LOS ANGELES — Things are going well for the Dodgers, who are up 2-0 in the National League Championship Series and have the next three games scheduled at home in Dodger Stadium. Their starting pitching is on an all-time heater and they’ve won seven of their eight games this postseason.
But, things could be a little bit better.
The Dodgers offense did well to tack on runs in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings in Game 2 in Milwaukee, helping to clear and pave the road as Yoshinobu Yamamoto smoothly glided to the end of his complete-game win. But the offense has been a bit sluggish of late, scoring exactly two runs in each of the previous three games before Tuesday. The Dodgers pitching was so good that they still won two of those games, but it’s time for the bats to carry a bigger load.
They can start by getting off to a better start in games.
The Dodgers haven’t scored in the first inning in their last seven games, and their two runs in the second inning on Tuesday was the team’s first time scoring during that frame in this postseason. After a quick start to their postseason with an 18-run barrage in the two-game wild card sweep the Reds, the Dodgers have since scored 20 runs in six games since.
Against the Phillies and Brewers, the Dodgers have scored three total runs in the first five innings over six games, hitting .155/.243/.262.
They’ve done the bulk of their damage in the sixth and seventh innings, scoring 13 runs over six games in those 12 total innings.
Getting Shohei Ohtani going would help, as he’s mirrored the Dodgers’ collective path offensively. He homered twice and was 3-for-9 with a walk in two games against the Reds, but in six games since is just 2-for-25 with 12 strikeouts. One of those hits was an RBI single in the seventh inning on Tuesday in Milwaukee to snap an 0-for-15 skid.
“I think the contribution is not just by batting average, either. Certainly [Ohtani] being in the lineup, posting, I think getting the walks, allowing for Mookie to have opportunities to drive runs in, that’s contribution,” manager Dave Roberts said Wednesday. “So for me, I think the first two games in Milwaukee his at-bats have been fantastic. That’s what I’ve been looking for. That’s what I’m counting on.”
Ohtani during Wednesday’s workout at Dodger Stadium even took batting practice on the field, something he very rarely does, trying to get back on track. As Ohtani approached the plate, DJ Severe played Ohtani’s at-bat music — Feeling Good, by Michael Bublé — which elicited cheers from Dodgers players and coaches. Ohtani during BP hit a home run that bounced off the top and over the roof in the right field pavilion.
“During the regular season and postseason, my approach is pretty much the same: Swing at strikes and not swinging at balls. As a result of that, then you just see the strikeouts or the walks,” Ohtani said Wednesday, through interpreter Will Ireton. “My focus, number one, is to make sure that I have quality at-bats.”
Mike Scioscia and Steve Sax will throw ceremonial first pitches before NLCS Game 3 on Thursday (3:08 p.m., TBS). Keith Williams Jr. will sing the national anthem. The Blue Jays’ win Wednesday in Seattle ensures there will be no sweep in the ALCS, and that Game 5 will be played on Friday. That locks in NLCS Game 4, also on Friday, to a 5:38 p.m. PT start time at Dodger Stadium.