LOS ANGELES -- After dropping the first two games of the National League Championship Series in Milwaukee, the Dodgers are keenly aware of what needs to change as the series shifts to Los Angeles.
“We've just got to play better baseball,” said catcher Will Smith. “It's a long seven-game series. … Win the next game, and we'll go from there.”
Indeed, “better baseball” is the simplest way to put it. But what does that entail? How, exactly, can the Dodgers get back on track in their quest for a third straight World Series championship?
Here’s are four ways L.A. can do so:
1. Consider shuffling the lineup, but trust this offense
First and foremost, the Dodgers need to get Shohei Ohtani right. The organization has more information than we do about how his left knee and right biceps injuries are affecting him. But this much seems clear: Ohtani is not himself.
Now, the Dodgers must weigh the possibility of sitting Ohtani, likely in favor of top prospect Josue De Paula. If Ohtani is healthy, of course, that’d be asinine. But Ohtani is just 3-for-20 with three singles in the postseason, so letting him ride the pine for a game might make sense. It would allow the three-time NL MVP to get some rest, and hopefully, get in a groove offensively before it’s too late.
That decision is a fine line to walk. But there are other ways for Los Angeles to create more offense with its lineup. Kyle Tucker’s at-bats have been excellent. He’s still hitting eighth. Do you move him up? Do you move Smith down, following his 1-for-23 start to the postseason, even after he hit three line drives in Game 2 (all of which became outs)?
Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Max Muncy have all delivered solid at-bats. All three of them have extensive October track records.
So, yes, maybe you tweak the lineup. Maybe Tucker takes Ohtani’s cleanup spot? Maybe Andy Pages, who has also put together competitive at-bats, moves up to the three-hole? (Pages is 4-for-5 against Brewers Game 3 starter Robert Gasser, with a double, a homer and four balls hit at 101+ mph.) Maybe October hero Kiké Hernández gets another start at second base -- a vibes play with the season potentially on the line?
As a whole, the Dodgers must trust who -- and what -- got them here.
2. Break the Brewers’ bullpen
Yes, the Brewers' bullpen has excelled in the first two games, even twirling five perfect innings in Game 2, but it’s a long series. As familiarity grows, the matchups swing toward the hitter. And Milwaukee will now be tasked with covering three games in three nights.
Thus far, the Brewers have only had to cover seven batters with relievers who weren’t Aaron Ashby, Abner Uribe or Trevor Megill.
No, there’s no soft underbelly in Milwaukee's ‘pen. There’s DL Hall, JoJo Romero, Chad Patrick and Antonio Senzatela. It’s a very deep bullpen. Still, if you’re the Dodgers, you’d feel a lot better about things with those matchups.
The Brewers are going to turn to Gasser in Game 3 on Wednesday and potentially Dustin May in Game 4 on Thursday. They’ll have quicker hooks than Jacob Misiorowski and Henderson in their next start, although each of Milwaukee’s aces lasted only 4 1/3 and four innings, respectively, in the series' first two games.
Brewers manager Pat Murphy almost certainly can’t deploy his bullpen as aggressively as he did during the first two games. If he does, there will be some level of familiarity and fatigue factor. The Dodgers must capitalize on these opportunities.
3. Win in the strike zone
Dodgers pitchers should know by now that the Brewers aren’t going to chase. Milwaukee posted a MLB-best 26.9% chase rate in the regular season. (Heck, no team had a lower swing rate, period, as the Brewers' 44.1% was well below the league average of 47.7%.)
On the surface, Blake Snell might not seem like the optimal starter for Game 3, then, given his penchant for walks. But, somewhat sneakily, Snell posted the lowest walk rate of his career this season (albeit in a small sample).
Which is to say: The Dodgers need that version of Snell on Wednesday. The same goes for Tyler Glasnow in Game 4.
So, the Brewers don’t chase, but they can be beaten. They’re generally not going to slug, and if you can prevent traffic on the bases, that doesn’t leave many run-scoring options. This is extra crucial for Snell and Glasnow, given their trouble with holding runners.
Milwaukee has also struggled, relatively speaking, against left-handed pitching this season. So, it’s helpful that the Dodgers have a lefty lined up to pitch in L.A. in Game 3. Snell might not be able to induce chase from the Brewers’ hitters, but he can beat them in the strike zone.
“I like where we're at as far as, in a vacuum, who's pitching, where our bullpen is at and being at home,” Roberts said.
4. Trust the experience
The Dodgers have been here before. OK, maybe not precisely this situation, against this Brewers team. But they’ve dealt with postseason adversity before. They’ve had to turn the tide of a series before.
And they’ve done it.
Last October, the Dodgers trailed the Blue Jays, 3-2, in the World Series heading back to Toronto, needing to win Games 6 and 7 on the road. In 2024, they needed to win two straight against the Padres in the NLDS. In 2020, the Dodgers faced both 2-0 and 3-1 deficits against the Braves in the NLCS.
They won all three of those series. They won the World Series in each of those years.
That’s not to say the current situation isn’t dire. But the Dodgers have faced similarly dire circumstances before. And they know what it takes to overcome them.