Brewers manager Pat Murphy remains confident despite losing 2-0 to Dodgers
The Brewers lost to the Dodgers 0-2 in the NL CS, but Pat Murphy remains optimistic that the team can bounce back.
MILWAUKEE — Forget Hollywood.
You don’t need a movie script.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are doing their own version of “Back to the Future.”
Remember the golden age of baseball, when starting pitchers pitched deep into games or continued pitching until the ninth inning?
Now, the Dodgers are bringing old style back into fashion with a starting rotation that hasn’t dominated the postseason like this since the Chicago White Sox in 2005.
In front of a silent crowd at American Family Field, the Dodgers are conducting one of the most dominant pitching clinics in baseball history after silencing the Milwaukee Brewers 5-1.
After Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched a complete game with three hits, the Dodgers’ starting rotation allowed just four hits and one run in 17 innings in the two wins against the Brewers in this National League Championship Series.
It is not only impressive, but also historical.
According to STATS Perform, it was the first time in baseball history that a starting rotation allowed fewer than four hits over at least 17 innings in the first two games of the postseason, surpassing the previous record of five hits allowed by the Chicago Cubs in Games 1 and 2 of the 1906 World Series vs. the White Sox.
“It’s unbelievable. It’s really crazy,” Dodgers veteran infielder Miguel Rojas said.
The Dodgers’ rotation has a 1.54 ERA this postseason, the second-lowest ERA in MLB history after eight postseason games, behind only the 1983 Baltimore Orioles. Opponents are batting .133 with 63 strikeouts in 52 2/3 innings.
Their dominance is so ridiculous that Dodgers right fielder Teoscar Hernandez, who hit his fourth home run of the postseason, hasn’t been hit by a single pitch in two nights.
Really.
“As long as it stays like this, we’ll be fine,” Hernandez said. “I don’t need fries.”
Since the Dodgers are ahead, why not pull Paige Satchell out and tell the outfielder to get in the dugout and relax?
“I feel honored to be a part of something like this,” Rojas said. “I’ve never seen a rotation dominate the last two-and-a-half months like this, and I’m sure that’s what the organization envisioned when they acquired them…
“People who watch us know how spoiled we are because we don’t have to do much offensively. All we have to do is catch the ball, make plays for them and put some points on the board. I think we can do that.”
You can’t stop them with pitching like this.
Dodgers fight back in Game 2
Just 24 hours after Blake Snell became the first pitcher since Don Larsen’s perfect game in 1956 to face the fewest batters through eight innings in a postseason game, Yamamoto allowed a home run on the first pitch of that game, but gave up just two hits, seven strikeouts, and one walk over his next 110 pitches. He was so dominant that he allowed just two fly balls and 15 ground balls the entire game.
“It was unbelievable,” Dodgers catcher Will Smith said. “This is probably the best two-game stretch I’ve ever seen.”
Brewers manager Pat Murphy wasn’t going to argue: “We chased more than we chased all year. We were the best in baseball at not chasing. These pitchers brought out the worst in us.”
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts pulled Snell after eight innings in Game 1, but this time he had no intention of pulling Yamamoto, who was the first pitcher to pitch a complete game in the postseason since Justin Verlander of the Houston Astros in the 2017 ALCS.
Snell and Yamamoto are the first Dodgers pitchers to pitch a complete game in the postseason since Jose Lima in 2004, and the first pair of Dodgers teammates to pitch at least eight innings in back-to-back games since Orel Hershiser and Tim Belcher in the first two games of the 1988 World Series.
“He’s been phenomenal,” said Brewers DH Christian Yelich, who went 0-for-11 with three strikeouts against his splitter.
“I think it was the best I’ve ever seen,” Rojas said. “I know he was one hit away from a no-hitter against Baltimore. He was even better tonight.”
Yamamoto, who retired the last 11 batters he faced, became the fourth pitcher to pitch a complete game in the postseason for the first time in his career, and the first Japanese-born pitcher to accomplish the feat.
“As a player, I’m really happy that (Roberts) and people have faith in me,” Yamamoto said. “I thought that was amazing.”
Knowing how much a complete game meant to Yamamoto, who threw 111 pitches and had 81 strikes, Roberts said it was truly a reward. He won’t be needed again until Game 6, and probably won’t be needed until the World Series, considering the Dodgers have won 12 of their last 14 postseason games since last year.
“I see real confidence,” Roberts said. “I think there was a transition period last year, but I didn’t lock him down too much even in the postseason, and we had a really talented bullpen as well.
“But this year, I think he got real confidence from me. On his third 90th pitch (in the lineup), he feels like he’s the best option.”
Well, this gives the entire Dodgers organization and their fans around the world the same confidence that they are closing in on becoming the first National League team in 50 years to win back-to-back World Series titles.
“We haven’t accomplished anything yet.”
This rotation, including Glasnow, who will pitch in Game 3, and Shohei Ohtani, who will pitch in Game 4, has seven starts of at least six innings and has allowed five or fewer hits. They haven’t accomplished this feat in one postseason since 1981, joining Fernando Valenzula, Tommy John, Jerry Royce and Bert Hooton.
Since August 1, they have posted a 2.73 ERA, an MLB-leading 340 strikeouts and an opponent batting average of .195, arguably the best in baseball. The starting pitcher’s batting average in September was .173, the lowest performance in a single month in MLB history.
“It’s not a shock to us. They’ve been doing that ever since they came back,” said Dodgers three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw. “These guys are unbelievable. Good pitching trumps good hitting any day of the week. We’re seeing that right now.”
They terrorize everyone in their path, first the Cincinnati Reds in the Wild Card Round, then the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS, and now the Brewers.
“It’s just unbelievable,” said Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy, who hit No. 14.th His postseason home run in the sixth inning is the most in franchise history. “We said before this postseason started that our starting pitching would lead us, and so far that’s been exactly the case. If we’re going to build a recipe for winning games, that’s where we’re going to start.”
The Dodgers know their business isn’t done, but given their future situation, it’s hard to imagine a scenario where they aren’t the last team left standing.
“We’re good, really good,” Dodgers infielder and outfielder Enrique Hernandez said. “Our goal is to win the World Series, not win two games on the road in Milwaukee. We haven’t accomplished anything yet.”
Please wait a moment.
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