NL Wild Card Game, 2019

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Brewers vs. Nationals, 5:08 PM PDT, TV: TBS

The visiting Brewers send RHP Brandon Woodruff out to the Nationals Park mound to face Washington’s RHP Max Scherzer. The Brewers were 18-4 in games Woodruff started this season, but he’s just back from an oblique injury which caused him to miss six weeks in August and September and isn’t expected to go more than two or three innings. Fortunately for the Brewers, their bullpen has been very good this year. Scherzer has had nagging injuries in the second half of the year and missed much of August. He’s 0-2 with a 3.72 ERA in four postseason starts with the Nats, who have never won a postseason series. They did, however, end the season on an eight-game winning streak, which tops even the Dodgers’ season-ending streak of seven, so they’re hot.

Lineups when available.
Brewers:

Nationals:

59 thoughts on “NL Wild Card Game, 2019”

      • Maybe, but Strasburg’s historically fragile. Those 34 pitches were not part of a low-stress workout.

        • If the Nats win on Thursday, they might very well go with Anibal on Friday. Otherwise I think it will be Strasburg. I myself looking forward to a Klayton-Scherzer matchup on Sunday, but we will see.

        • Speaking of history, Nats fans have never forgiven GM Rizzo for having Strasburg sit out the 2012 playoffs. If he says he is ready to go, don’t think that management would want to endure the wrath of the fans.

  8. I’m disappointed that Milwaukee lost. But hopefully some of the starting pitching for the Nationals is now not lined up well to face the Dodgers.

  14. Quandary: if the Cerveceros advance, Hader plays in division series. If Nats advance, Parra does.

  17. Milwaukee bullpen has imploded a few times over the last weekend of the season. That’s got to be some hope to Washington.

  18. Is it wrong for me to be excited that both Scherzer and Strasburg will pitch tonight? And that it might not matter if the Brew Crew ends up winning?

  25. Weird article on Yahoo about rookies to watch in the playoffs, listing one per playoff team. For the Dodgers, the author skipped over Will Smith (who will definitely be on the roster) to promote Gavin Lux (who probably won’t be on the roster). She also overstates Gavin’s slash line to justify it, using his line from a week ago (even though the article was posted yesterday) instead of how he actually finished (,240/.305/.400). I don’t get it. It seems very lazy and uninformed.

    As for the playoff roster goes, if Doc goes with 13 pitchers, I think the choices for the 12 hitters are likely to be:

    Smith
    Muncy
    Seager
    Belli
    Turner
    Pederson
    Pollock
    Taylor
    Hernandez
    Martin
    Freese
    Beaty

    If Doc goes with only 12 pitchers, then Lux has a shot, although I think I’d take Rios instead (.277/.393/.617) for the power off the bench.

    • My guess is that Lux is on the roster. He has been playing regularly in the rotation since he came up. So, I think they go with 12 pitchers. That said, Rios is pretty enticing as a PH off the bench.

      • Then it’s which 12 pitchers get to go, and that’s where it gets interesting. I don’t think Yimi goes, though.

        • Certainly not Yimi. Lux has greater value over the 13th pitcher, whomever that might have been.

          • Lux played in all 23 of the Dodgers games — and started 19 of them — since he came up, so I think he’s on the roster. I also think the Dodgers will go with 12 pitchers, rather than 13, as there are two days off if the NLDS goes five.