The Milwaukee Brewers will begin a four-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday that will be a battle of Major League Baseball’s powerhouses.
Recently, the Dodgers looked vulnerable after enduring a seven-game losing streak, and that would have been good for the Brewers, but the tables have now turned.
Los Angeles just swept the Kansas City Royals, and Milwaukee was swept by the San Diego Padres. Granted, the strength of the opponent for the Dodgers and the Brewers was vastly different, but the outcome of the previous series for both clubs does not change.
For the Brewers, this will be a chance to not only bounce back from being swept, but more importantly, it is an opportunity to get the better of a team that has gotten the best of them much more than once.
After Milwaukee was swept by Los Angeles in last season’s National League Championship Series, the clubs met again in late May, and the Brewers lost the series 2-1, while being outscored 17-9.
Milwaukee has to show it can beat the Dodgers if it wants to reach the World Series, and this will be the final meeting we get between the clubs in the regular season. With this context out of the way, let’s meet the starting pitchers for tonight’s game.
Shane Drohan vs Roki Sasaki
This is not Jacob Misiorowski against Tarik Skubal, but it has a chance to be interesting nonetheless.
Brewers rookie right-hander Shane Drohan will face off against Dodgers’ second-year righty Roki Sasaki.
Drohan comes into the matchup with a 6-4 record and a 3.87 ERA through 23 appearances, 13 of which have been starts, and he also has 93 strikeouts. His most recent outing came against the Minnesota Twins on Aug. 7, and it was not his best.
Against the Twins, Drohan pitched five innings and allowed nine hits, six earned runs (two home runs) and four walks. He is going to need to be much better against a far superior Dodgers batting order if he wants to help his team achieve a win to start this four-game slate.
In his second MLB season, Sasaki is 5-5 with a 4.54 ERA through 20 starts. Sasaki last pitched against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Aug. 7, and he delivered five strikeouts while allowing four hits, two earned runs and a walk.
Against the Padres, the Brewers’ offense struggled mightily. If they hope to take this series from the Dodgers, whatever slump they found themselves in must be left in the past.