sportingnews
The Los Angeles Dodgers find themselves in a 0-2 hole against the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Championship Series. With the next three games set to be played at home in Los Angeles, the Dodgers are hoping their offense can find a way to turn things around.
However, through the first two games, the Dodgers' lineup has been noticeably quiet. While Shohei Ohtani is clearly not at full strength and his performance has suffered as a result, he is not the only hitter who is struggling at the plate.
USA Today's Bob Nightengale shared comments from Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, and Teoscar Hernandez regarding the Dodgers' offensive woes. All three players used the same word—'tough'—to characterize what it's like to face this Brewers team in the NLCS.
"It's tough to hit," Freeman said, "when their bullpen is throwing 100 mph with different arm angles." Hernandez echoed a similar sentiment about the Brewers' pitching staff and the team as a whole: "It's just tough to beat those guys. They play hard. They never give up. You know, they play clean baseball. That's the thing, we've got to play a better game."
Two of the Dodgers' most important players are acknowledging that this Brewers team is difficult to face, but for different reasons. Freeman pointed to the Brewers' bullpen and the challenge of hitting against them. Hernandez highlighted the Brewers as a whole, focusing on how they play the game and how tough they are as an opponent on a broader scale.
Meanwhile, Betts admitted that "It was tough" watching Yoshinobu Yamamoto get beaten by this Brewers team. Betts continued, "But he's a human being, too, you know. I think everybody's used to him being a robot that if he didn't go eight innings, no hits, whatever, then he wasn't Yamamoto."
The Dodgers are clearly having a tough time against this Brewers team. Whether it's the Brewers' pitching staff, their overall style of play, or how they make the Dodgers' best stars struggle, this Brewers team is making life difficult for the Dodgers in the NLCS.
Hernandez also admitted that "it's tough" to watch Shohei Ohtani struggle with his health and performance in the NLCS, which has been bad enough that the Dodgers are considering benching him. Down 0-2, the Dodgers are going through some major struggles right now, as this Brewers NLCS series is already 'tough' in multiple different ways.
Key Analysis
The Dodgers' 0-2 deficit in the NLCS has exposed significant challenges for their high-powered offense. The Brewers' bullpen, with its elite velocity and varied arm angles, has stifled Los Angeles hitters, while Milwaukee's overall clean and relentless style of play has made them a formidable opponent. The struggles of Ohtani, who is not at 100%, further compound the Dodgers' issues. As the series moves to Los Angeles, the Dodgers must find a way to overcome these 'tough' obstacles to get back into the series.
Originally reported by sportingnews.