The Brewers’ first postseason roster is in, and the big call was the one everyone was watching: they went with 13 pitchers.
That decision gave the club room to add Kyle Harrison, who made the cut. Beyond that, the roster came in pretty clean, with no real stunners after a regular season that ended with the team in relatively good shape health-wise, aside from some restorative absences from Joey Ortiz and Andrew Vaughn in the final week.
Here’s how the pitching group shakes out: Aaron Ashby, Shane Drohan, Robert Gasser, DL Hall, Kyle Harrison, Logan Henderson, Dustin May, Trevor Megill, Jacob Misiorowski, Chad Patrick, JoJo Romero, Antonio Senzatela and Abner Uribe.
That group includes six left-handers - Ashby, Drohan, Gasser, Hall, Harrison and Romero - and five of them could reasonably be asked to give multiple innings. San Diego’s lineup leans right-handed, so the matchup isn’t quite as favorable on that front as it might have been against a club like the Dodgers or Cubs, but it still gives Milwaukee some flexibility. If Gasser is the starter for Game 3 and Game 4 turns into a bullpen game, the Brewers could lean on Drohan, Hall, Harrison, May and Patrick to soak up a lot of those innings.
The position-player side was much simpler. If the Brewers had gone with 12 pitchers, the extra spot might have opened the door for a more interesting decision, but that wasn’t the route they took.
They also would have needed to pass on Bo Naylor as an extra catcher, and that never happened. As a result, Brandon Lockridge is off the roster, and so is a more outside-the-box name like Andrew Fischer.
Ortiz and Vaughn were expected to be on the roster, and they are, which is a good sign after both dealt with minor issues - injury and/or health - at the end of the season.
It’s a strong group, and now it’s just about seeing whether they play to that level. The game is set for 7:30 tonight, and there will also be a Division Series thread up during the day. Happy baseball.
In Other News...
Brewers NLCS Pitching Plan Is Starting To Come Into Focus
The Brewers are heading into Game 3 of the National League Championship Series with their pitching approach beginning to take shape, and Robert Gasser is scheduled to get the ball against the Dodgers. Milwaukee has been piecing together its October staff carefully, with the matchup demanding flexibility and a willingness to keep options open as the series shifts back into a high-stakes setting.
Dustin May has become one of the more interesting arms in that mix. The right-hander is being looked at as a possible Game 4 starter, and the Brewers have enough bullpen support around him to keep the rest of the plan fluid. For a Milwaukee club trying to navigate a deep postseason rotation puzzle, every inning is starting to matter a little more as the series moves along. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Face A Brutal Game 4 Pitching Reality With Season On The Line
The Dodgers are heading into Game 4 with their pitching options thinned by a loss in Game 3, a twist that could reshape the rest of the National League Championship Series. Dave Roberts made it clear the club is trying to protect its top arms, leaving Los Angeles to navigate a must-win spot without leaning on the names that have carried much of the postseason burden.
Tarik Skubal, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Justin Wrobleski are all unavailable for the next game, a reminder of how quickly a series can turn from manageable to precarious. Skubal is positioned for Game 5 and Yamamoto for Game 6 if the Dodgers can keep the series alive, but the bigger reality is harsher: teams that fall behind 3-0 in a best-of-seven almost never climb all the way back. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Could Benefit From A Growing Shohei Ohtani Concern
Shohei Ohtanis status has become one of the more interesting subplots in the Brewers-Dodgers series, and Milwaukee has already seen enough to know why. After an injury left him less than his usual explosive self, Ohtani has struggled through the first two games against the Brewers, a development that has altered the tone of the matchup and given Milwaukee a little more room to breathe against one of baseballs most dangerous stars.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has acknowledged Ohtanis condition and said he planned to talk with him about playing, a sign the issue is lingering enough to merit real attention. Ohtani, for his part, has insisted he is ready to help the team, even as outside observers have questioned the decision to keep pushing forward while not fully healthy. For the Brewers, the concern in Los Angeles is the kind of storyline that can quietly shape a playoff series. [Read more 🡒]