Thursday, October 1, 2020, Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, California, 10:08 p.m. ET
Brewers at Dodgers Betting Preview: Brewers (+205), Dodgers (-250)
Milwaukee Brewers
Right-hander Brandon Woodruff will get the call to start in Game 2 with the Brewers’ season hanging in the balance. Woodruff and Dodgers Game 2 starter Clayton Kershaw do have playoff history.
Woodruff came on in relief during Game 1 of the 2018 National League Championship Series and hit a home run off Kershaw in a Milwaukee victory. The Dodgers won the series. With the DH in the NL this season, he won’t get a chance to repeat the glory.
The Milwaukee offense did not deliver all season, and the same was true in Game 1 of the playoffs. More of the same on Thursday would put a disappointing season to rest.
Already struggling with injuries, especially to the pitching staff, the Brewers lost right fielder Ryan Braun in the fifth inning of Game 1 due to back discomfort. He is listed as day-to-day.
Los Angeles Dodgers
Kershaw’s shaky playoff history is well-documented heading into his 33rd career postseason outing and his 26th as a starter. In 357 career regular-season games over 13 seasons, the future Hall of Famer has a 2.43 ERA. In the postseason, he has a 4.43 ERA.
Kershaw’s most recent playoff outing was disastrous as he came on in relief during the deciding Game 5 of last year’s NL Division Series against the Nationals. Instead of protecting a two-run lead, he gave up back-to-back home runs to Anthony Rendon and Juan Soto in the eighth inning. Washington went on to advance in extra innings and ultimately won the World Series.
Corey Seager hit a home run Wednesday, but otherwise the Dodgers’ powerful offense was helped by four first-inning walks from Brewers opener Brent Suter.
Brewers at Dodgers Betting Pick for Game 2
The last time the Dodgers faced Woodruff was in April 2019, and they tagged him for five runs on seven hits in 5 2/3 innings. Joc Pederson hit two home runs off him that day, and he likely will be in the lineup Thursday.
Kershaw has a 2.87 ERA in 15 career regular-season starts against the Brewers. However, in his one playoff series against Milwaukee, he had a 4.09 ERA in three appearances, giving up nine hits and four walks in 11 innings. He has been on a mission this season, posted a 6-2 record with a 2.16 ERA in 10 starts.
Brewers at Dodgers Betting Pick:
Dodgers 8, Brewers 2
Brewers at Dodgers Best Bet for Game 2
The Dodgers led baseball with 118 home runs and 349 runs scored, so while they were limited to one home run and four runs Wednesday, holding down this kind of offense for consecutive games is a lot to ask.
Los Angeles’ slugging percentage was more than 56 points better against right-handers, and a righty will be the Thursday opponent.
Brewers at Dodgers Best Bet: OVER 7.5 runs (+102)
–Field Level Media
