Originally published by DodgerBlue.com
Although the Los Angeles Dodgers hold a 3-0 lead in the 2025 National League Championship Series over the Milwaukee Brewers, they still have a good amount of room for improvement.
The Dodgers have been carried by their starting rotation, and while their offense has gotten the job done on most nights, they’ve failed to put any games out of reach. With runners in scoring position, Dodgers hitters have gone just 5-for-27 through the first three NLCS games against the Milwaukee Brewers, and that was after going 5-for-29 in four NL Division Series games against the Philadelphia Phillies.
The Dodgers did go 8-for-26 (.308) in the two Wild Card games against the Cincinnati Reds, but since then, they’re hitting just .179 with runners in scoring position in 56 at-bats.
“I wouldn’t say concern, but we’ve got to be better,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I think you’re always trying to figure out how you can improve as a ballclub. I do think that Tommy’s at-bat was huge with runner in scoring position. I thought Freddie’s at-bat to get him up, was a huge at-bat. But, yeah, the situational, we can be better at that for sure. We’ve got to be better.”
During the regular season, the Dodgers ranked third across MLB in batting average with RISP after hitting .278, while their 126 wRC+ and .838 on-base plus slugging percentage were first in the league.
Due to their sustained success over the season, it’s fair to bet on the Dodgers to turn things around and be better. However, their struggles can also be related to the difficult pitching they’ve faced, and the slumps from a few of their best hitters.
Shohei Ohtani (.158 BA, .641 OPS), Freddie Freeman (.229, .770), Andy Pages (.094, .272) and Will Smith (.250, .607) have not played up to the expectations placed on them. But without them producing, Kiké Hernández, Teoscar Hernández and Tommy Edman have all stepped up to help carry the offense.
If the Dodgers can get one or two of those hitters back on track, and specifically Ohtani, their offense can be very dangerous once again. But until that happens, they’ll need to keep relying on their elite pitching staff.
Pat Murphy still concerned with Shohei Ohtani
Ohtani has not fared well against left-handed pitching in the postseason, and that’s something Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy is trying to take advantage of. Though, Murphy also doesn’t view Ohtani as being in a slump.
“I think most people struggle against (Cristopher) Sánchez, (Jesús) Luzardo and (Ranger) Suárez,” Murphy began. “Those guys are really, really good. So I don’t consider Ohtani struggling. I don’t.
“It’s baseball. You can go through 30 at-bats or 50 at-bats and not put up the same numbers and maybe be hitting the ball hard or whatever. But I don’t have Ohtani struggling. But I want to throw lefties against him whenever we can. It’s always harder for a lot of those lefties to face lefties that are throwing 95 (mph) and above, and sinkers into them.”
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