William Contreras, Jackson Chourio Couldn't Adjust Fast Enough Against Blake Snell in Game 1

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Los Angeles Dodgers starter Blake Snell pitched extremely well in Game 1 of the NLCS, but it’s difficult to call him masterful when the Milwaukee Brewers made it so easy on him. The team didn't make good or quick enough adjustments across eight shutout innings against Snell, which is how he faced the minimum and allowed just one weakly hit single in his outing.

It was an issue up and down the lineup, though the most telling and frustrating examples came from Jackson Chourio and William Contreras. You can’t complain about what they’ve done so far this postseason, but their approaches, swings and poor performance at the dish Monday exemplified the Brewers’ ugly effort. They need to be the stars they are in a series like this—particularly when they face a left-hander, whom they historically destroy.

For whatever reason—maybe stubbornness, or trying to play hero; maybe a well-constructed plan they just couldn't adapt quickly enough—Contreras and Chourio flailed and stumbled all night, in a combined 0-for-6 against Snell. The southpaw had them eating out of his hand, and he kept feeding them the same recipe. The pair combined to see 31 pitches across six total plate appearances against the two-time Cy Young Award winner. They saw only three four-seam fastballs (9.7%) and three sliders (9.7%). Instead, 20 of the 31 pitches were changeups (65.5%), but they both kept trying to pull the ball in the air. Chourio saw a bit more of a mix of pitches, but both were offered soft serve in bunches.

Chourio: 17 pitches

2 fastballs (11.8%)
4 curveballs
2 sliders
9 changeups

Contreras: 14 total pitches

1 fastball (7.1%)
1 curveball
1 slider
11 changeups

In fairness, this was an extreme approach, regardless of batter-pitcher matchups. It's not something Snell usually does, and it would have been almost impossible to prepare for. Nonetheless, it utterly baffled them. The prime examples were their last at-bats against the left-hander (below). Chourio and Contreras each saw four pitches, all changeups, resulting in a strikeout and a pull-side groundout. So in their third time seeing him, they still didn’t get it—or refused to change.

Snell had a similar strategy against Isaac Collins, but he changed it up against Andrew Vaughn, with a higher percentage of fastballs. Overall, whether lefties or righties, Snell tossed only 28 fastballs out of his 103 pitches (27.2%). When it came to the Brewers’ leadoff man and three-hole hitter, it was offspeed for days, but it wasn’t only the type of pitch that Snell rarely altered to them. Of the 31 pitches Contreras and Chourio saw, 22 would be considered middle or away (70.9%). It was soft away a vast majority of the time, and if you review their swings, there wasn’t one that showed an obvious desire to drive the ball to the right of second base. Considering Chourio’s power to the right-center alley (two home runs that way in last year’s Wild Card round) and Contreras’s proven ability to shoot balls into right field, that was a missed opportunity. We discussed the importance of Chourio going the other way on that changeup before Monday's game.

Instead, they finished their six at-bats versus Snell with three strikeouts, two weak grounders to third and a tapper to the pitcher. Kudos to Snell for just sticking with what was working, and mostly hitting spots. He left a few offspeed pitches up and out over the plate, but because the Brewers were so pull-happy, he got away with it.

The same goes for the pitches Snell tossed well outside or well down. If guys like Chourio and Contreras (among others) have a better approach and stay-behind-the-ball mindset, it’s likely they could have laid off many of those more clearly outside the zone. But when you’re opening up and out front, it makes it twice as difficult to check your swing.

This isn’t meant to blame two of Milwaukee’s best hitters for the loss; they weren’t alone in creating the frustrating scene. But Chourio and Contreras’s issues were emblematic of the entire evening, especially considering how those two have handled lefties in their careers. Snell never changed his tactics against them.

Snell tossed a gem, thanks in large part to an ingenious game plan. He also got some help from Brewers hitters, whose approaches and lack of adjustments played nearly as significant a role in the Dodgers taking a 1-0 lead in the NLCS. Come Game 5, Milwaukee will have to catch up to him on the adjustment curve.

Tim Muma is a lifelong Brewers fan who has written about baseball and the Crew since 2009 for a variety of sites. He has been a regular guest on Brewers and sports radio shows and podcasts over that time. Tim's love of the game goes well beyond the Brewers, having coached baseball for more than 15 years from Little League and travel ball to high school and some college (and he still plays a little, too).

Follow Tim Muma on Twitter: @TimMumaMKE