MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Brewers knew their pitching was going to be a weak spot in the NLCS.
What they didn’t foresee was their offense being a complete dumpster fire.
The Brewers have managed a whopping two runs and five hits in the first two games against the Los Angeles Dodgers. They never had a runner in scoring position in Game 2 on Tuesday night. They went down in order in each of the last four innings, with just one ball making it out of the infield.
Christian Yelich is 0-for-7 against Los Angeles, extending a slump that began in the NLDS against the Chicago Cubs. Jackson Chourio, William Contreras and Brice Turang aren’t much better, with Milwaukee’s big four a combined 2-for-29 in the NLCS.
“Not the best,” Yelich said after a 5-1 loss that dropped the Brewers to 0-2 in the best-of-seven series. “I started (the postseason) out good and then just hit a little bit of a rough patch here the last few games.
“Unfortunate time for that to happen,” said Yelich, who had 29 home runs and 103 RBIs during the regular season. “I’ve got to be better. I’ve got to figure it out. That’s just how it goes.”
It’s true that any team would have struggled to scratch out hits, let alone runs, off Blake Snell and Yoshinobu Yamamoto with the way they were pitching. The Dodgers starters were masterful, with Snell throwing eight innings of one-hit ball Monday and Yamamoto tossing the first complete game in the postseason in eight years Tuesday.
But the Brewers had the season they did because they thrived on pressuring opposing pitchers. No matter what was thrown at them, they found ways to get on base and manufacture runs.
Remember that sweep of Los Angeles in the regular season? The Brewers tagged the Dodgers for 31 runs in those six games. They ran Yamamoto off before he could get through an inning in his one regular-season start against them.
Now they can’t buy a base hit.
“We chased way more than we’ve chased all year,” Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy said. “We’ve been the best in baseball at not chasing. These pitchers brought out the worst in us.
“Offensively, you’ve got to grind out at-bats. That’s been our forte. … Sometimes great pitching brings out the worst in you.”
It didn’t start out that way.
When Chourio went deep on the first pitch he saw from Yamamoto, it looked as if the Brewers were going to build off their momentum from the ninth inning in Game 1. It was only the third leadoff home run in Brewers postseason history, and it had the sellout crowd at American Family Field rocking.
But Milwaukee quickly faded, with Turang, Contreras and Yelich grounding out to end the inning that began on such a high.
“It’s a great feeling to have, for sure, to be able to put your team ahead right away from the first pitch of the game,” Chourio said. “But unfortunately we were unable to add onto that and to keep going.”
Milwaukee would only put five people on base the rest of the game, and no one after the first out in the fifth inning.
“The way this offense runs is just getting on base,” Chourio said. “They did a good job of limiting our ability to do that.”
Now the Brewers head to Los Angeles, with only one day to figure out what ails them before Game 3 on Thursday night.
As dire as their circumstances seem, Milwaukee is capable of both digging itself out of a hole and reeling off a winning streak.
The Brewers began the season with a four-game losing streak — giving up 47 runs in the process, no less — only to win four in a row and seven of its next eight. They had an 11-game winning streak in July and a 14-game winning streak in August. They have not lost four in a row since the end of April.
“This team has been counted out a lot this year. And I think there’s some fight left in them,” Murphy said.
There might be fight, but it’s offense the Brewers need.
“We’re just looking for that one where it kind of clicks,” Yelich said. “Get a few guys going and make a series of it.”
Time is running out.
Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.
