The Los Angeles Dodgers took a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven National League Championship Series with a 5-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night. The story of Game 2 was that of Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who became the first pitcher since Justin Verlander in 2017 to throw a complete game in the postseason. Yamamoto allowed just one run in those nine innings on a leadoff home run by Jackson Chourio.
The visiting Dodgers didn’t hang around long, as they took the lead in the second inning with Teoscar Hernández’s fourth home run of the postseason, then a two-out RBI double from Andy Pages. From there, Yamamoto went 0-for-0, and Max Muncy’s solo home run in the sixth inning gave the Dodgers some breathing room. More came when a struggling Shohei Ohtani notched an RBI single in the seventh to make it 4-1. The Dodgers would add another run in the eighth. Milwaukee, meanwhile, has been held to a total of two points so far in two NLCS games.
The Dodgers now return home for Games 3, 4 and if necessary 5, and on the other side, the Brewers face long comeback odds.
Now let’s move on to some takeaways from NLCS Game 2.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto has spun a rare gem
Yes, he gave up that home run to Chourio on the first pitch he threw, but from that point on, the right-hander was at the top of his game.
He was 65 pitches after the fifth, 76 pitches after the sixth, 89 after seven and 97 after eight. That efficiency allowed Dave Roberts to beat Yamamoto for the ninth, and he indeed wrote the first complete game in the postseason by a Dodgers pitcher since Jose Lima hit in 2004. Here is Yamamoto’s line for the evening:
He ended up throwing 111 pitches, including 81 strikes. Such length from a starting pitcher is always welcome in the postseason, and it’s especially so in this case. In Game 1, Blake Snell gave the Dodgers eight shutout innings, then Yamamoto nearly matched it. It’s not only plenty of rest for the Los Angeles bullpen – always a welcome thing this time of year – but it also keeps Los Angeles’ suspect bullpen from having to get too many high-leverage outs.
Max Muncy made franchise history
Here’s the Dodgers third baseman’s aforementioned sixth-inning home run:
Muncy entered Game 2 not having shown much power in these postseasons (although his .458 OBP for the 2025 postseason shows he was definitely doing his job). That power came and it also made franchise history. This was Muncy’s 14th postseason game as a Dodger, and it is a franchise record. Here’s a look at the updated rankings:
1. Max Muncy | 14 |
T2. Corey Seager, Justin Turner | 13 |
4. Duke Snider | 11 |
T5. Steve Garvey, Kiké Hernandez | 10 |
Yes, it’s easier to rack up postseason stats these days, with all the rounds and all the games, than it was in Snider’s era, but it’s still an impressive feat for Dodgers stalwart Muncy.
The Brewers face great difficulties
After losing the first two games of this series at home, the Brewers are now tasked with winning two of three in Los Angeles just to force a Game 6 comeback in Milwaukee. In other words, they have to win four games before the Dodgers win two. It’s no surprise that history works against Milwaukee’s cause. In all MLB postseasons, teams losing first games at home have only won the series in question 13.3% of the time. Specifically, teams in the Brewers’ current position are just 4-26 in these series. Add in the idea that the Dodgers are the defending champions with a roster designed to maximize success in October, and perhaps the Brewers’ chances are even slimmer. The first thing that needs to change is the Brewers need to find ways to score runs. Returning to Game 3 of the Division Series against the Chicago Cubs, the Brewers have only scored a total of eight runs in their last five games.
Speaking of the road ahead, Game 3 between the Brewers and Dodgers is scheduled for Thursday at Dodger Stadium. The first pitch is scheduled for 6:08 p.m. ET.
