Friday night, the Milwaukee Brewers jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Brew Crew leaned on their bullpen after jumping out to an early lead, thanks in part to reliever Brandon Woodruff's solo home run against Clayton Kershaw. Milwaukee has won 12 straight games -- they haven't lost since September 22 -- so, if you believe in sports momentum, the Brewers have it all right now. They've won 12 straight, they have the 1-0 series lead, and Game 2 will be played at Miller Park on Saturday afternoon. Everything is coming up Brewers. The Brewers are sending veteran southpaw Wade Miley to the mound in Game 2 and it's unclear how long he'll remain in the game. He was pulled after 4 2/3 shutout innings in his NLDS start against the Rockies. Clearly, Brewers manager Craig Counsell is planning to use his bullpen heavily. But, if he can steal six innings from Miley, I think he will. The Dodgers will counter with left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu, who was masterful in his NLDS Game 1 start against the Brewers. He struck out eight in seven scoreless innings, and threw over 100 pitches for the first time since 2017. Los Angeles will hope for a similar effort in Game 2. NLCS Game 2: Dodgers at Brewers Date : Saturday, Oct. 13 : Saturday, Oct. 13 Time : 4:09 p.m. ET : 4:09 p.m. ET Location : Miller Park in Milwaukee : Miller Park in Milwaukee TV channel : Fox : Fox Streaming: fuboTV (Try for free) fuboTV (Try for free) Live stats : GameTracker : GameTracker Odds: Dodgers -130 / Brewers +120 Dodgers -130 / Brewers +120 Picks: Check SportsLine's MLB pick sheet for all your daily odds. Storylines Dodgers: The Dodgers trail the series 1-0, but they can take solace in the fact they worked the Milwaukee bullpen hard in Game 1. They pushed across four runs in two innings against the bullpen quartet of Xavier Cedeno, Joakim Soria, Jeremy Jeffress and Corey Knebel, and had the tying run at third base when Game 1 ended. Also, Josh Hader threw three innings and a season-high 46 pitches in Game 1, and Counsell said flatly he will not be available in Game 2. Chris Taylor (3 for 4), Manny Machado (2 for 4), and Matt Kemp (2 for 4) were all great in Game 1. Justin Turner can't possibly strike out four times again in Game 2, can he? Brewers: The Brewers are going for their 13th consecutive win Saturday and, more importantly, they're going for a 2-0 series lead. Teams that take a 2-0 series lead in a best-of-seven have gone on to win the series 84.1 percent of the time, historically. Counsell will have to navigate the late innings without Hader, which figures to push Corbin Burnes into a multi-inning setup role. Similar to the Dodgers and Turner, the Brewers will look to get something big from NL MVP candidate Christian Yelich, who went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts and a double play in Game 1. Game prediction, picks The Dodgers really did a number on Milwaukee's non-Hader end-game relievers in Game 1 and I can't imagine Turner will be a total non-factor again. I'm a big Ryu fan. That dude is tough as nails and I'll take him in a big game any day. The prediction here is the Dodgers even the series at one game apiece before going to home to Los Angeles for Game 3 on Monday. Pick: Dodgers -130 So who wins every playoff game? And which teams are a must-back? Visit SportsLine now to get MLB Playoff picks from the proven model that simulates every game 10,000 times, and find out.<doc-sep>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 : Tuesday, Oct. 16 Time : 9:09 p.m. ET : 9:09 p.m. ET Location : Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles : Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles TV channel : FS1 : FS1 Streaming: fuboTV (Try for free) fuboTV (Try for free) Live stats : GameTracker : GameTracker Odds: Dodgers -149 / Brewers +139 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 So who wins every playoff game? And which teams are a must-back? Visit SportsLine now to get MLB Playoff picks from the proven model that simulates every game 10,000 times, and find out.<doc-sep>On Friday, we'll witness the start of the 2018 National League Championship Series and it's a beauty. We've got the Milwaukee Brewers, coming from the smallest market in baseball and having never won an NL pennant against the defending NL champion Dodgers, who reside in the second-largest market in baseball. David vs. Goliath? I'm sure some will paint it that way. The Brewers did end up with the most wins in the NL, though, and have home-field advantage in this series as a result. Here is what you need to know about this series. LCS games will air on Fox, FS1 and TBS, which can be streamed on fuboTV (Try for free). For a look at the complete schedule, click here. NLCS schedule, bracket Date Time Matchup TV Fri., Oct. 12 8:09 p.m. ET L.A. Dodgers at Milwaukee FS1 Sat., Oct. 13 4:09 p.m. ET L.A. Dodgers at Milwaukee Fox Mon., Oct. 15 7:39 p.m. ET Milwaukee at L.A. Dodgers FS1 Tue., Oct. 16 9:09 p.m. ET Milwaukee at L.A. Dodgers FS1 Wed., Oct. 17* 5:05 p.m. ET Milwaukee at L.A. Dodgers FS1 Fri., Oct. 19* 8:39 p.m. ET L.A. Dodgers at Milwaukee FS1 Sat., Oct. 20* 9:09 p.m. ET L.A. Dodgers at Milwaukee FS1 *- if necessary Mike Meredith/CBS Sports The Brewers haven't lost in a long time The Brewers closed the regular season with an eight-game winning streak, just stealing the NL Central from the Cubs, and then swept the Rockies in the NLDS. It's an 11-game winning streak overall, but it's more jarring when we put it in this context: By the time the NLCS starts, it will have been 20 days since the Brewers last lost a game. Take from this what you will, whether it's "they are so hot they'll keep winning," "they are due for a loss" or that it doesn't really mean anything other than that they have been playing great baseball. I just find it interesting and outstanding. The Dodgers have been one of baseball's best teams for a while Through 162 games, the Dodgers were 91-71 and needed to win a tiebreaker game over the Rockies to secure their sixth straight NL West title. That is 13 games worse than last season and they were only good enough for the third-best record in the NL. With this level of payroll and talent, it probably sounds like a disappointing regular season. After all, they were "under" on the over/under Vegas line. We always need context, though. Almost everything that could have possibly gone wrong did for about six weeks. From early to mid-May, the Dodgers lost nine of 10 games with eight of those losses coming to the three NL last-place teams (Padres, Reds, Marlins). They got Justin Turner back and a sort of switch flipped. From May 15 to the end of the season, the Dodgers went 76-45, four games better than the Cubs for the best record in the NL in that time (five games better than the Brewers). That 76-45 record, by the way, is a 162-game pace of 102 wins. They just won three of four from the Braves, too, which pretty well falls in line with that. Basically, these Dodgers have been a true talent 102-win team since the middle of May. Two championship droughts in context Again, there's always context. For the huge-money, marquee-franchise Dodgers, not winning the World Series since 1988 is a drought. This is their 12th trip to the playoffs since that championship and, again, their sixth straight appearance in the postseason. They have yet to get the job done and last year was their first pennant since 1988. Many surely believe this is unacceptable and anything less than hoisting that trophy after the Fall Classic will be considered a disappointment. On the flip-side, the Brewers don't get here all too often. This is only the fifth playoff appearance in franchise history. There were none between 1982 and 2008. This is only the third time in a League Championship Series and the second time on the NL side. The franchise has one pennant, but that was in the AL. The Brewers have never been to the World Series as the NL representative. Also, the Brewers have been in existence for 50 years and have never won the World Series. The Dodgers have been to the playoffs 32 times with 23 pennants and six World Series titles. The Brewers have great power During the regular season, the Brewers' 218 home runs ranked second in the NL. They were third in slugging percentage, too. Jesus Aguilar (hopefully MLB broadcasters out there can learn how to pronounce his last name), Travis Shaw and likely NL MVP Christian Yelich topped 30 homers. Ryan Braun hit 20, but five came in the team's last seven games. Eric Thames hit 16 in a half-season's worth of at-bats. Mike Moustakas hit 28 between the Royals and the Brewers after hitting 38 last season. Jonathan Schoop hit 21 between his two stops after hitting 32 last season. You get the point. The Brewers are a threat to leave the yard on pretty much every at-bat. Ahead of all those boppers, too, is the perfect table setter. Lorenzo Cain hit .308 with a .395 on-base percentage and 30 stolen bases. In 620 plate appearances, he only struck out 94 times. Fun fact on Cain: He's been in eight different postseason series now and his team has won seven of them, with the 2014 World Series loss in Game 7 by one run (90 feet away!) being the lone loss. Brewers pitching has been excellent The biggest weakness on the Brewers is the rotation, but the bullpen is ridiculous and in the best shape it's ever been (read more here as to why). The two starters the Brewers are most likely to heavily lean on are Jhoulys Chacin and Wade Miley. In Chacin's last 11 regular season starts, he pitched to a 2.67 ERA. On short rest in Game 2 of the NLDS, he threw five scoreless innings while only allowing three hits (all singles). Miley has simply become a different pitcher since discovering the cutter (more here on that from last month). He had a 2.57 ERA in 15 starts. Also, Gio Gonzalez pitched well once he was acquired and the Dodgers -- while it's a far cry from what it was in 2016 -- hit lefties worse than they do righties. Expect Counsell to be creative with a bullpen day being possible and he'll likely only try to get five innings, max, from his starters. What for aggressive and early hooks if there is trouble. Dodgers offense is potent and dangerous The Dodgers led the NL in runs and home runs. That was with only 103 games of Justin Turner and 66 of Manny Machado. Seven players hit at least 20 home runs. It's nine if we include Machado (37 total) and Brian Dozier (21). They are especially stellar at present. In September (including Oct. 1 with the tiebreaker), the Dodgers hit .274/.359/.490. A league-average line this season was .248/.318/.409. In four games against the Braves in the NLDS, the Dodgers didn't hit for average, but they drew 27 walks, hit eight homers and averaged five runs scored per game. Dodgers will be more starter-heavy with pitching The Dodgers definitely have a weaker bridge from starter to closer (Kenley Jansen) than the Brewers (who don't even technically have a closer so much as a stable of them). Where they make up for it is a superior rotation. Clayton Kershaw is coming off perhaps his best career postseason start. And while he's not the best pitcher in the world anymore, he's a Hall of Famer with a 2.73 ERA in his age-30 season. Hyun-Jin Ryu made only 15 starts this season, but he pitched to a 1.97 ERA and 1.01 WHIP with the best strikeout and lowest walk rates of his career. He looked like an ace in seven scoreless innings (4 H, 0 BB, 8 K) against the Braves in Game 1 of the NLDS, too.<doc-sep>
This Friday night will kick off one of the most intriguing championship series matchups we've seen in a long time. Game 1 of the National League Championship Series between the Los Angles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers will be a battle between two of the hottest teams in baseball right now. Milwaukee is coming off an 11-game winning streak and Los Angeles has won their last seven of eight games, so Game 1 is going to be the chance for one of the two teams to keep their winning momentum going and jump out to an early lead in the series. It'll be interesting to see if Milwaukee's home field advantage in this series (best record in NL) can carry them past a powerful Dodgers offense. The Brewers will host the first two games of the NLCS at Miller Park in Milwaukee. Gio Gonzalez is taking the mound for Milwaukee in Game 1 after not pitching in the Brewers' three-game sweep of the Colorado Rockies in the NLDS. He was acquired on Aug. 31 from the Washington Nationals, and the Brewers have won all five of his starts. Gonzalez has not faced the Dodgers this season though. The decision is a bit of surprise since Jhoulys Chacin has been Milwaukee's most consistent starter this season and was expected to get the nod for the series opener, but Gonzalez will be well rested. After a dominant performance in Game 2 of the NLDS (8 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 K), Clayton Kershaw will be the Los Angeles starter on six days of rest. Kershaw has started twice against the Brewers this season and experienced mixed results. He's 1-1 with a 2.25 ERA and struck out 12 in 12 innings, and the Brewers lineup isn't completely incapable of scoring off the left-hander as they managed four runs in a July 21 game in Milwaukee. NLCS Game 1: Dodgers vs. Brewers Date : Friday, Oct. 12 : Friday, Oct. 12 Time : 8:07 p.m. ET : 8:07 p.m. ET Location : Miller Park in Milwaukee : Miller Park in Milwaukee TV channel : FS1 : FS1 Streaming: fuboTV (Try for free) fuboTV (Try for free) Live stats : GameTracker : GameTracker Picks: Check SportsLine's MLB pick sheet for all your daily odds. Storylines Dodgers: The Dodgers are one series away from the chance to redeem themselves after a runner-up finish against the Houston Astros in seven games of the World Series last year. They're playing with the 'win-or-bust' mindset right now and the expectations for the team are high, from the fans to the front office. The general focus for L.A. in Game 1 will be whether or not Kershaw can hold off a Brewers offense hitting .272 and playing in front of their home crowd. Second to that, Friday night's game could be a potential test for whether or not the Dodgers' offense can break through the Brewers' back-end trio of Josh Hader, Jeremy Jeffress and Corey Knebel in the bullpen if they fall behind early on in the game. Brewers: The storyline for Milwaukee in Game 1 is whether or not this squad can use their home-field advantage early on to force the Dodgers into a tough spot. The Brewers were 51-30 at home this season. Ever since winning the NL Central tiebreaker against the Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee has outscored their opponents 80-34 and they've really proved that they have the potential to break out and score lot of runs. Game prediction, picks Both these teams are heading into Game 1 on hot streaks but I'm giving Milwaukee the edge for this first game. Up against Kershaw, the Brewers' offense is going to have to be operating on all cylinders for every inning of the game but I think Milwaukee can run off Christian Yelich's success and energy from the home crowd. Pick: Brewers -140 So who wins every playoff game? And which teams are a must-back? Visit SportsLine now to get MLB Playoff picks from the proven model that simulates every game 10,000 times, and find out.