MILWAUKEE — The Dodgers haven't so much beaten their opponents this postseason as they've worn them down. A lineup that had played poorly most of the summer turned out to be relentless, resourceful and unstoppable in the fall.
And deep. Did we mention depth? Because for now Dodgers If the stars are at the top of this lineup, then the players at the bottom do the most damage.
Tuesday victory over 5-1 Milwaukee Brewers in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series this is the most recent example of this. The Brewers managed to keep Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman in check, only to see Teoscar Hernandez, Tommy Edman, Kiké Hernandez and Andy Pages repeatedly knock them down, combining for seven hits, three runs and three RBIs, giving the Dodgers a commanding 2–0 lead in the best-of-seven series that resumes Thursday at the Dodgers. Stadium.
And that's been the trend throughout the postseason: hitters sixth through ninth on the Dodgers' roster are hitting .302/.391/.448 with 14 RBIs and a playoff-best 35 hits through eight games. The top five hitters in the order are batting .235.
Tommy Edman celebrates after hitting a ground-rule double in the fourth inning against the Brewers in Game 2 of the NLCS on Tuesday.
(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
“We just trust and believe in each other that if you don't get the job done, the guy behind you will,” said Kiké Hernandez, whose two hits Tuesday raised his postseason batting average to a team-high .379. Hernandez also scored seven runs in the playoffs.
“We know from numbers one through nine we have the best and deepest lineup in the league.”
And the hits were important: Teoscar Hernandez tied the game with a home run in the second inning, and Andy Pages was banished to the bottom of the batting order after managing just one single in his first 27 postseason at-bats, but tied it three batters later with a Kiké Hernandez double.
“I was just looking for a pitch in the zone that I could hit well,” Pages, who made a 1-1 changeup in the right field corner, said in Spanish. “Obviously that was really important. It put the team ahead. But what was more important was that I was able to make good contact.”
Making contact and putting the ball in play has been a hallmark of the bottom half of the Dodgers lineup—and is likely a big factor in their success. Even with his struggles, Pages scored just six times in eight games; Leadoff hitter Ohtani swung the ball more than twice as often.
“Any time you can create traffic, especially in the postseason, it puts a lot of pressure on opposing pitchers,” Max Muncy said. “And any time you can get guys on base, it just reinforces that and they're more prone to making mistakes.”
“From the very beginning,” added Teoscar Hernandez, “it puts pressure on the other side. We still have to go there and do our job.”
In the postseason spotlight, Kiké Hernandez and Edman have flourished before. Hernandez is hitting .330 in his last seven postseason series for the Dodgers, nearly 100 points better than his career regular-season average. And Edman, who tied Hernandez with two hits on Tuesday, was named NLCS MVP last season after hitting .407 in the Dodgers' win over the Mets.
“These guys, they were made for this moment,” Teoscar Hernandez, who leads all postseason players with 10 RBIs. “Kike, I know he doesn’t get a lot of opportunities in the regular season, but he knows what he’s capable of.”
“He was a player born for this moment,” Pages added of Kik Hernandez. “He demonstrated it. And continues to do so.”
Another key to postseason success is not paying attention, according to Teoscar Hernandez. Every game, he said, is another chance to succeed or fail, and in the playoffs, every game—and every match—is enhanced.
So, it's all about what you've done lately. Play the game, celebrate a win or mourn a loss, then get out and get ready to do it all over again.
“I know we have some big names on our roster. We have some really good players,” he said. “But at the same time, we still need to go out there and get the job done. We're scoring a lot of points not because we had a good lineup. We go out there with confidence, with a plan and just trying to execute it.”
If they can do it two more times at home this week, the Dodgers can end the Brewers' season and give themselves a week's rest before returning to the World Series for the second time in as many years.
“We are doing well. We Really “Okay,” said Kiké Hernandez, who is one of the reasons for this. “The experience, the trust we have in each other, that if we win the game early we will find a way to come back and tie the score or take the lead.
“We're 2-0 in the NLCS, but the goal is to win the World Series, not win two games on the road. And since we're still playing the Milwaukee Brewers, we're going to focus on them and take it day by day. We haven't really accomplished anything yet.”
But when they do, expect the achievement to come from the bottom up.
