LOS ANGELES, Oct 13 (Reuters) - The Los Angeles Dodgers have spent the last two Octobers spraying champagne. This year they may be facing an early winter.
The two-time defending World Series champions trail the Milwaukee Brewers 2-0 in the National League Championship Series after a 7-4 loss on Monday. Their pitching has wobbled and their lineup has barely made a sound.
On Monday, Milwaukee shattered Yoshinobu Yamamoto's aura of postseason invincibility. Christian Yelich hit a two-run single to knock
out the 2025 World Series MVP after just 2-2/3 innings.
A day earlier, the Brewers chased prized midseason acquisition Tarik Skubal after five innings on their way to a 2-1 win in Game One.
Still, the mound is not the Dodgers' biggest problem. Their star-studded lineup is hitting .193 this postseason and is 2-for-26 with runners in scoring position. On Monday they managed three hits.
Shohei Ohtani’s bat has also gone quiet. The four-time MVP has been playing through problems with his left knee, right biceps and neck, and it shows. He went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts on Monday. He is now batting .150 (3-for-20) in the postseason, with seven strikeouts and no extra-base hits.
The slump is bad enough that Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is reportedly considering what once seemed unthinkable: benching Ohtani for Game Three in Los Angeles on Wednesday. Rookie Josue De Paula would likely replace him at designated hitter.
"Obviously it hasn't been good," Roberts told The Athletic after the loss. "He doesn't feel great. I think for me, it's having a conversation with him tomorrow, kind of try to figure out what's best for him, what's best for us."
The Dodgers have escaped tight spots before. In last year's Fall Classic, they trailed the Toronto Blue Jays 3-2 and won the last two games to take the title.
Shortstop Mookie Betts had a simple answer.
"We just have to figure out a way to get hits," he said.
"That's really it. There's no magic to it."
(Reporting by Rory CarrollEditing by Toby Davis)
