Brewers and Dodgers Advance to NLCS; Astros Advance to ALCS

The National League Championship Series opponents have been determined, and two teams that dominated in their Division Series will meet for Game 1 of the Best of Seven on October 12th.

The Milwaukee Brewers finished off the Colorado Rockies on October 7th, sweeping their best of five division series. After taking the first two games in Milwaukee, the Brewers beat the Rockies 6-0 in Game 3, shutting out Colorado’s powerful bats for the second straight game. Colorado scored two runs in the ninth inning of Game 1, and that was the Rockies entire offensive output for the three games. The deep Milwaukee bullpen was showcased in this series, but the Brewers hit the ball well, too. Journeyman catcher Erik Kratz, who is seeing his first postseason action of his career at age 38, was five for eight (.625) with two RBIs, Ryan Braun hit .385, Travis Shaw hit .364, as did Mike Moustakas, who also drove in two runs. MVP candidate Christian Yellich was just two for eight, but scored four runs, had a home run and two RBIs, stole two bases, and walked six times, giving him an on base percentage of .571. The Brewers hit .272 with a .370 on base percentage, while Colorado was held to .146 and .210.

Milwaukee will face the defending National League Champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS. The Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves 6-2 in Game 4 of their series in Atlanta on October 8th. Manny Machado was one of the hitting stars for the Dodgers. Although he was just three for 17, he had two homers and a double with six RBIs. Machado’s three run homer in Game 4 put the game and the series out of reach. L.A.s pitchers were up to the task with two shutouts, holding the Braves to a .144 batting average.

There remains the possibility of a rematch of last year’s World Series. The defending World Series champion Houston Astros overwhelmed the Cleveland Indians 11-3 in Cleveland to take their American League Division Series 3-0 October 8th. The Astros bats were hot all series. George Springer hit a pair of homers in Game 3 and hit .429 in the series, and Alex Bregman hit a sizzling .556 with two homers and four RBIs. Houston will take on the winner of the Boston Red Sox–New York Yankees series; the Red Sox lead that one 2-1 after bombing the Bronx Bombers 16-1 on October 8th. For the Indians, it’s the second first round playoff exit in a row.