slam in the second inning. He did, however settle down and quietly had a productive game after his one bad inning. He has learned from this and hopefully will revert back to his dominant self in his start this series.

The savvy veteran Rich Hill is the fourth and final starter on this staff. He is just fun to watch. Ever since getting information from “dark sorcerer” Chase Utley, Hill has been terrific because of the adjustments he made thanks to Utley.

For the Brewers, they are banking on the Dodgers being bad against southpaw pitching by starting Gio Gonzalez and Wade Miley in the first two games of the series respectively. They could do this because there is nothing special about this rotation. They can basically throw anybody out there and it will not matter because the bullpen will eventually swoop in and save them.

Starting Rotation: Advantage Dodgers

Dodgers, 3-1