NLCS: Names to know

Known in Boston for the stolen base that sparked the Red Sox epic comeback vs. the Yankees in the 2004 ALCS, Roberts is in his third season as the Dodgers manager. He's helped them claim the NL West in three straight seasons and is 287-200 with the team during the regular season.

A pesky utility man during his 16-year MLB career, Counsell is in his first season as Brewers manager and is making his first playoff appearance in that role. He's taken an unorthodox approach with defense and pitching, particularly this year.

Grandal had another excellent offensive showing for the Dodgers this year, hitting .241-24-68 with an .815 OPS in 140 games. He was 1-for-13 with a home run during this year's playoffs.

Pina shared time with Erik Kratz at catcher late in the year. He hit .252-9-28 with a .702 OPS during the regular season but is considered a plus defender behind the plate.

A highly productive minor league player, Muncy had a breakout year in the majors at age 27 (now 28). He hit 35 home runs and participated in the Home Run Derby, and he has added two home runs in four playoff games this season.

Aguilar emerged from the minors to carve out a bench role last year and has done much more for the Brew Crew this year. He finished the regular season hitting .274-35-108 in 149 games and making an All-Star appearance. Aguilar also has one homer during the playoffs.

Acquired from Minnesota at the trade deadline, Dozier has really struggled at the plate in his walk year. He's hit just .215-21-72 this season, and his average is only .182 since joining the Dodgers. So far, he's seen only two at-bats during the playoffs.

Milwaukee has made Shaw a versatile player this season, playing him at both third and second to keep his bat in the game. He hit a career-high 32 home runs during the regular season with a strong .825 OPS. Shaw is 4-for-11 during this year's playoffs.

Turner missed the start of the season to injury but has made up for lost time, hitting .312-14-52 in 103 games to finish out the year. Last year's NLCS MVP, Turner is 5-for-14 in the playoffs so far this year.

Moustakas had a dry offseason in the free-agent market despite hitting a career-high 38 home runs for the Royals last season. After returning to KC, he was shipped to Milwaukee at the trade deadline and finished the year with 28 home runs. He's 4-for-11 during this year's playoffs.

Machado is one of the biggest prizes of this year's free-agent market, but first he will try to win a World Series with the Dodgers. The star infielder hit .297-37-107 during the regular season between Baltimore and L.A. and has launched two homers in four playoff games so far this year.

Arcia has struggled at the plate this year, but he's Craig Counsell's weapon of choice when he wants defense on the field. After hitting .277-15-53 last season, Arcia hit just .236-3-30 in 119 games this season.

Pederson is the Dodgers left fielder against right-handed pitching and had a major bounce-back season in 2018. He hit .248-25-56 in 443 plate appearances this year and already has a home run in the playoffs.

The 2011 NL MVP, Braun isn't the player he once was, hitting just .254-20-64 in 120 games during the regular season. However, Braun still smashes lefties and is 5-for-13 in three playoff games this year.

Last year's NL Rookie of the Year, Bellinger experienced a bit of a sophomore slump, hitting .260-25-76 with an .814 OPS. He's shifted to center field most of the time as a result of Max Muncy's breakout year.

Cain signed a five-year, $80 million contract in the offseason and has been worth every penny for the Brewers so far. He finished the regular season hitting .308-10-38 with 30 steals as Milwaukee's leadoff man and also made his second All-Star appearance.

After a slow start, Puig came around late in the year and ended the regular season hitting .267-23-63 in 125 games. The gregarious outfielder is 3-for-9 during this year's playoffs.

The likely NL MVP, Yelich came just short of hitting for the Triple Crown, at .326-36-110 this season. He led the NL in batting average, slugging percentage and OPS after a hot second half, and his OPS is 1.196 in this year's playoffs.

A utility man and pinch hitter vs. lefties before this season, Hernandez saw more significant playing time this year and made the most of it. He hit 21 home runs during the regular season and found regular work at second base during the NLDS.

Acquired from Baltimore at the trade deadline, Schoop struggled after joining Milwaukee. After hitting 32 home runs last year, he hit just 21 in 131 games this year and saw limited playing time in the NLDS.

Taylor took on a utility role after the Dodgers acquired Manny Machado in July but had a productive year, hitting .254-17-63. He hit a home run during the NLDS.

Granderson was acquired from Toronto late in the year and has appeared in 59 playoff games during his career. He still has pop but serves mostly as a pinch hitter for the Brewers.

Added in a salary dump from Atlanta last offseason, Kemp showed up in better shape and made the Dodgers in spring training. After a great first half, he slowed down the stretch and has spent most of his time on the bench lately. He still finished the regular season hitting .290-21-84 in 146 games.

A late bloomer with plenty of experience, Kratz has been a valuable piece for Milwaukee after being acquired from the Yankees in late May. He shares time behind the plate with Manny Pina.

Freese was a late acquisition from Pittsburgh, but his history as a great playoff performer has already shown again this year. He had a critical hit in the NLDS and is also remembered as the 2011 World Series MVP with St. Louis for his late-game heroics in Game 6.

Signed to a two-year, $15.5 million contract with Milwaukee in the offseason, Chacin has arguably been his team's most reliable starter this year. He finished the year 15-8 with a 3.50 ERA in 35 starts and won his only start during this year's postseason.

A three-time Cy Young Award winner, Kershaw finished the regular season 9-5 with a 2.73 ERA in 26 starts. The lefty has a shaky playoff reputation but pitched well last year and into this season. He threw eight scoreless innings vs. Atlanta in the NLDS.

Miley has been a major league journeyman but was great when given the opportunity for Milwaukee this season. The lefty finished with a 2.57 ERA in 16 starts despite only 50 strikeouts in 80.2 innings. He threw 4.2 scoreless innings during the NLDS.

The oft-injured Ryu has been nearly untouchable when on the mound for LA this year. He had a 1.97 ERA in 15 starts in the regular season and threw seven scoreless innings in Game 1 of the NLDS.

Gonzalez struggled this year with Washington but after being traded to the Brewers in August, he started to come around in five starts with Milwaukee, allowing just six earned runs in 25.1 innings. He didn't appear in a game during the NLDS.

Buehler was terrific for the Dodgers during the regular season, with a 2.62 ERA and 151 strikeouts in 137.1 innings. The hard-throwing right-hander did struggle in his only NLDS start, allowing five runs in five innings.

Hader has been Milwaukee's biggest bullpen weapon this year, throwing 81.1 innings with 143 strikeouts and 12 saves during the regular season. The sidearming lefty had three scoreless appearances during the NLDS.

Hill has been a late bloomer over the last few years and posted a 3.66 ERA in 132.2 innings during the regular season at age 38. He allowed two runs in 4.1 innings in his start vs. the Braves in the NLDS.

Knebel opened the year as Milwaukee's closer but was eventually removed from the role after injuries and struggles. He still finished the year strong and had three dominant appearances in the NLDS against the Rockies.

It's been a more eventful year than usual for the Dodgers' dominant closer, finishing with an ERA above 3.00 but still with 38 saves. He looked strong in the NLDS, making two scoreless appearances.

Jeffress was Milwaukee's closer during the second half of the year, finishing the season with a 1.29 ERA and 15 saves. The All-Star allowed two runs in 3.1 innings in his three NLDS appearances.