Technically speaking, the Los Angeles Dodgers are not facing a must-win game after losing to the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series.
But the odds will be stacked against them if the Dodgers lose Game 2 against the Brewers on Monday, Oct. 12, in Milwaukee.
Only six teams have fallen behind two games to none and still won a best-of-seven NL or AL championship series, according to MLB.com.
In fact, the Dodgers did it in 2020 against the Atlanta Braves. The Dodgers then went on to win the World Series over the Tampa Bay Rays.
Historically speaking, not even a 3-0 deficit is reason to surrender. In 2004, the Boston Red Sox lost the first three games to the New York Yankees before storming back to win the ALCS in seven
games.
Also, if the Dodgers fall behind 2-0, they’ll be headed back to Los Angeles for potentially three games in front of their home crowd before the series shifts back to Milwaukee.
Potentially demoralizing
The Dodgers' meager output in a 2-1 loss to the Brewers in Game 1 underscored a problem.
In the postseason, Los Angeles has scored 15 runs, leaving them tied for sixth in run production. Who are they tied with? Milwaukee, it turns out.
But scoring a single run on a night Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski struggled with his command was demoralizing for the Dodgers.
Even more demoralizing would be losing Game 2 with star pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto starting for the Dodgers.
He finished the regular season with an ERA of 2.53 – fifth best in the majors. In Game 3 of the NLDS against the Atlanta Braves, Yamamoto allowed one run on four hits in seven innings, striking out 10.
Teams that came back from 0-2 in LCS
The six teams that won the league championship after falling behind two games to none:
- 2025 ALCS: Toronto over Seattle in seven games
- 2023 NLCS: Arizona over Philadelphia in seven games
- 2020 NLCS: Los Angeles over Atlanta in seven games
- 2004 ALCS: Boston over New York in seven games
- 1985 ALCS: Kansas City over Toronto in seven games
- 1985 NLCS: St. Louis over Los Angeles in six games
Brewers comeback
The league championships were decided by a best-of-five before 1985. And in 1982, the Brewers fell behind the California Angels 2-0 in the ALCS before winning the final three games and advancing to the World Series. The Brewers moved to the National League in 1998.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Are Dodgers facing must-win game vs. Brewers? History offers clue
