Outhit, Outpitched, Outhomered. The Dodgers Don't Have Answers For The Brewers

AMERICAN FAMILY FIELD (Milwaukee) – The scene was understandably quiet in the visiting clubhouse Monday night, save for the clanking of silverware from the kitchen in the back and the zipping of bags as the Dodgers prepared to return home in unfamiliar territory. For the first time since getting swept out of the 2023 National League Division Series, the defending back-to-back champions are staring at a 2-0 deficit in a postseason series. And after going 15 up, 15 down to end Game 2 against a Brewers bullpen that has a 0.31 ERA this October, and watching playoff sensation Yoshinobu Yamamoto fail to escape the third inning in Milwaukee, the Dodgers seemed almost incredulous. "If there is a positive, you can say that a lot of our guys are starting to get looks at their back-end guys," said third baseman Max Muncy. "But when they’re as good as they are, I don’t know how much that helps." Muncy, of course, still said he likes the Dodgers’ chances. "Things are going to turn," Muncy claimed. The rest of the room followed suit. "There’s never a doubt, at least for me," said Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernández. "I know what I’m capable of. I know what this team is capable of. Just because we lose two games doesn’t mean it’s over." "It’s gonna be a great series," added Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman. "They know they’ve got a lot on their hands, too." So far, though, the Dodgers have yet to show it. Through two games, it’s the Brewers withstanding and countering every punch. "There’s a reason why they won 103 games, whatever it was," Hernández told me. "They play good baseball. They don’t make a lot of errors. They have a really good bullpen, and their starters are doing their job." Including the postseason, Milwaukee has a winning record this year in games in which its opponent scores first. Four of the Brewers’ five wins this postseason have come in comeback fashion, including in Game 2 of the NLCS, when the Dodgers jumped ahead on three different occasions. Each time, the persistent Brewers offense responded, teetering the Dodgers’ dynasty with every swing. In the aftermath of Milwaukee’s latest fusillade Monday night, the stillness inside the visiting clubhouse, and the blank stares ahead following a 7-4 loss, might have spoken louder than the words of optimism. "There’s still a lot of series left," Muncy said. "We’re still a really good team. We can easily go out there and win three or four in a row." That was supposed to start Monday night, though. Losing Game 1 wasn’t staggering. On Sunday, the Brewers countered defending two-time American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal with National League Cy Young favorite Jacob Misiorowski. Given the depth advantage the Dodgers have in the rotation, it was a game Milwaukee had to have. Game 2 was a different story. The Dodgers, after all, were turning to their October star, Yamamoto, against a rookie in Milwaukee’s Logan Henderson. Split the road trip, and they would head home in fine shape. Only, even the reigning World Series MVP couldn’t save them. "It was tough, but he’s a human being, too," Mookie Betts said. "I think everyone is so used to him being a robot that if he didn’t go eight innings with no hits or whatever, then it wasn’t Yamamoto." Even half of that would have put the Dodgers in better shape. Yamamoto had won each of his last five playoff appearances entering Game 2, including a complete game against the Brewers in last year’s NLCS, and had a 1.42 postseason ERA dating back to last season. He had handled the Brewers effortlessly during the regular season, beating them both times he faced them and allowing a combined two runs over 13 innings of work, and was coming off a career-high, 10-strikeout performance in Game 1 of the NLDS. There’s arguably no pitcher in Major League Baseball that a team would feel more confident winning a game in October than Yamamoto. Which made the result so stupefying. Even Yamamoto, the latest victim of "Brewer Ball," struggled to explain it. He needed 75 pitches to record eight outs before departing. "I don’t know the exact reason yet," Yamamoto said through his interpreter. "I need to check the videos, and then I can reflect on what happened today." "He just didn’t have it tonight," added Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. And, for the second straight night, neither did the Dodgers’ bats. "It’s hard to win games when you only get three hits," Freeman said. Through two games, they’ve been outhit, outpitched and, perhaps most surprisingly, outhomered. They’ve still yet to go deep in the series, while a Brewers team that ranked last in the National League in home runs has homered twice. The Dodgers’ four-time MVP, Shohei Ohtani, looks completely out of sorts, their starting pitching advantage has been neutralized, their bullpen is losing the relief battle and the Brewers’ relentless offensive barrage continues to overwhelm opponents. The Dodgers haven’t lost a postseason series since their 2023 debacle. They were pushed to the brink each of the last two Octobers and found a way out. But if they want to make history, becoming the first National League team ever to win three straight championships, time is running short. These Brewers don’t look fazed. "The mindset can’t really change," Betts said. "We can’t add more pressure. There’s already enough as it is."