The defending World Series champion relies on an old-school pitching strategy. Los Angeles Dodgers two wins away from returning to the Fall Classic.
As long as their stellar rotation can continue to work deep in games, they don't have to worry about their inconsistent bullpen.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto threw a three-hitter in his first complete postseason game in eight years as the Dodgers beat the Milwaukee Brewers 5-1 on Tuesday to extend their lead in the National League Championship Series. Yamamoto's Game 2 gem came one night after two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell allowed one hit in eight shutout innings. for a 2-1 win.
“We said going into this postseason that our starting pitching would be what would take us,” said Max Muncy, who set a Dodgers record with his 14th career homer in the postseason. “And so far this has been the case.”
It's a completely different approach than the Dodgers took last year, when starting pitchers worked six innings in only two of 16 postseason games. They have seven quality starts in eight playoff games this year, and their starting lineup has a 1.54 postseason ERA.
Thanks to that stellar pitching, the Dodgers are closing in on another World Series berth, even as the bullpen has struggled and three-time MVP Shohei Ohtani is 2-for-25 over the last six games.
After winning nine of their last 11 regular-season games, the Dodgers are 7-1 in the postseason.
“Our entire team is playing the best baseball we've played all year,” manager Dave Roberts said. “The focus, the concentration level is at its highest and we are peaking at the right time.”
Teoscar Hernandez also scored to help the Dodgers leave Milwaukee with a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series, Game 3 of which is Thursday in Los Angeles. Yamamoto allowed a home run to Jackson Churio on the first of his 111 pitches — 81 hits — but stopped the Brewers the rest of the way.
The $325 million right-hander struck out seven and walked one in his first full game in two major league seasons.
“I'm rebooting my mind [after Chourio’s homer] and then I just focused on implementing my own ideas,” Yamamoto said through a translator.
The previous postseason starter to go the distance was Justin Verlander when he threw a five-hitter and 13 strikeouts for Houston against the New York Yankees in Game 2 of the 2017 ALCS on Oct. 14, 2017—eight years ago to the day.
Yamamoto's complete game was the first for Los Angeles since Gavin Stone's gem on June 26 last year. The last Dodgers pitcher to pitch a complete game in the postseason was Jose Lima against St. Louis in Game 3 of their 2004 NL Division Series.
“I established my rhythm and then dictated the pace based on the game,” Yamamoto said. “So that was great.”
For the first time since 1970, both LCS road teams started 2–0. The Seattle Mariners hold a 2-0 lead over Toronto in the ALCS heading into Game 3 on Wednesday in Seattle.
Twenty-four of the previous 27 teams that played the first two games on the road in a best-of-seven 2-3-2 series won. All three teams that came back from losing Games 1 and 2 at home were in the World Series: the 1985 Kansas City Royals vs. the St. Louis Cardinals, the 1986 New York Mets vs. the Boston Red Sox, and the 1996 New York Yankees vs. the Atlanta Braves.
“You guys could have struck us out,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “And I understand that 90 percent of the teams that get into this situation don't win the series. But this team has been counted out a lot this year. And I think they still have a little bit of fight left in them.”
The Brewers made every effort Tuesday to avoid a 2-0 deficit. Former slugger Eric Thames took the field to instruct fans before the game and unbuttoned his jersey to reveal his bare chest.
Churio then delighted the sold-out crowd with his fourth career homer of the postseason, tying the Brewers' record with Orlando Arcia and Prince Fielder. It was the fifth leadoff homer this postseason to tie the game. Major League Baseball a mark originally set in 2007.
It seemed like a bad feeling for Yamamoto, who lasted just two-thirds of an inning in a 9-1 loss the previous time he pitched in Milwaukee. But he bounced back and silenced the brewers the rest of the way.
The NL Central champions, who led the majors with 97 regular-season wins, have five hits in the series.
“We just need to play better,” said slugger Christian Yelich, who is 0-for-13 in his last four games. “It's not a perfect start to the series by any means. You just have to keep fighting and find a way to keep the offense going. I have to be better. We have to be better. Those are just the facts.”
Los Angeles became the first team to make consecutive postseason starts of at least eight innings in the same series since San Francisco's Madison Bumgarner and Tim Lincecum did so in Games 4 and 5 of the 2010 World Series against Texas.
After Churio's homer, the Dodgers wasted no time in coming back against Brewers ace Freddy Peralta.
Hernandez, whose base-running error contributed to the Brewers' unusual 8-6-2 double play in Game 1, sent the ball over the left field wall for a 3-2 count for his fourth homer this postseason. One game later, Kiké Hernandez singled and scored on Andy Pages' double.
Page was 1-for-27 in the postseason before hitting a hit to the right field corner.
Muncie extended the lead to 3-1 with his two-out homer in the sixth, which came in Peralta's 97th and final pitch. The Dodgers added two more runs on RBI singles: Shohei Ohtani in the seventh and Tommy Edman in the eighth.
