The Brewers earned their way into the National League Championship Series by virtue of their 3-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs in Game 5 of the NLDS Saturday evening at Uecker Field. The Los Angeles Dodgers had a slightly easier path, needing only four games against the Philadelphia Phillies to grab their spot.  

The Brewers and Dodgers are meeting for the third time in the postseason. In 2018, the Dodgers won in seven games, with three of the first four contests decided by one run. The Dodgers got hammered by the Boston Red Sox in five games in the World Series. Two years later, in the ‘Covid Season’ of 2020, the Dodgers took two games from the Brewers in Chavez Ravine en route to a six-game win over the Tampa Bay Rays in the Fall Classic.

Although baseball is a team game, it helps to break things down into some individual matchups. Here’s a comparison of players by position for each team.

CATCHER
Will Smith (LA) vs. William Contreras (MIL)
Smith is expected to get the bulk of the playing time behind the dish, but Verona, Wis. native Ben Rortvedt could play, as well. Smith is still returning to full strength after a prolonged absence due to injury, and only went 2-for-13 in the NLDS. However, he batted .296/.404/.497 with 17 home runs during the regular season. He threw out 27% of runners trying to steal against him and had a -8 FanGraphs Defensive Runs Saved (DRS).

‘Wild Bill’ should get the vast majority of time as the backstop for the Brewers. Contreras is 6-for-20 with a pair of clutch homers during the playoffs, and slashed .260/.355/.399 with 17 home runs of his own during the season. He also threw out 27% of base thieves and had a DRS of 0, indicating he was an average defender at the most important position in the game.

Edge: Slight edge to Contreras

FIRST BASE
Freddie Freeman (LA) vs. Andrew Vaughn (MIL)
Last year’s World Series MVP had a solid regular season for the Dodgers, batting .295/.367/.502 with 24 home runs. In the postseason, he is only 5-for-23, with no homers or RBIs. On defense, the DRS for Freeman is -7, near the bottom of all first basemen. He’s getting old, and it’s eating into his range at first—but he remains a dangerous slugger.

Vaughn was two different hitters during the regular season: pretty bad for the White Sox, and pretty dang good for Milwaukee, hitting .308/.375/.493 with 9 homers and 46 RBIs in just 221 at-bats. The ‘King’ has stayed hot, going 4-for-14 with two huge homers against the Cubs. On defense, he is just a smidge better than Freeman, at least according to his -4 DRS.

Edge: Even

SECOND BASE
Tommy Edman (LA) vs. Brice Turang (MIL)
Edman split time at second during the regular season with two other playersm but has taken over the job full-time in the playoffs. He batted .225/.274/.382 with 13 home runs in just 97 games. He’s performed similarly in the playoffs, going 5-for-20 with two homers. Defensively, his DRS is -1.

Turang had a breakout year for the Brewers, batting .288/.359/.435 with 18 homers and a team-high 24 steals. In the playoffs, he is 3-for-20 with one homer. The Brewers are hoping he can regain his regular-season batting form. His DRS is +6; you can count the better defenders at the keystone on one hand.

Edge: Turang

THIRD BASE
Max Muncy (LA) vs. Caleb Durbin (MIL)
Muncy sat out Game 4 with a lefty pitching for Philly, and it could happen again if Jose Quintana or one of the lefty relievers begins a game for the Brewers. Muncy played in 100 games and batted .243/.376/.470 with 19 homers. He had a .564 OPS against southpaws, but a healthy .923 OPS against righties. In the playoffs, he is 4-for-16 with a two-base hit. In the field, his DRS is +3.

Durbin has been a pleasant surprise for the Brewers, solidifying a weakness at the position at the start of the season. He hit .256/.334/.387, with 11 homers and 18 stolen bases in 136 games. Durbin is 4-for-16 with two RBIs in the playoffs. He has a DRS of +5.

Edge: Slight edge to Muncy

SHORTSTOP
Mookie Betts (LA) vs. Joey Ortiz (MIL)
Betts is in his 12th season and is still going strong. During the season, he batted .258/.326/.406, with 20 homers and only eight steals, down from his usual numbers. He is the hottest Dodgers bat right now, going 10-for-26 with three doubles and a triple in the playoffs. He has a DRS of +17, best in the majors at SS.

Ortiz struggles with the bat, hitting only .230/.276/.317 during the season with 7 homers and 14 steals. In the playoffs, he’s just 2-for-13, making him a likely candidate to be pinch-hit for. Although Ortiz looks solid in the field, his DRS is -2. 

Edge: HUGE edge to Betts

LEFT FIELD
Enrique Hernández (LA) vs. Jackson Chourio (MIL)
Hernández, formerly known as Kiké, is getting most of the playing time in left this postseason for the Dodgers, but he has played some third base, as well. During the season, he batted only .203/.255/.366, with 10 jacks in 232 at-bats. The playoffs are a different story: 7-for-22 with two doubles and four RBIs. Defensively, he has a -1 DRS, but only played 72 innings at the position in the regular season.

Chourio is still battling that nagging hamstring issue, but a day of rest will help. In the regular season, he batted .270/.308/.463 with 21 homers and 21 steals. He is still allergic to free passes, as he drew only 30 during the season. He’s been red-hot in the postseason, hitting 7-for-18 with a homer and a team-leading six RBIs. He has played all three outfield spots, but has a -1 as a left fielder.

Edge: Chourio

CENTER FIELD
Andy Pages (LA) vs. Blake Perkins (MIL)
Pages has become a reliable, everyday player for the Dodgers. He played in 156 games and batted .272/.313/.461 with 27 homers and 14 steals, both second-best on the team. The playoffs have been the opposite, with Pages hitting a dreadful 1-for-24. He has a -1 DRS.

Perkins only played in 54 games during the regular season due to injuries, and was also on the bereavement list due to the passing of his mother in August. His season totals are down as a result, hitting .226/.298/.348 with 11 extra-base hits and seven steals. He is 3-for-14 with a two-base hit thus far in the postseason. His DRS number is zero, but we know he’s better than that.

Edge: Pages

RIGHT FIELD
Teoscar Hernández (LA) vs. Sal Frelick (MIL)
Hernández is in his 10th season and has always put up good power numbers, including 25 homers to go with his batting line of .247/.284/.454 in 134 games. He has been a beast in the postseason, hitting a team-leading three homers and notching 9 RBIs while going 8-for-26. He is shaky on defense, with a DRS of +1 but some really ugly plays on his lowlight reel. 

Frelick was chasing a batting crown (for those who like batting average), hitting .298 as September began, A 12-for-60 streak the last three weeks dropped him to .288/.351/.405. He popped 12 homers and stole 19 bags and was solid in the field, hoping for a repeat of last year’s Gold Glove effort. In the playoffs, so far, Frelick is a pedestrian 4-for-17. His +9 DRS is second-best in the National League.

Edge: Slight edge to Frelick

DESIGNATED HITTER
Shohei Ohtani (LA) vs. Christian Yelich (MIL)
Ohtani is one of the best players in baseball, and he is only 30 years old. He can hit home runs, steal bases, and even pitch. He started one game in the NLDS and figures to start anohter during the Dodger Stadium phase of this series. His otherworldly batting numbers: .282/.392/.622, with 55 home runs and 20 steals. He also led the NL with 146 runs scored. 

Yelich is a shadow of his former self, but he still has his moments. If both players were in their primes, this would be something much closer to a toss-up. As it is, Yelich played in 150 games and batted .264/.343/.452, with 29 homers and 103 RBIs, both team bests. He also stole 16 bases. 

Edge: Ohtani

BENCH
Los Angeles: Ben Rortvedt (C), Miguel Rojas (INF), Alex Call (OF), Dalton Rushing (C).
Milwaukee: Jake Bauers (1B-OF), Isaac Collins (OF), Andruw Monasterio (INF), Brandon Lockridge (OF).

Edge: Slight edge to Milwaukee

STARTING PITCHING
Los Angeles: Blake Snell (LH), Yoshinobu Yamamoto (RH), Tyler Glasnow (RH), Shohei Ohtani (RH).
Milwaukee: Freddy Peralta (RH). After that, it is a bunch of question marks. Is Brandon Woodruff healthy enough to return? (Alas: no.) Can Quinn Priester return to his regular-season self? Is Quintana ready to join the starting staff? Others include Aaron Ashby, Jacob Misiorowski, Chad Patrick, and Robert Gasser. Will Pat Murphy have a bunch of bullpen games, or will one or more of the pitchers step up and throw a few quality innings in a game?

Edge: BIG edge to Los Angeles

RELIEF PITCHING
Los Angeles: Alex Vesia (LH), Blake Treinen (RH), Emmet Sheehan (RH), Jack Dreyer (LH), Roki Sasaki (RH).
Milwaukee: Ashby (LH), Patrick (RH), Megill (RH), Jared Koenig (LH), Nick Mears (RH), Abner Uribe (RH), Grant Anderson (RH).
The only known factor in the LA pen is the closer Sasaki, who took over the high-leverage spot due to an injury to Tanner Scott, who will be out for this series, too. Sheehan and Dreyer, though, are really good homegrown arms who have emerged as useful pieces late this season.

Edge: Milwaukee

WHO WILL WIN?
If Milwaukee can regain their summer swagger, the Brewers could easily take this series. If the Brewers can get into the Dodgers bullpen early, the same result. But if the Dodgers’ starters pitch five or six effective innings, they have the advantage. Either way, it should be an interesting series, but it would be nice for Milwaukee—after everything they have gone through in the last year—to pull this one out and head to the World Series. Time will tell.