MILWAUKEE — Brewers manager Pat Murphy might have nailed it before the series in proclaiming his team a decided underdog in this NLCS.
It’s not that Goliath — the defending World Series champions — is crushing the ball to all quarters, but the depth and dominance of the Dodgers rotation offers a brutal resistance.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched a complete-game gem Tuesday night, leading a 5-1 victory over the Brewers in Game 2 of the NLCS at American Family Field, and yet it was only the second-best Dodgers pitching performance of this NLCS.
Yamamoto’s masterpiece (one earned run allowed on three hits over nine innings with seven strikeouts and one walk) followed Blake Snell’s brilliance a night earlier, when the left-hander faced the minimum 24 batters over eight frames and struck out 10.
“We’ve been the best in baseball at not chasing [pitches],” Murphy said. “These pitchers brought out the worst in us.”
Yamamoto’s complete game was the first in the postseason since Justin Verlander went nine innings for the Astros in Game 2 of the 2017 ALCS.
“I established my rhythm and then I dictated the tempo based off of the game,” Yamamoto said through an interpreter.
The Dodgers shelled out $507 million in guaranteed money for the two aces and are receiving their money’s worth to the last cent. Yamamoto, who before the 2024 season signed the largest free agent contract ever for a pitcher — $325 million over 12 years — has a 1.83 ERA in three starts this postseason.
“I see a real confidence,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.
The series, with the Dodgers ahead 2-0, will resume with Thursday’s Game 3 in Los Angeles. The Dodgers will send Tyler Glasnow to the mound and the Brewers will likely counter with ace Jacob Misiorowski, who last pitched on Saturday in Game 5 of the NLDS against the Cubs.
If the Dodgers don’t possess a large enough advantage in returning home, they also have a rested bullpen that was needed for only one inning total in the first two games of this series.
Jackson Chourio’s blast on Yamamoto’s first pitch of the game gave the Brewers their first lead in the series. Chourio’s leadoff homer was the second of his career in the postseason — he delivered one last year against the Mets in Game 2 of the NL wild-card series.
“I feel regrettable about that home run,” Yamamoto said. “But I reset my mind and then I just focused on executing my own pitches.”
Teoscar Hernández’s homer in the second inning produced the first Dodgers run. It was the fourth homer this postseason for Hernández, who was among the players that shined offensively during the team’s World Series title run last year.
Before the inning was complete, Andy Pages stroked an RBI double that gave the Dodgers a 2-0 lead.
Max Muncy, who missed a grand slam by inches the previous night — the ball hit the center field fence after Sal Frelick’s glove and turned into an inning-ending double play due to baserunning miscues — got the extra length he needed in the sixth.
His shot to center just eluded Frelick’s leap for a solo homer against Freddy Peralta that extended the Dodgers lead to 3-1.
Peralta pitched 5 ²/₃ innings and allowed three earned runs on five hits with four strikeouts and one walk. He was removed at 97 pitches.
Shohei Ohtani, who entered the day batting only .138 this postseason, delivered an RBI single in the seventh that gave the Dodgers a three-run cushion. Enrique Hernández’s double began the rally.
Tommy Edman’s RBI single in the eighth gave the Dodgers a 5-1 lead.
