The National League Championship Series is back in Los Angeles, and the Dodgers offense has yet to fully show up. One year after sweeping the Milwaukee Brewers in this series, it’s the Brewers with the commanding lead now, trying for their first World Series appearance in 44 years.
A two-game losing streak in the postseason is never advisable, though the Dodgers in each of their last two title runs survived such a fate. After dropping Games 2 and 3 of the NL Division Series in 2024, the Dodgers won
the last two games against the San Diego Padres to advance. In the 2025 World Series, the Dodgers dropped Games 4 and 5 to the Blue Jays at home before taking Games 6 and 7 on the road in Toronto.
Being down 2-0 in a seven-game series is a daunting task, even with the next potentially three games at home at Dodger Stadium. In MLB postseason history, 95 times a team has led a best-of-7 series 2-0, and 79 times that team won the series (83.2 percent).
Last year saw an even split in this regard. The Dodgers and Seattle Mariners each won the first two games of their LCS on the road. The Dodgers completed the sweep of the Brewers at home, while the Blue Jays came back to beat the Mariners in seven games to advance to the Fall Classic.
This is the fifth time during this 14-year postseason streak that the Dodgers have trailed 2-0 in a best-of-7 series.
2013 NLCS vs. Cardinals
Dodgers lost the first two games by one run each on the road, then took two of three at home in Los Angeles before Clayton Kershaw and crew got blown out in Game 6 in St. Louis.
2018 World Series vs. Red Sox
The Dodgers were outclassed in this series, and dropped the first two games at Fenway Park. They won a classic Game 3 in 18 innings, which has become a bit of a tradition now in Los Angeles. The Dodgers led 4-0 after six innings of Game 4, but blew that game and got throttled in Game 5 to watch a team celebrate a championship on their home field.
2020 NLCS vs. Braves
There was no home and road during the pandemic season, with all seven games of this series at Globe Life Field in Texas over seven days. As the home team, the Dodgers lost the first two games, then scored a record 11 runs in the first inning to take Game 3 before losing Game 4. The Dodgers won their final three games, then used that as a springboard to snap a 32-year championship drought.
2021 NLCS vs. Braves
The 106-win Dodgers had three ace-level starting pitchers in Max Scherzer, Walker Buehler, and Julio Urías, but all were ailing by the NLCS. The 88-win Braves won their division, which meant they got home-field advantage in this series, and won the first two games in walk-off fashion. In Los Angeles, the Dodgers pulled out a comeback win in Game 3 and got three home runs from Chris Taylor in Game 5 to get the series back to Atlanta. But Eddie Rosario and company finished off the Dodgers in Game 6.
In franchise history, the Dodgers have trailed a best-of-7 series 2-0 thirteen times, and they’ve come back to win four of those series (30.8 percent). Here are the rest, before this current postseason streak:
1916 World Series vs. Red Sox
Brooklyn dropped the first two games in Boston, including a 14-inning complete-game win by Babe Ruth in Game 2. The Red Sox won in five games.
1947 World Series vs. Yankees
The Dodgers dropped the first two games at Yankee Stadium, but won the next two in Brooklyn, including a walk-off win to spoil Bill Bevens’ no-hitter attempt in Game 4. After the two teams traded road wins in the next two games, the Yankees prevailed in Game 7 at home.
1953 World Series vs. Yankees
After dropping the first two games in The Bronx, Brooklyn evened the series at home before dropping Game 5 at Ebbets Field. The Yankees clinched the series at home in Game 6.
1955 World Series vs. Yankees
The Yankees won the first two games, and the home team won each of the first six games. Johnny Podres and crew stopped the streak with a 2-0 win at Yankee Stadium in Game 7, bringing the Dodgers their first World Series triumph.
1965 World Series vs. Twins
Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax were beaten in the first two games on the road, but the Dodgers won all three games at Dodger Stadium. After the Twins evened things in Game 6, Sandy Koufax struck out 10 in his second shutout in four days to clinch the series in Game 7 in Minnesota.
1966 World Series vs. Orioles
The Dodgers dropped the first two games at Dodger Stadium to an upstart Orioles team, including center fielder Willie Davis making three errors in the fifth inning of Game 2. The Dodgers scored two runs in Game 1, but failed to score in the final 33 innings of the series to get swept in four games.
1978 World Series vs. Yankees
After winning the first two games in Los Angeles, the Yankees outscored them 28-8 over the next four games to win another title.
1981 World Series vs. Yankees
The Dodgers turned the tables, dropping the first two games in New York before winning three at Dodger Stadium. The home highlight was Jerry Reuss out-dueling Ron Guidry in Game 5, with back-to-back home runs by Pedro Guerrero and Steve Yeager in the seventh inning fueling the 2-1 victory. The Dodgers finished things off with a 9-2 win at Yankee Stadium in Game 6, and Steve Howe recorded a 3 2/3-inning save in the clincher.
2008 NLCS vs. Phillies
After dropping the first two games in Philadelphia, the Dodgers won Game 3 at home, then Matt Stairs happened in Game 4, and Cole Hamels and crew won the pennant the next day.
