The Brewers aim to end the Dodgers' dominance in Major League Baseball
The two West Coast giants will face off starting Sunday in the National League Championship Series for the second consecutive year.
Image courtesy of MLB
The Milwaukee Brewers believe they have what it takes to put a stop to the Los Angeles Dodgers' bid for a third consecutive World Series title.
Both West Coast powerhouses will face off starting Sunday in the National League Championship Series for the second consecutive year.
It's a David versus Goliath matchup: the Brewers, with their $154 million roster, take on the Dodgers' superstar-studded lineup, which earns $432 million.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts rejects that characterization. "Not at all," Roberts said on Friday.
"They have the best record in baseball," Roberts said of the Brewers, who won 103 games this season.
Last year, the Dodgers mercilessly swept the Milwaukee team in four games during the same round. But the Brewers are confident they'll go all the way this time, after leading Major League Baseball for the second consecutive year.
Milwaukee snapped a 12-game losing streak on the road in the postseason with its decisive victory in San Diego on Wednesday.
According to Murphy, this is further proof that the team has evolved and is no longer the one that racked up wins in the regular season but couldn't compete in the playoffs.
Championship DNA
In the first game of the series, Milwaukee pitcher Jacob Misiorowski, known for his fast pitches, is expected to take the mound against Tarik Skubal, the Cy Young Award winner for the past two seasons.
Misiorowski, 24, finished the regular season with the best ERA in MLB at 1.80 and 252 strikeouts.
He is part of a talented Brewers pitching staff that held the Padres to 10 runs in their series.
The Dodgers' powerful lineup poses an even more formidable challenge.
Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani, who is dealing with physical discomfort, has struggled at the plate. But the Los Angeles lineup has enough firepower to overpower any opponent, with names like Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, Teoscar Hernández and Kyle Tucker.
It also boasts a starting rotation that includes Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto, last year's World Series Most Valuable Player, and Blake Snell, a two-time Cy Young Award winner.
The Brewers' captain, Christian Yelich, said Milwaukee was eager for the challenge.
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