The China Mail - Brewers aim to take down two-time defending champion Dodgers in NLCS rematch

By some measures, it's a David versus Goliath match-up of the Brewers, with their $154 million payroll, against the Dodgers' cast of superstars, who earn $432 million.

The Dodgers unceremoniously swept the Brewers in four games in the NLCS last year, but after leading Major League Baseball for the second straight year with 103 regular-season wins, the Brewers are confident they can go the distance this time around.

"We're going to be more ready than we were last time, I believe," Brewers manager Pat Murphy said after Milwaukee completed a 3-1 victory over the San Diego Padres in their best-of-five National League division series.

The Brewers snapped a 12-game post-season road losing streak with their clinching victory in San Diego on Wednesday -- further evidence, Murphy said, that the team has evolved from one that can pile up regular-season victories but can't contend in the playoffs.

"A lot of people have said we're not built for the post-season because we've done so well in the regular season (without) many stars," Murphy said. "I think we're proving that, no, we still can win in the post-season because good baseball is good baseball."

The Brewers will host the 100-win Dodgers in game one on Sunday, with Milwaukee's flame-throwing Jacob Misiorowski expected to take the mound against two-time reigning Cy Young Award-winner Tarik Skubal.

Misiorowski, the 24-year-old whose four-seam fastball topped out at 104.8 mph and averaged 101.2 mph in the NLDS, finished the regular season with an MLB best earned-run-average of 1.80 and 252 strikeouts.

Misiorowski is part of a talented Brewers pitching staff that held the Padres to 10 runs in their series.

The Dodgers' potent lineup is an even more formidable proposition.

Superstar Shohei Ohtani, managing nagging injuries, has struggled at the plate.

But the Los Angeles lineup still features plenty of power with the likes of Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, Teoscar Hernandez and Kyle Tucker and a pitching rotation that includes Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto -- last year's World Series MVP -- and two-time Cy Young Award-winner Blake Snell.

Brewers captain Christian Yelich said Milwaukee was eager for the challenge.

"They're a great team with great players, and they've got a championship pedigree," Yelich said shortly after Milwaukee polished off the Padres.

"But you always want to play the best, and if you want to get where you need to go, that’s what you've got to do."

A.Sun--ThChM