LOS ANGELES — Turned out the National League Championship Series was indeed a mismatch, just as Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy suggested.
But not only in payroll and star power.
On the baseball field, too. Where it really matters.
After compiling the majors’ best record during the regular season, the scrappy Brewers appeared capable of beating anybody — until they ran into Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers in October.
Milwaukee mustered only four runs and 14 hits in a four-game Dodgers sweep that left the Brewers steps short of the World Series once again. The team’s only pennant came in 1982, when Milwaukee was in the American League.
“The pitching performances by the Dodgers basically put the hammer down,” Murphy said.
Before the series, Murphy did his best to paint a picture of David vs. Goliath, calling the Dodgers “a powerhouse” and joking he was “sure that most Dodger players can’t name eight guys” on an underdog Milwaukee roster he had referred to as “Average Joes.”
The defending World Series champion Dodgers are poised this year to spend a record $509.5 million in payroll and projected luxury tax. The Brewers play in the smallest market in the big leagues, and their entire payroll of $124.8 million doesn’t even approach Los Angeles’ projected luxury tax bill of nearly $168 million.
Still, the NL Central champion Brewers went 97-65 this season and won all six meetings with the NL West champion Dodgers (93-69) — though those games came in July before a banged-up Los Angeles team got healthier.
When they squared off in the playoffs, it was a different story. Milwaukee scored only one run in each of the four games, and Ohtani delivered the final blow with an epic display Friday night.
The two-way superstar launched three homers at the plate and struck out 10 in six-plus scoreless innings of two-hit ball on the mound as Los Angeles rolled into the World Series with a 5-1 victory in Game 4.
“That’s probably one of the best games anybody’s ever played in baseball, I would imagine,” Brewers slugger Christian Yelich said. “Just an awesome performance from him tonight. He’s the best player in the game for a reason and he definitely showed that tonight.”
During a regular season to savor, Milwaukee got stingy pitching, played airtight defense, moved runners along and came through with timely hits.
But against the Dodgers, the Brewers were outclassed.
A draining five-game Division Series versus the rival Chicago Cubs and a tight 2-1 loss in Game 1 of the NLCS appeared to sap Milwaukee’s energy.
“I think we obviously had some guys not feeling their best at the plate and we had a couple of them at the same time,” said Yelich, who went 1 for 14 in the series with seven strikeouts. “It’s unfortunate when those rough stretches happen at the same time.”
After left-hander Aaron Ashby was used as an opener twice in three games, the Brewers went with veteran left-hander Jose Quintana to start Game 4. But his brand of location and low-velocity breaking balls did not play Friday as Ohtani stole the show.
“It’s really hard to do one, and he did two things at the same time,” Quintana said, marveling at Ohtani’s feat. “You stop for a second and look at this guy, it’s unbelievable. We stayed with the plan and it was a great night for him. … This was not the way we wanted it to end, but at the same time, it was an amazing season for us.”
Instead of a dark and somber tone in the locker room, the Brewers had hugs and pats on the back for each other. Instead of waiting a few weeks after the sudden disappointment to appreciate six-plus months of success, they tempered the sting of elimination with gratitude.
“Yeah, I think you guys can sense it,” outfielder Blake Perkins said. “We all believe in each other and we love each other. We preached a lot this year the power of friendship and I think this is it. It’s really cool to be a part of. We might not all play together again, so we’re just trying our best to look around and enjoy what we have.”