LOS ANGELES – The Dodgers are in trouble.
After Wednesday’s 6-2 loss to the Brewers at UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium, the Dodgers find themselves down, 0-3, in the National League Championship Series and are a game away from being dethroned as World Champions.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts knows what it is like to be down those many games. As a member of the 2004 Red Sox, Roberts played a huge role in helping Boston come back from an 0-3 deficit to beat the Yankees in the American League Championship Series.
In Game 4 of that series, Roberts came in as a pinch runner in the ninth inning, stole second base off closer Mariano Rivera and scored the tying run on a single by Bill Mueller. Boston would go on to beat New York in 12 innings on a homer by David Ortiz.
The Red Sox would go on to sweep the Cardinals in the World Series. But don’t expect Roberts to give his Dodgers a pep talk about making a comeback.
“I think they’ve seen the documentary (on the ‘04 Red Sox). They know it can happen,” Roberts said. “I’ve lived it, and I think the thing is, our guys have been battle-tested, as was that team I was a part of. I think the mindset has to be … you’ve got to win tomorrow. It’s an elimination game. We’ve played in a lot of elimination games. We’ve just got to get a win. We’ve got to find a way to build some momentum, and it takes all of us.”
The Dodgers are down, 0-3, because they can’t get the clutch hit. They are 2-for-16 with runners in scoring position. In the sixth inning on Wednesday, for example, the Dodgers had a chance to put the game away. With one out, the bases loaded and Brewers reliever Abner Uriber on the mound, Will Smith hit a two-run double to give Los Angeles a 2-1 lead.
Now there’s runners on second and third with one out and in came Brewers left-hander D.L. Hall, who stopped the bleeding by striking out Miguel Rojas and Tommy Edman.
“We’re just not getting hits, getting timely hits,” Roberts acknowledged. “I thought the [Will Smith] ball was a big hit for us, a lot of momentum. I was hoping it (was) a homer. But, yeah, we’re just not getting those timely hits.”
One thing is clear to Roberts: The 2026 Brewers are different from last year’s team. Remember, the Dodgers swept the 2025 Brewers in the NLCS to go to the World Series.
“I think they have more experience,” Roberts said about the current Brewers. “They’re taking better at-bats than they did last year. Their ball-in-play averages, gosh dang, it’s got to be .400. When they put the ball in play, it’s a hit. They’re also slugging, which they didn’t do last year. Those are good combos.
“Defensively they’re everywhere and making plays, and it’s hard for us to certainly create, build innings and score. Where I thought last year we did a better job of slugging and having those guys play from behind.”
