The Los Angeles Dodgers open a three-game set with the Milwaukee Brewers in the final series of the regular season and have won four in a row after sweeping the San Diego Padres.
Both the Dodgers and Brewers already hold a spot in the playoffs, but L.A. still has a slim chance to win the National League West, while Milwaukee has already clinched the NL Central.
The Dodgers hold a record of 103-56 but still sit two games behind the San Francisco Giants for the division lead. The Brewers come into the matchup at 95-64.
Clayton Kershaw makes his last start of the season but whether it will ultimately serve as a tuneup for the playoffs is unclear. Unless out of the bullpen in a Game 163 or Wild Card, Kershaw presumably wouldn’t be on the mound until a potential berth in the NL Division Series.
He has made 21 starts with a 3.38 ERA and 3.00 FIP in 120 innings while striking out nearly 30% of hitters, which is his best mark since 2017, and only walking 4.4%.
Kershaw has not faced the Brewers in the regular season since 2019, but he did pitch against them in last year’s Wild Card Series, when he threw eight shutout innings and struck out 13.
Milwaukee is hitting .230/.318/.389 with a 90 wRC+ against left-handers and overall they are hitting .233/.318/.397 with a 92 wRC+.
Pitching has been the clear strength of their team and carried their light-hitting offense and they send Eric Lauer, who has been in a breakout season, to the mound.
The 26-year-old southpaw has pitched to a 2.93 ERA and 3.84 FIP in 113.2 innings of work while also striking out 24.2% of hitters and walking 8.4%.
Lauer previously pitched two seasons for the Padres, so he is familiar with the Dodgers, throwing 47.2 innings against them over eight starts.
He has given them a lot of trouble in those outings, pitching to a 1.89 ERA. Lauer also faced L.A. earlier the season and threw five shutout innings while allowing four hits.
One Brewers’ player to watch this series is Willy Adames, who made the final out of the 2020 World Series with the Tampa Bay Rays but has been a breakout star with Milwaukee this season. The 26-year-old shortstop is hitting .263/.338/.481 with 24 home runs, a 120 wRC+ and 3.9 WAR across 136 games for the Brewers and Rays.
Dodgers lineup
RF: Mookie Betts
SS: Corey Seager
2B: Trea Turner
3B: Justin Turner
1B: Max Muncy
LF: AJ Pollock
CF: Chris Taylor
C: Austin Barnes
P: Clayton Kershaw
Brewers lineup
2B: Kolten Wong
SS: Willy Adames
RF: Avisail García
LF: Christian Yelich
1B: Eduardo Escobar
3B: Luis Urías
CF: Lorenzo Cain
C: Omar Narváez
P: Eric Lauer
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