Dodgers dynasty on the brink after the Milwaukee BABIP machine dials up another win for Brewers
Despite the widespread perception of the Dodgers as an invincible super-team, it was Milwaukee—the team with the league's best record—that played virtually flawless baseball in their Game 1 victory. While Jacob Misiorowski wasn't his usual dominant self, whenever Los Angeles had a chance to blow the game open, "The Maze" and his team's defense held firm.
After already scoring a run in the second inning, the Dodgers found themselves with the bases loaded and postseason star Kiké Hernández at the plate. Once again, the Brewers' defense was perfectly positioned to turn an inning-ending double play. After Milwaukee's offense managed to scrape together two runs against Tarik Skubal, their bullpen continued its stellar performance by delivering 4.2 scoreless innings to seal the win.
The bright lights of NLCS Game 1 were no match for the Brewers—or "Superfan" Front Row Amy.
The Dodgers felt confident about their chances in Game 2, with postseason hero Yoshinobu Yamamoto taking the mound against Logan Henderson. Yet, despite all the hype surrounding LA's formidable rotation, the Milwaukee "BABIP machine" kicked into high gear once again to secure a commanding 2-0 series lead; their 7-4 victory left the Dodgers' hopes of a "three-peat" on life support.
LA took an early lead thanks to some uncharacteristic sloppiness from the Brewers. Mookie Betts drew a walk, Freddie Freeman moved him to second, and a wild pitch from starter Logan Henderson advanced him to third. Teoscar Hernandez drove him in with a sacrifice fly, giving the Dodgers a 1-0 lead without recording a hit. Milwaukee, however, quickly tied the game in the bottom of the first.
The Dodgers missed a chance to challenge a clearly missed "strike three" call against Brice Turang, who then hit a double and scored on a trademark Brewers "bloop single." William Contreras reached out one-handed, somehow connecting with Yamamoto's pitch and driving it into left field. It wouldn't be the last time.
The third inning played out in a strikingly similar fashion. LA mounted a quick rally with back-to-back singles from Tommy Edman and Mookie Betts. Sal Frelick robbed Freddie Freeman of a double with a spectacular running catch in the right-center field gap, but an error during a pick-off attempt at first base allowed Edman to score. However, the Brewers—aware that the Dodgers' greatest vulnerability lay in their scoring opportunities—steered the situation exactly where they wanted it; easy outs from Teoscar Hernández and Shohei Ohtani neutralized the threat, and Milwaukee responded in the bottom half of the inning.
David Hamilton poked another bloop single, stole second base, and once again, Brice Turang reached base on a missed strike-three call that catcher Will Smith failed to challenge. Jake Bauers—statistically one of baseball's worst hitters prior to joining Milwaukee—drew a walk after a long at-bat against Yamamoto, and Christian Yelich capitalized with a single to center field.
Following his earlier playoff heroics, Yamamoto surrendered four hits and three runs in just 2.2 innings. Between missed challenges, bloop singles, and surprisingly well-timed hits from below-average batters, the odds were stacked against them; trailing 3–2, the Dodgers mounted a fightback in the fifth. Kyle Tucker led off with a double, before a throwing error by Henderson on a Tommy Edman bunt allowed him to score and sent Edman to second base. A groundout and a sacrifice fly gave LA a 4-3 lead—though, once again, they failed to get a hit with runners in scoring position.
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Sure enough, William Contreras immediately answered back in the bottom of the inning with a massive home run to left-center field.
The Brewers' bullpen—seemingly invincible—delivered another scoreless inning before the Milwaukee "super-team" kicked into high gear again in the bottom of the sixth. Hamilton reached base on a hit, advanced to second following a botched pick-off attempt, moved to third on a Jackson Chourio groundout, and scored on a blooper off Contreras's bat.
Once again, the Brewers' relief corps proved to be the premier pitching unit, extending their streak to nearly 29 innings while allowing only one run. Monday marked the first time in playoff history that a team's bullpen went more than five innings in a postseason game without allowing a single baserunner. JoJo Romero, Abner Uribe, Trevor Megill, Aaron Ashby, DL Hall... *this* is the real super-team, and it cost all of about $17 to assemble.
BABIP played a role in the eighth inning as David Hamilton smashed a 73-mph single to right field, stole second base, and scored on another 71-mph single by Brice Turang. That hit brought the Brewers to 5-for-12 with runners in scoring position (RISP).
Jake Bauers added to the tally with another 73-mph "bloop" single, moving Milwaukee to 6-for-13 with RISP.
Somehow, Milwaukee has mastered the art of turning poorly struck balls into singles. While some might call this a skill, decades of data and analysis suggest otherwise; players and teams that consistently produce low exit velocities do not outperform their expected batting averages on balls in play.
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