Brewers outclassed by Ohtani and big-money Dodgers as rousing season ends with NLCS sweep

LOS ANGELES — It turns out the National League Championship Series was indeed a mismatch, just as Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy suggested.

But not just when it comes to pay and star power.

On the baseball field too. Where it really matters.

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After compiling the majors’ best record during the regular season, the scrappy Brewers looked capable of beating anyone — until they ran into Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Milwaukee mustered just four runs and 14 hits during a four-game sweep of the Dodgers that once again left the Brewers just shy of the World Series. The team’s only pennant came in 1982, when Milwaukee was in the American League.

“The Dodgers’ pitching performance basically put the hammer down,” Murphy said.

Before the Series, Murphy did his best to paint a picture of David versus Goliath, calling the Dodgers a “powerhouse” and joking that he was “sure most Dodgers players can’t name eight guys” on a list of Milwaukee underdogs he called “Average Joes.”

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The Dodgers, the defending World Series champions, are set to spend a record $509.5 million in projected payroll and luxury taxes this year. The Brewers play in the major leagues’ smallest market, and their total payroll of $124.8 million doesn’t even reach Los Angeles’ projected luxury tax bill of nearly $168 million.

Yet the NL Central champion Brewers went 97-65 this season and won all six meetings with the NL West champion Dodgers (93-69) – although those games took place in July before an unhealthy Los Angeles team got healthier.

When they faced each other in the playoffs, it was a different story. Milwaukee scored just one point in each of four games, and Ohtani delivered the final blow with an epic display Friday night.

The two-way superstar launched three homers to the plate and struck out 10 in six scoreless innings of two-hit ball on the mound as Los Angeles advanced to the World Series with a 5-1 victory in Game 4.

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“It’s probably one of the best games ever played in baseball, I guess,” Brewers slugger Christian Yelich said. “Just a great performance from him tonight. He’s the best player in the game for a reason and he definitely showed it tonight.”

In a regular season to savor, Milwaukee had stingy pitching, played airtight defense, advanced runners and had well-timed hits.

But against the Dodgers, the Brewers were outclassed.

A grueling five-game series against the rival Chicago Cubs and a close 2-1 loss in Game 1 of the NLCS seemed to sap Milwaukee’s energy.

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“I think we obviously had some guys that weren’t feeling their best at the plate and we had a few guys at the same time,” said Yelich, who went 1 for 14 in the series with seven strikeouts. “It’s unfortunate when these difficult times happen at the same time.”

After left-hander Aaron Ashby was used as an opener twice in three games, the Brewers opted for veteran southpaw Jose Quintana to start Game 4. But his trademark pitch and low-velocity breaking balls didn’t come into 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, amazed by Ohtani’s feat. “You stop for a second and look at this guy, it’s incredible. We stuck with the plan and it was a great night for him. … It wasn’t how we wanted it to end, but at the same time, it was an incredible season for us.”

Instead of a somber, somber tone in the locker room, the Brewers gave each other hugs and pats on the back. Instead of waiting a few weeks after the sudden disappointment to appreciate more than six months of success, they tempered the pain of elimination with gratitude.

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“Yeah, I think you can feel it,” outfielder Blake Perkins said. “We all believe in each other and we love each other. We’ve been preaching a lot this year about the power of friendship and I think that’s it. It’s really cool to be a part of it. We might not all play together again, so we’re just doing our best to look around and enjoy what we have.”

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB