The Los Angeles Dodgers haven’t won a World Series since 1988, while the Milwaukee Brewers have never won one period and haven’t reached one as a National League team. The Brewers host the Dodgers in Game 1 of the NLCS on Friday with the visitors as MLB odds favorites behind ace Clayton Kershaw. The NL winner will be an underdog in the World Series.
How to Bet Dodgers at Brewers NLCS Game 1 Odds & Expert Pick
Your Game 1 starter: @ClaytonKersh22 #NLCS | #LADetermined pic.twitter.com/24lq4QEqRP
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) 11 de octubre de 2018
- When: Friday, 8:09 PM ET
- Where: Miller Park, Milwaukee
- Probable pitchers (away/home): Clayton Kershaw/Jhoulys Chacin
- TV: Fox Sports 1
- Live Stream: Fox Sports Go
- Radio: TuneIn
- NLCS Game 1 Odds: Los Angeles Dodgers -150 / Milwaukee Brewers +140 (Total 7)
Weather Forecast
- Overcast: 22°C/71°F
- Humidity: 52%
- Precipitation: 0%
- Cloud Cover: 81%
- Wind: 12 mph W
- Stadium Type: Retractable
Season Series
he NL Central champion Brewers earned home field advantage with a 96-67 season record, while the NL West champion Dodgers finished 92-71. The Dodgers took four out of seven games from the Brewers this year and that included a 2-1 series win in Milwaukee in late July, where Manny Machado made his Dodgers debut following a trade from Baltimore.
It’s the first-ever postseason matchup between the franchises. The NL championship will be decided by the teams that finished 1-2 in the league in home runs.
Why Bet on LA Dodgers?
The Dodgers appear to finally be playing up to preseason expectations after a season of fits and starts. Los Angeles has won seven of eight and outscored opponents 47-15 during its run. Los Angeles advanced to its third straight National League Championship Series, all under manager Dave Roberts, by beating the Braves 6-2 in Game 4 Monday.
Manny Machado clubbed a three-run home run and added an RBI double. Machado followed a two-out Max Muncy walk in the top of the first inning with an RBI two-bagger. He then provided some major cushion for the Dodgers in the seventh when he lined one over the left field wall off of reliever Chad Sobotka for a three-run blast. Machado went just 3-for-17 in the series, but he made those hits count with two home runs, a double and six RBI. David Freese contributed a two-RBI, pinch-hit single to give L.A. a 3-2 lead in the sixth. Freese figures to be called on in a big spot or two against Brewers fire-balling lefty reliever Josh Hader in the NLCS.
Had the Dodgers not won Game 4 of the NLDS, ace Clayton Kershaw (9-5, 2.73) would have started Game 5. Now he’s on plenty of rest and starts Game 1 of the NLCS. The 30-year-old lefty tossed a gem in his first postseason appearance of 2018 (eight scoreless frames, two hits, and three punchouts) in beating the Braves in Game 2 of the NLDS 3-0. Kershaw allowed only two baserunners in a start that marked the first time he had retired more than 21 batters in the postseason. He recorded only three strikeouts — one of them in the first seven innings — but induced an assortment of early, soft contact to keep his pitch count at 85 through eight frames.
Kershaw was pushed to the second game of the NLDS, marking the first time since he was a 21-year-old, second-year player that he was not on the mound when his Dodgers began the postseason. He owns an 8-7 record with a 4.08 ERA and 142 strikeouts through 130 frames in his postseason career.
Kershaw has started twice against the Brewers this season and experienced mixed results. He’s 1-1 with a 2.25 ERA and WHIP of 1.17 and struck out 12 in 12 innings.
Why Bet on Milwaukee?
Milwaukee has won 11 straight games, including the season-ending usurpation of the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central. The Brewers have drubbed opponents to an 80-34 tune in that stretch.
The Brewers finished off a sweep of the Rockies in the NLDS, 6-0 on Sunday. Milwaukee allowed just two runs that entire series. Jesus Aguilar slugged his first postseason home run in the win. Aguilar’s blast — which manager Craig Counsell predicted before the game — came off of Rockies starter German Marquez and increased the Brewers’ lead to 2-0 in the fourth inning. It was his lone hit in five at-bats on the game and only hit in 11 at-bats in the playoffs.
How about Erik Kratz? What a story that long-time backup has been. He had another nice day at the dish in Sunday’s victory over the Rockies, going 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored. The 38-year-old backstop, who earlier in the series became the oldest position player to start his first postseason game, doubled, advanced to third on a balk, then scampered home on a wild pitch in the sixth inning. He’s now 5-for-8 (.625) with a run scored and two RBI in the postseason.
Because of their bullpen advantage, the Brewers might have an edge in close games in this series. The Brewers carried 11 pitchers in the best-of-five NLDS but likely will go up to 12 for the best-of-seven NLCS. Half of Milwaukee’s regular-season games were decided by two runs or fewer. The Brewers went 5 0-31 in those games. The Brewers led all of baseball with 33 one-run victories. The Dodgers were so-so in close contests, going 22-22 in one-run affairs and just 15-20 in two-run games.
It hasn’t been announced as of this writing, but it’s expected to be Jhoulys Chacin (15-8, 3.50) on the mound Friday. Chacin gave up no runs on three hits with three walks over five innings in a win over the Rockies in Game 2 of the NLDS. Chacin collected the win after knocking out five shutout innings to give the Brewers a two-game lead in the series. Even though the right-hander hasn’t gone six innings in a start since August, he continues to give the Brewers opportunities to win with a 3.38 ERA and 0.92 WHIP in that time frame.
Dodgers at Brewers NLCS Game 1 Betting Trends
- Under is 5-0-1 in Kershaw’s last 6 road starts vs. Brewers
- Under is 6-1-1 in Kershaw’s last 8 starts vs. Brewers
- Dodgers are 5-2 in the last 7 meetings in Milwaukee
- Dodgers are 5-2 in Kershaw’s last 7 road starts vs. Brewers
- Milwaukee is 20-8 against the money line when playing on Friday this season
- 4 of 7 games in this series have gone over the total this season
- Kershaw is 6-5 when starting against Milwaukee with an ERA of 2.86 and a WHIP of 1.018
- Chacin is 11-9 when starting against LA with an ERA of 4.42 and a WHIP of 1.528
Expert MLB Betting Prediction for Dodgers at Brewers
Take Kershaw and the under in Game 1.
