MILWAUKEE –– The Dodgers Hope to Reset, But Face Alarm Instead

The Dodgers were looking to turn the tide on Monday, but instead, they fell into a panic.

Losing Game 1 in their National League Championship Series rematch against the Milwaukee Brewers was manageable, but losing Game 2 has left their season in a precarious position.

This time, they weren’t facing a potential Cy Young winner; they had their own postseason ace, reigning World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto, on the mound. They expected him to steady the ship.

But in a surprising defeat at American Family Field, something unexpected occurred.

Yamamoto, despite a strong playoff background and an impressive postseason ERA, couldn’t help the defending champions hold their ground.

The Brewers, who had previously allowed Yamamoto to breeze through a complete game against them, turned the tables with relentless at-bats.

During a grueling 75-pitch outing, Yamamoto managed only 2 ⅔ innings of work. Even though he had leads to work with, he left the game with the Dodgers trailing.

The situation was disheartening – marked by missed ABS challenge chances for Will Smith and an exhausting 12-pitch battle from Jake Bauers, leading to a crucial two-run single from Christian Yelich that sent Yamamoto to the bench.

The game continued to shift after his early exit, but it put too much pressure on the bullpen, as the Dodgers returned to Los Angeles facing an alarming two-games-to-none deficit as they prepared for Game 3 on Wednesday.

The Dodgers began the game strong, scoring in the first inning after Mookie Betts worked a walk, advanced through a grounder, and then scored on a sacrifice fly from Teoscar Hernández.

The Brewers didn’t take long to respond, rallying in the bottom of the first – a sequence that set the tone for their strategy against Yamamoto.

Yamamoto looked poised to get a third strike against Brice Turang but was denied by a close call from the umpire, exacerbated by Smith’s decision not to challenge the call. This would come back to haunt them as Turang hit a double shortly after. William Contreras followed, getting an RBI single just over Max Muncy’s reach.

The Brewers executed another successful attack in the third, capitalizing on a pickoff error from Dodgers pitcher Logan Henderson, and once again, the missed ABS challenge for a third strike on Turang allowed them to build momentum.

Bauers’ at-bat became a monumental struggle for Yamamoto, spanning an exhausting 12 pitches and even causing a delay when his PitchCom device died midway through. Ultimately, Yamamoto couldn’t escape the inning, resulting in a go-ahead single from Yelich that meant the end of his day.

It was Yamamoto’s shortest playoff appearance, and it put immense pressure on the Dodgers’ bullpen.

Despite going ahead briefly in the fifth inning, thanks to another throwing error from Henderson, the Brewers quickly tied it when Contreras hit a massive home run off reliever Kris Bubic.

Contreras struck again in the sixth, with a single driving in more runs as the Dodgers found themselves unable to respond. For the second consecutive night, they were stifled by the Brewers’ bullpen, going completely hitless after Henderson’s exit.

In the eighth, the Brewers added two more runs, putting to rest any lingering hopes for a dramatic comeback in front of an enthusiastic home crowd.

Now, the Dodgers are staring down a two-game deficit, a situation few could have anticipated. Alarm bells are ringing, and their hopes for a World Series repeat are in serious jeopardy.