MLB National And American League Championship Series Preview, Picks, Predictions

MLB Preview: Game 5 of the National League Championship Series between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers and Game 4 of American League Championship Series between the Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros. 

MLB GAME 5 PREVIEW BREWERS AT DODGERS

Game 5 of the National League Championship Series

The series is tied at 2-2, with the winner one victory away from the World Series.

The Brewers (2-2) will look to rebound in Game 5 of the NLCS on Wednesday after their 2-1 defeat to the Dodgers (2-2) in Game 4. Tonight’s game will be the last in the City of Angels as the final two games of the series will be played in Miller Park, Milwaukee.

The Brewers will start with pitcher Wade Miley (5-2, 2.57), who has been lights out in the postseason. He blanked the Dodgers for 5.2 innings in Game 1 and did the same to the Rockies over 4.2 frames in the NLDS.

Pitching has dominated this series as the Brewers are averaging 3.5 runs through the four games and are batting only .231. The Dodgers are even lower, averaging 2.8 runs on .201 hitting.

Three-time Cy Young Award-winning pitcher Clayton Kershaw (9-5, 2.73) will take the mound as Los Angeles tries to seize the lead in the NLCS. Kershaw was ineffective in Game 1 of this series, allowing five runs in just three innings of a 6-5 Milwaukee win.

The Dodgers took Game 4 In the bottom of the 13th inning after L.A. first baseman and outfielder Cody Bellinger hit the game-winning RBI single to end a five-hour-plus marathon.

“It’s nice seeing results,” Bellinger said. “I’m sticking with the process, but feeling good for most of the series. If I stick to the process they’re going to fall in, and that kind of showed today.”

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Bellinger grounded Brewers pitcher Junior José Guerra Maurera’s 3-2 off-speed pitch into right, while Dodgers shortstop Manny Machado slid into the home plate just beating Christian Yelich‘s throw to the plate, giving the Dodgers their first extra-innings postseason win in more than 30 years. The Dodgers were out of the dugout before Machado ever reached home.

Bellinger, who struggled at the plate 1-for-21 this postseason, also chipped in defensively with a diving catch in the 10th. Milwaukee center fielder Lorenzo Cain hit a ball into the right-center field, but Bellinger dived and grabbed it, sliding across Dodger Stadium as if he were on a water slide.

“I saw it hanging up there, ran as fast as I could, and dove for it,” Bellinger said.

The first pitch of Game 5 of the NLCS will air on FS1 at 5:05 p.m. EST in Dodger Stadium, California.

Game 4 of the American League Championship Series

While the defending World Series champion Astros (1-2) will look to avoid a 3-1 deficit, the Red Sox  (2-1) will attempt to take a 3-1 lead as both teams return to Minute Maid Park Wednesday for Game 4 of the ALCS.

On Tuesday, Red Sox manager Alex Cora tentatively named pitcher Rick Porcello the starter for Game 4. Porcello, (17-7, 4.28 ERA)  will make his second start and his fourth postseason appearance. , He went five innings against the Yankees in Game 4 of the ALDS, allowing one run on four hits and struck out two in an inning of work against the Astros on Sunday.

“In the playoffs, you try to win today and then plan for tomorrow,” Cora said. “We know Rick is available tomorrow, he’s in line, but you never know. You never know what can happen today. We might play 25 innings and he has to pitch.”

Houston starting pitcher Charlie Morton (15-3, 3.13) will make his first appearance of the postseason on Wednesday. Morton posted career highs for victories and strikeouts (201) and has faced the Red Sox twice this season, going 1-1 and allowing seven runs over 11.1 innings. He’s pitched just four innings over the last month with his last outing being a three-inning stint against the Baltimore Orioles on Sept. 30.

“I tried to keep playing catch, and I threw a lot of (batting practice), threw a bullpen all in the past week and a half,” Morton said at his press conference. “So we discussed just trying to get some rest, take advantage of this time and try to stay sharp at the same time.”

The Red Sox are batting just .212 through three games but are averaging nearly six runs per game. Houston is slightly lower, hitting .194 and averaging nearly five runs. Neither of these teams are hitting the ball especially well, but runs are being scored.

Boston center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. broke Game 3 open with a grand slam in the eighth inning as Boston posted an 8-2 victory to win its second straight in the series.

Red Sox outfielder and designated hitter J.D. Martinez, who hit .330 with 43 HR and 130 RBI, is batting .091 (1-for-11). Shortstop Xander Bogaerts is carrying the team with seven RBIs. The rest of the team has eight.

Boston pitchers have basically stopped throwing to Houston’s infielder Alex Bregman, who is just 2-for-6 hitting with a whopping seven walks. Astros outfielder George Springer is hitting .308 and leads the way with two doubles and four RBI.

The first pitch of Game 4 of the ALCS will air on TBS at 8:39 p.m. EST in Minute Maid Park, Texas.