MILWAUKEE -- The Dodgers did what they were supposed to do with the extra outs the Brewers gifted them on Monday night. But when it came to building innings without the help of miscues from their opponent, they fell flat.
After going hitless with runners in scoring position for the fourth time in six postseason games, the Dodgers fell to the Brewers, 7-4, in Game 2 of the NL Championship Series at American Family Field.
Given the way that typically reliable hitters such as Shohei Ohtani (3-for-20) and Will Smith (1-for-23) have scuffled -- and that Andy Pages is the lone Dodger with a hit with runners in scoring position this postseason -- it's no wonder that the L.A. offense has felt disjointed.
"We threw out three hits tonight," manager Dave Roberts said. "So it was some of the starter, some of the bullpen. I don't have an answer why. I know that they've got good arms; so do we. I think they're just finding ways to win pitches better than we are."
The Dodgers are off to an 0-2 start in a postseason series for the first time since the 2023 NLDS -- which is also the last postseason series they lost. The back-to-back champions have some work to do to keep their three-peat bid alive as the series shifts to Dodger Stadium for Game 3 on Wednesday.
In all best-of-seven postseason series, teams with a 2-0 lead have gone on to win the series 79 of 95 times (83%). In series with the current 2-3-2 format, teams taking a 2-0 lead at home have gone on to win 46 of 57 times (81%). Of the 16 teams who went down 0-2 before rallying to win the series, two have come within the past three seasons: the D-backs against the Phillies in the 2023 NLCS and the Blue Jays against the Mariners in the 2025 ALCS.
"I'm not going to think about anything but the next game," Brewers manager Pat Murphy said.
None of the Dodgers' four runs scored via a hit on Monday. They got the job done with sacrifice flies from Teoscar Hernández and Freddie Freeman, as well as two errant throws from Brewers starter Logan Henderson.
When the Dodgers pulled in front, it was never for long. The shutdown inning eluded them in three chances, starting with Yoshinobu Yamamoto -- who was done after throwing 75 pitches in 2 2/3 innings -- and continuing with a leaky bullpen.
The Dodgers left only two runners on base, their fewest in a single game this postseason. But that wasn't a positive: They had only six baserunners, and none after Henderson departed the game. Four Brewers relievers closed out the contest by going 15 up, 15 down -- the most perfect innings thrown by a bullpen in a single game in postseason history.
Through the first two games of the NLCS, the Dodgers' bats have not performed up to their capabilities. It's difficult to build innings against elite pitching staffs, but they have not slugged either. The offense is searching for its identity -- and it is running out of time to find it, two losses away from the Brewers ending L.A.’s season.
"They’re a really good ballclub," Mookie Betts said. "Really good arms. They’re swinging it. They’re playing really well. We have to come and be ready to go. There’s no secrets. We’re playing the game the same way. We’ve just got to find a way to get those hits."
Only two previous teams had only one player with a hit with runners in scoring position through their first six postseason games, according to the Elias Sports Bureau: the 1983 Phillies (Gary Matthews Sr., 3-for-6) and the 2020 A's (Chad Pinder, 4-for-6). That's not great company for the Dodgers to be in, as the '83 Phillies made it to the World Series but lost in five games (before the Division Series began) and the '20 A's were eliminated in the ALDS.
Pages is 2-for-3 with runners in scoring position; the rest of the Dodgers are a collective 0-for-23 in such situations.
The Dodgers don't have their backs against the wall quite yet this postseason. They played with their season on the line twice during their runs to back-to-back championships -- in the 2024 NLDS and in the '25 World Series -- and made it out on the other side.
That experience gives them confidence that they can survive this trial, too. But in order to give themselves a chance, the offense needs to start clicking -- and soon.
"There's never a doubt, at least for me," Hernández said. "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."