Both games look like grinders to me. In Milwaukee it is the opener of the Division Series, with the Brewers' Cy Young favourite facing a lefty San Diego picked on purpose. In Seoul, LG and KIA are fighting over third place and both dugouts are talking about one-run innings and bullpen games.
Milwaukee first. Jacob Misiorowski comes in at 16-5 with a 1.80 ERA and has not allowed a run in his last 13.1 innings. San Diego's answer is Robbie Ray, and the reporting is that he got the nod because the Brewers hit lefties worse than righties (13th in the majors against lefties, first against righties). The Brewers also had a bye, so their bullpen has not pitched in days, and San Diego has depth behind Ray with Miller, Morejon and Matsui. Neither reported lineup looks like a full-strength version, so I expect a tight game decided by a few innings.
Seoul second. KIA's manager said before the series he is treating these three games like a short series and expects the end to be a bullpen fight where one extra run matters. LG has been scoring about 3.8 a game over its last 10 and KIA about 3.9. Eight of their last ten meetings finished with nine runs or fewer, and LG has lost four straight, so it is playing for single runs rather than big innings.
Put together, I like both games to stay in a low-to-medium scoring range: strong arms and deep relievers in one, two clubs playing small-ball for a playoff spot in the other.
