LOS ANGELES (AP) — The star-studded Los Angeles Dodgers, so used to winning year after year, find themselves in unfamiliar territory lately — on the brink of playoff elimination.
The two-time defending World Series champions are aiming to become the first National League team to win a third straight title and the first club to three-peat since the New York Yankees from 1998-2000.
But that seems increasingly unlikely.
The Dodgers are facing a 3-0 deficit against Milwaukee in the National League Championship Series after losing 6-2 on Wednesday. They'll need to win four games in a row to advance, starting Thursday in Game 4 at Dodger Stadium.
“It looks like we’re going to have to make a little more history along the way if we want to accomplish that,” third baseman Max Muncy said. “We still have the pitching staff to be able to do it. We just have to get some hits.”
Offense has been sparse in the postseason. The Dodgers are 3 for 32 with runners in scoring position overall and 1 for 14 against the Brewers. Los Angeles cranked out 204 homers in the regular season — seventh in MLB — but have none so far in the NLCS.
“It’s just this whole series they’ve outslugged us, outhit us,” manager Dave Roberts said. “We’ve got to get a lead and find a way to tack on.”
The Dodgers scored twice in the sixth inning to take a 2-1 lead in Game 3 before pinch-hitter Kiké Hernández came up with runners on second and third and one out. But he struck out swinging, and Tommy Edman took a called third strike to end the inning.
“That was the game right there,” Hernández said. “We need to put the ball in play. I struck out and gave Tommy a way harder job with two outs. I have had two of the biggest at-bats in the series for our team and I haven’t been able to come through. I just need to do my job.”
Tyler Glasnow is scheduled to pitch Thursday for the Dodgers, who are 44-42 in postseason elimination games. If they can find a way to win, they would host Game 5 on Friday.
“We’ve never been in this big of a hole,” Hernández said, “but we’ve had our backs against the wall plenty of times before, and we’ve come out of it. We’re just trying to do it one more time.”
Except none of the Dodgers' hitters are doing much of anything. Kyle Tucker, who struggled mightily in the regular season, has been a bright spot. He's batting .304 after going 1 for 3 on Wednesday.
But the top of the lineup — Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Teoscar Hernández — was a combined 1 for 11 in Game 3, when the Dodgers totaled five hits.
The deepest slumps involve four-time MVP Shohei Ohtani and catcher Will Smith. Ohtani was 1 for 2, raising his average to .182 a year after being MVP of the NLCS sweep against the Brewers. Smith was 1 for 4 with a two-run double, but his average is far south of the Mendoza Line at .074.
In Game 2, the Dodgers mustered just three hits in a 7-4 loss.
The only team in major league history to come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a best-of-seven postseason series was the 2004 Boston Red Sox, who got a gutsy stolen base from Roberts to spark their comeback against the New York Yankees in the AL Championship Series.
Roberts was asked if he might reminisce with his Dodgers players about that before Thursday's game.
“I don’t think so. I think they’ve seen the documentary. They know it can happen,” he said.
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