The Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers will be squaring off later tonight, August 16, 2023, for a regular season match up played in LA. A pair of familiar southpaws will be on the hill for each side as Wade Miley will square off against Clayton Kershaw. What is interesting about this Wednesday night baseball game is that this pitching match up has some interesting history that dates back to the 2018 postseason.
Milwaukee Brewers Wade Miley will start in Los Angeles against the Dodgers for the first time since 2018 postseason (MLB News).
On October 17, 2018 the Milwaukee Brewers sent Wade Miley to the hill for game five of the National League Championship Series. Opposing him was left-handed standout Clayton Kershaw. What nobody saw coming was that manager Craig Counsell would let Wade Miley face one batter before calling right-handed pitcher Brandon Woodruff out of the bullpen.
This game decision was a brilliant move for the Dodgers starting lineup varied greatly depending upon what handed pitcher they were facing. Los Angeles ultimately won that game by a score of 2-5 and Miley made a ‘normal’ start in game six.
Two years after Wade Miley’s one batter start MLB implemented the three batter minimum rule. Manager Craig Counsell’s outside of the box thinking may have played a role in this, but the primary reasoning for the rule change at the time was related to the pace of play.
Five years later it should be fun to watch both Wade Miley and Clayton Kershaw square off against one another.
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