MILWAUKEE – The Dodgers’ Advantages Diminish

One by one, the advantages that the Dodgers once held are slipping away.

Take their starting pitching, for instance—

It’s been neutralized by the Brewers’ lineup.

What about their offensive strength?

Well, they have yet to hit a home run in the first two games of this National League Championship Series.

And then there’s Shohei Ohtani—

He’s been overwhelmed by mid-90s fastballs.

Currently, the Dodgers are down two games in this best-of-seven series. Following their 7-4 loss in Game 2 at American Family Field, they find themselves hoping, perhaps against reason, that the Brewers will tire before reaching the finish line.

But first, the Dodgers need to figure out how to get back in this series.

With three home games ahead, they have Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow set to pitch in Games 3 and 4. But that doesn’t ensure victory, especially considering how well the Brewers are playing. Their offense may not be spectacular, but it’s effective and hard-working. Plus, their bullpen is relentless and confident, clearly believing they can challenge the reigning World Series champions.

If there was a game the Brewers were expected to lose, it was Game 2 with Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the mound for the Dodgers.

Instead of falling short, the Brewers took control, wearing him down and forcing the Dodgers to deplete their bullpen.

This led to a disaster for the Dodgers, who usually rely on the Japanese right-hander to save the day at pivotal moments like this.

They were all too familiar with the playbook the Brewers were following.

Run up the starter’s pitch count, get him out early, and take advantage of the bullpen.

This time, however, it was the Dodgers who became the target, and they failed to execute their usual game plan against Yamamoto.

Instead of a standout performance, they got, well, a major letdown. Yamamoto did strike out Jackson Chourio to start the game and seemed poised to strike out Brice Turang as well—only, a questionable call turned a strike into a ball, allowing Turang to double to left field.

Turang then scored on a single from William Contreras, leveling the game at 1-1.

Yamamoto threw 25 pitches in that first inning alone.

Two innings later, he found himself the victim of another missed third strike call on Turang. This time, a walk put runners on first and second with one out.

A few batters later, Jake Bauers coaxed a 12-pitch walk to load the bases, which set up Christian Yelich for a two-run single that put the Brewers ahead, 3-2.

With 75 pitches thrown, Yamamoto was pulled from the game. His 2 ⅔ innings pitched marked his shortest postseason start in the majors.

When the game turned into a bullpen showdown, the Brewers thrived while the Dodgers had to confront their biggest vulnerability.

Last year, the Dodgers faced a daunting challenge by overcoming a three-games-to-two deficit against the Toronto Blue Jays. The year before that, they reversed a two-games-to-one deficit against the San Diego Padres to win the title.

They’ve overcome tough situations before.

But the challenges posed by the Brewers might be problems they cannot easily resolve.