Well, here we are. The Milwaukee Brewers are in the midst of one of the worst offensive slumps in their franchise’s 57-year history. This would be a problem if it happened in June, but if it happened in October it would be a disaster. Milwaukee has scored one run in each of the three games of this series, and, predictably, the Los Angeles Dodgers are now up 3-0.
Only one team in baseball history is known to have come back from a 3-0 deficit and won a best-of-seven series (with the other 40 teams failing, 30 of whom were swept). That team was the 2004 Boston Red Sox in the American League Championship Series. Of course, that lineup had two Hall-of-Fame level hitters (David Ortiz and Manny Ramírez) in the lineup and two more in the rotation (Curt Schilling and Pedro Martínez, both perhaps just past their prime, but still very good).
These Brewers do not have that level; their success this season came with a balanced and relentless attack. All they have achieved since game two of the Division Series, with a few exceptions, is balanced and ruthless incompetence at the plate. If they want to make it a respectable series, they’ll have to find something offensive, and to do that tonight they’ll make that attempt against Shohei Ohtani. Ohtani has honestly been having a bad offensive run despite his bloop triple in the first inning yesterday. This will be Ohtani’s second career postseason start, winning against the Phillies on October 4. In that start, Ohtani allowed three runs in the second inning, but was otherwise fantastic, striking out nine, walking one and allowing only three hits in six total innings; the Dodgers took the lead in the top of the seventh inning and Ohtani was awarded the win.
The Brewers will respond with significantly less “stuff,” but with plenty of veteran knowledge. Jose Quintana will make his first start and second appearance of the 2025 postseason after playing three scoreless innings in relief on Oct. 8. At this point in Quintana’s career, it was always going to be a bit of an adventure, especially against a lineup with the firepower of the Dodgers. But one thing seems certain: this moment doesn’t seem likely to upset Quintana, and if he goes down tonight, it won’t be because he’s scared. Tonight will be Quintana’s 10th postseason appearance and eighth start; Overall he is 0-2, but he has a solid 3.26 ERA and 3.46 FIP.
However, recent postseason history is against Quintana: He started once against this Dodger team in last season’s NLCS while on the Mets, and was clobbered for a maximum five runs allowed in 3 1/3 innings. This time, he will obviously be looking for better results. The Brewers will certainly have a plan for a lot of relief in this game, as Quintana isn’t the type of pitcher you should let a team like the Dodgers take an extended look at. But this is complicated because of the recent workload: Jacob Misiorowski won’t be available, Aaron Ashby has pitched in almost every game of the postseason, and Abner Uribe and Jared Koenig both retired yesterday. Of course, there is no tomorrow for the 2025 Brewers if they don’t win this game, so I’m sure a reliever will be available, but I expect Chad Patrick to be in line for at least a few innings if all goes well. Grant Anderson, Tobias Myers and Robert Gasser could also eat some innings, but in what is literally a must-win game, Milwaukee could try to avoid those guys unless things have really gone off the rails. It has to be said, though: the Brewers have pitched pretty well in this series. The pitching staff can hardly be blamed for the deep hole Milwaukee is in.
The big question for Milwaukee’s lineup on Friday was whether Jackson Chourio would be back at the top of the lineup after having to leave yesterday’s game with what he called hamstring cramps. Chourio himself expected him to be there, and he is indeed back in the lineup and in left field. But the Brewers have shaken things up a bit in their desperate search for offense: Brice Turang will start against the right-handed Ohtani, Chourio will bat second and deep-struggling Christian Yelich will be in the three hole. Jake Bauers has also moved up to fifth and will play first base, while Andrew Vaughn will start the game on the bench. Blake Perkins is back in the starting lineup in midfield, causing Sal Frelick to move to the right again.
The first pitch is at 7:38 PM on TBS and HBO Max, and you can also find the game on Brewers Radio Network. We’ll see you all on the other side, when we hopefully have at least one more match to look forward to.
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