Baseball-Dodgers' dynasty on the ropes as bats go cold against Brewers

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."