If you’re invested enough in the Brewer’s current postseason run to click on this article, then I don’t need to spend two paragraphs recapping that the Crew are tied 1-1 with the Dodgers in a best of seven series to determine who represents the NL in the 2018 World Series. The Brewers will now need to win at least one game in Los Angeles to bring the series back to Milwaukee for a game six. While they’ve lost home field advantage (for now), they’re one win away from snatching it right back.
They are not, by ANY stretch of the imagination, out of this series, and yet the general consensus from fans on social media seems to be that the Brewers’ magical run is all but over. Their notoriously strong bullpen has run out of steam. Their unanimous choice for NL Manager of the Year doesn’t have what it takes to manage the Brewers back into a position of strength to win the NLCS. In the eyes of many, the season ended when the Brewers blew a 3-0 lead late in the game last night. It’s over, they say… it’s over.
They’re wrong.
You know the drill by now, Milwaukee: I’m never wrong. And I’m here on this sports-less Sunday evening to bring you all a little dose of reality. Contrary to what many on social media (and a large number of the national broadcasters that don’t know anything about this team) would like us to think, the Brewers aren’t out of it.
In fact, they’re going to win this series… and here’s 10 reasons why.
1. Game 2 was a fluke. Seriously – it was. It was a statistical anomaly. The Brewers were 80-3 in games this year when leading in the 7th inning before last night’s loss. While that adds a bit to the sting of losing last night, it also reiterates the point that so many are forgetting: this Brewers bullpen is really REALLY good. One loss doesn’t change that.
2. Christian Yelich is 1 for 8 with three strikeouts. This won’t last. I promise. You can write it on my gravestone if I’m wrong. A change of scenery to Yelich’s home town ball park is going to do the 2018 MVP a whole lot of good. Yelich is going to start hitting, and when he does, the Brewers are going to put up a crooked number or two.
3. Brewers “starters” have looked really good this postseason. Like, really good. Miley, Chacin, Woodruff, and Gonzales have pitched 19.2 innings and have allowed just one earned run. The people saying that the Brewers’ typically reliable bullpen is showing signs of weakness this series are the same people that said the Brewers didn’t have the starting pitching to make a deep playoff run. On that same note…
4. Jhoulys Chacin takes the mound tomorrow in the biggest game of the year… and he’s got a chip on his shoulder. Remember the last time Chacin pitched in the biggest game of the year? He threw 5.2 innings of one run ball en route to help the Brewers win game 163 against the Cubs. The Brewers have won the last three games Jhoulys has pitched, and are 23-12 in games he’s pitched this year.
The last time Chacin took the mound in Los Angeles was his worst start of the year – he gave up 8 earned runs in four innings and the Brewers lost their worst game of the year. You can look at this as a sign of bad things to come, or you can be smart like me. Remember the last time Chacin took the mound with a chip on his shoulder? August 19th: a day game vs the Cardinals, a team that Jhoulys had never beaten before. The Brewers bumped Chacin up in the rotation to pitch instead of Chase Anderson. He tossed six scoreless innings, and the Brewers won 2-1. It was the turning point of the regular season for the Crew, who have only lost one series since.
5. The Brewers don’t go on long losing streaks. Only five times this year have the Brewers had a losing streak in excess of three games, and it hasn’t happened since August 18th. The Dodgers, by comparison, have had twice as many (10, for those who didn’t take second place in high school math league like me) losing streaks of three games or more. The Brewers aren’t going to lose all three games in LA – this series will be back in Milwaukee.
6. Orlando Arcia is hot, and that matters to this team. Arcia has scored in four straight postseason games – he owns a hit in every game he’s started. He has hit two home runs in five games after hitting three in the entire regular season. Is Arcia the only one who’s riding a hot streak? No, but his streak is an influential one. Anyone who has watched this team all year knows that Arcia is a catalyst for the Crew – the Brewers play better when Arcia is in the lineup. His hot streak could not have come at a better time, and if it extends to these games in LA, he’s going to score runs batting ahead of the pitchers spot (pinch hitter) and Cain / Yelich.
7. Josh Hader will pitch in four of the remaining five games, if needed. Hader is the best pitcher the Brewers have. He’s tossed 5.1 scoreless innings with 7 strikeouts and no walks this postseason. The Brewers have been safe with Hader all year as they tried to protect his arm, but make no mistake about it – they will use him by any means necessary if their season is on the line.
8. Ryan Braun loves the spotlight, and Los Angeles. Ryan Braun loves the big stage – no doubt about it. He also likes playing in Dodger Stadium – he owns a career .320 batting average in the home stadium of one of the only teams the Brewers could legally trade him to. Braun has eight hits this postseason, all of them singles. Perhaps coming home to sunny California for an NLCS battle will be just the thing Braun needs to get his power back.
9. Craig Counsell is smart. Guys, please. Stop criticizing Craig Counsell. He knows more than we do, he’s got a better feel for this team than we do, and he’s proven time and time again that he knows how to make the right moves at the right times. I can promise you that whatever happens over the next week, Counsell is going to put this team in the best possible position to win games. The Brewers have one of the best managers in the game running the show and that matters.
10. I’m smart. Guys, please. Stop doubting me. I’ve been right about this team all year, and I’m not about to back down now. The Brewers are going to win the NLCS.