Los Angeles Dodgers: What LA needs to do to defeat the Brewers
By Jason Reed
2. Pick the battles with the pitching staff
On the surface, the Milwaukee Brewers have a scary offense. Led by likely National League MVP Christian Yelich, the Brewers have some big bats in the lineup that are intimidating. Along with Yelich, the Brewers boast and old Kansas City pairing of Mike Moustakas and Lorenzo Cain as well as a 35 home run hitter in Jesus Aguilar.
There certainly are some scary bats in the Royals lineup. However, much like the lineup that the Los Angeles Dodgers faced in the NLDS, there are certain holes where outs can be made.
The pitching staff needs to put together a plan on who to attack and when. Pitching to Christian Yelich with runners in scoring position shouldn’t even be an option in a close game. However, attacking Ryan Braun with a right-handed pitcher will lead to better results.
Let the top of the order get on base. To take an old football adage “Bend but don’t break”. Let Christian Yelich get a two-out single, pitch to Jesus Aguilar when the bases are empty.
Limiting Milwaukee is going to take as much game plan as it is going to take skill. While letting runners on base for no rhyme or reason is silly, the Dodgers can have comfort knowing that the bottom of the order may not produce.
Heck, walk batters to get to the pitching spot, if need be. If Josh Hader is on the mound in a tie game after throwing just a third of an inning, issue a two-out intentional walk to get to the pitcher spot.
The National League is beautiful due to the manager’s job to strategically craft the lineup with future double switches in mind. Dave Roberts will win that battle over Craig Counsell any day of the week.
Force Counsell to make decisions. Don’t let the best bats on the team beat you.