By Ben Krimmel
Brewers manager Craig Counsell surprised many when he named
former Washington Nationals pitcher Gio Gonzalez the starter for Game 1 of the NLCS.
"We like the matchup against their lineup,"
Counsell said. "It's no secret that we're going to use our pitching a little differently than the traditionalists would like. And so for us, the first matchup that we liked was Gio on the mound. We're asking Gio to go out there and get a bunch of outs. How many, we'll just see how it goes."
How many outs did the ex-Nat record? Six.
Counsell continued that nontraditional approach with pitchers and took out Gonzalez after just 32 pitches. His final stat line: one run, one hit, one walk, one strikeout, and a 4.50 ERA. The run coming on a Manny Machado home run.
WELCOME TO THE NLCS, MANNY!@Dodgers strike first in Game 1!--:Live on FS1 pic.twitter.com/o88lhct4om
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX)
October 13, 2018 The Brewers rebounded from the early deficit, chasing Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw after just three innings, en route to a 6-5 Game 1 win.
