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The Los Angeles Dodgers lost Game 2 of the NCLS in Milwaukee by a score of 7-4 on a day that included a key game-changing moment, as shared by Dave Roberts. Starting Dodgers hurler Yoshinobu Yamamoto left the game early, which Roberts also broke down afterward.
Roberts had a hard time believing the way things went down in Milwaukee, but for manager Pat Murphy and the Dodgers, it went exactly the way the team had been planning for months.
Now, the Dodgers will head back to the drawing board in hopes of winning two games at Dodger Stadium before the series shifts back to American Family Field.
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With Game 2 in the rear-view mirror, two players and one coach desire most of the blame.
Dodger to blame #1: Dave Roberts
Roberts did his best to stem the tide Milwaukee but wasn’t able to push the right buttons to get his team on top. He went through eight pitchers on the day but failed to stave off a hungry Brew Crew team that pulverized LA pitching all day.
Twelve hits were given up by Dodgers pitching as the fans wondered about Roberts’ decisions. Former Dodgers superstar pitcher turned position player Shohei Ohtani now looks like a smart option, but Ohtani hasn’t pitched since July 3, 2026.
Roberts appears to have painted himself into a corner by relieving Ohtani of his pitching duties, and now the Dodgers’ staff looks like it’s not as good as the Brewers’ staff, which could spell doom. Fans are calling for Roberts to make a big lineup change in search of a spark against the Brewers.
Dodger to blame #2: Shohei Ohtani
Ohtani failed to get a hit or a walk in four at-bats, hurting his team at the plate in a losing effort. The Dodgers continued to battle at the plate but couldn’t get the big hits they needed as the Brewers slammed the door shut after Los Angeles scored two runs in the fifth inning.
Ohtani is too good to only get four chances to impact the game per day, not counting his time on defense. He was asked through an interpreter if he will pitch again this season and the response was stark. “Most likely, no,” the interpreter said on behalf of the Dodgers’ superstar.
Ohtani now has one hit and one walk in the series. He’s not making much of an impact, and his pitching is sorely missed as the Dodgers continue to square off against some of the best pitchers they have faced all season on Murphy’s team.
Dodger to blame #3: Yoshinobu Yamamoto
The stat line said it all for the Dodgers’ second starter: 2.2 innings pitched, four hits and three earned runs given up, while striking out just one batter.
Yamamoto was tasked with stopping the bleeding after a rough Game 1 outing from the Dodgers’ offense and couldn’t do it against a Brewers lineup that has most likely been living in the film room dissecting every pitch from the Dodgers star.
Yamamoto is still a young player who was thrust into the spotlight earlier than most, but that doesn’t excuse his poor performance. Roberts could have left him in to keep battling the Brewers’ upstart lineup, but that probably wouldn’t have been a wise decision based on the way he was pitching.
The Dodgers win and lose as a team, and there is plenty of blame to go around after two shocking losses to start the NLCS. Roberts, Ohtani and Yamamoto were key players in last year’s title run, now they are getting blame, and deservedly so, for a slow start to the NLCS.
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