Game 4 of the NLCS between the Brewers and Dodgers is set for Tuesday in Dodger Stadium. The Brewers lead the best-of-seven series 2-1.
In this one, lefty Gio Gonzalez will go for visiting Milwaukee. During the regular season, he pitched to a 4.21 ERA/100 ERA+ in 171 innings for the Nationals and Brewers with a 1.85 K/BB ratio. Gonzalez started the series opener against the Dodgers, but thanks to Craig Counsell's aggressive bullpenning he went just two innings and 32 pitches -- thus the turnaround on three-days' rest.
For the Dodgers, curveball-ing lefty Rich Hill takes the bump. The 38-year-old Hill in the regular season made 24 starts and one relief appearance, and over that span he put up an ERA of 3.66 (106 ERA+) with a K/BB ratio of 3.66. Hill started Game 4 of the NLDS against the Braves and did not fare especially well: two runs in 4 1/3 innings with three strikeouts and five walks.
Now for the essentials ...
NLCS Game 4: Brewers vs. Dodgers
- Date: Tuesday, Oct. 16
- Time: 9:09 p.m. ET
- Location: Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles
- TV channel: FS1
- Streaming: fuboTV (Try for free)
- Live stats: GameTracker
- Odds: Dodgers -149 / Brewers +139
- Picks: Check SportsLine's MLB pick sheet for all your daily odds.
Storylines
Brewers: The Brewers are two wins away from winning their first NL pennant. Their starters have held the Dodgers to one run in their first 25-plus innings this series, and were it not for their middle relievers they'd likely be up 3-0. That's especially frustrating, given Milwaukee has received little from NL MVP favorite Christian Yelich. One thing to watch for in Game 4 is if and how the Brewers deploy Josh Hader. They chose to use him for just two outs in Game 3, suggesting he should be available -- that's important, considering how poorly Jeremy Jeffress has performed in October.
Dodgers: It's pretty simple: the Dodgers could use a win. There's no sense labeling this a "must-win" game because it's not -- not in the literal sense. But the odds of a team winning a series if and when it falls behind 3-1 are slim -- slimmer, even, when that team would need to win Games 6 and 7 on the road. If the Dodgers want to maintain a realistic shot at repeating as NL pennant winners, they're going to need to win Game 4.
Game prediction picks
For the sake of having a more fun series, we're going with the Dodgers. That isn't to suggest we think Los Angeles has a definite advantage or anything. We just want more baseball, and the Dodgers winning Game 4 is the means to that end. Besides, Rich Hill has a swell story and seeing him succeed on a big stage allows more people to learn about it.
Pick: Dodgers -149
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