Three Mistakes the Dodgers Must Avoid for an NLCS Comeback

The Milwaukee Brewers are no pushover, and they are proving it by putting the Los Angeles Dodgers in an 0-2 hole in the National League Championship Series. Now as the series swings to Dodger Stadium, the back-to-back World Series Champions must take stock and regroup if they want to have any chance of rebounding to win. If they want any shot at a three-peat, here are three mistakes to avoid for a Dodgers NLCS comeback.

For some unknown reason, the Dodgers are incredibly bad at using the ABS challenge system. One player, Andy Pages, has been so egregious in his judgment that he has been banned by manager Dave Roberts from challenging any pitch. Unfortunately, this unhelpful trend has continued into the postseason, including Game Two.

With one out in the bottom of the first inning, Yoshinobu Yamamoto had Brice Turang 0-2, and should’ve had him struck out on a called third strike, but the umpire missed the call. Catcher Will Smith declined to challenge, saying, “It was kind of early.” That seems reasonable. It was a low-leverage situation–until it wasn’t. Turang singled, and William Contreras followed and made Yamamoto expend at least 20 more pitches. It also tied the game at one.

Oct 30, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Blake Treinen (49) and catcher Will Smith (16) on the pitchers mound during the eighth inning against the New York Yankees in game four of the 2024 MLB World Series at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images

However, the second misuse of the ABS in the third inning may have cost the Dodgers the game. Turang was once again at the plate. He has worked the count full. The next pitch grazed the strike zone, but it was called ball four. Yamamoto, who had never asked to challenge a pitch from the mound before, touched his cap. Smith refused to respond. It would have gotten Yamamoto out of the inning, because Contreras flew out.

Unfortunately, the inning continued, the Dodgers’ ace was forced to throw more pitches, and he was removed from the game shortly thereafter. The kicker? The Dodgers had both challenges in their pocket at the end of the game. Not using the challenge effectively cost Yamamoto 30-40 extra pitches and a possible win for his team. For a Dodgers NLCS comeback to happen, they need to use better discernment in their challenge game.

To their credit, the Dodgers have begun the first two games with a solid offensive approach. As a result, Milwaukee’s two best starting pitchers have exited earlier than they would have liked. Unfortunately, it has yet to pay off. They are hitting below .200 as a team against the Brewers. Los Angeles has three hits all postseason with runners in scoring position. That rate is simply unacceptable if they want to win.

Yes, the Dodgers hit home runs. It is a natural result of working the count, seeing a lot of pitches, waiting for a mistake to capitalize on, and hitting it hard.

This approach seems to be abandoned as soon as a reliever comes in from the bullpen. The Dodgers stop building the pitch count. The swings get longer as they try to upper-cut one out of the yard. It feels like the plate discipline goes out the window in the later innings when it is critical for it to continue.

Roberts has been almost perfect the last two years when managing the Dodgers bullpen in the postseason. However, Monday was not his finest hour. With Yamamoto laboring past 70 pitches, Roberts had Alex Vesia warming up, but left Yamamoto in to face Christian Yelich. It was one batter too many. Yelich got an RBI single. It was unnecessary damage that could have been avoided.

But it didn’t end there. Roki Sasaki entered with a lead, pitched one inning, and was promptly removed. Why not have Sasaki, who is a starter, pitch more than one inning? He has the ability to get left-handers and right-handers out simply because his stuff is nasty. This caused a chain reaction of putting high-leverage guys in unfamiliar roles in later innings. It was an unforced error by Roberts that could have ramifications going forward.

The Dodgers are down, but they are not out yet. They have overcome series deficits before. They were down 3-2 to the Toronto Blue Jays and won. In 2020, they were down 3-1 to the Atlanta Braves. This team is more than capable of winning baseball games, but it has to start on Wednesday. Better execution from the manager on down is necessary if the Dodgers are serious about winning another postseason series. It starts by playing one game at a time and limiting the mistakes that have plagued them the past two games.

Main Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images