“Not Getting Timely Hits,” Dave Roberts Opens Up on Dodgers’ Offensive Struggles as Team Falls 0-3 Down With Game 3 Loss

Dave Roberts-led Los Angeles Dodgers lost 6-2 in Game 3 and fell 0-3 down in the best-of-seven National League Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers.

“Not Getting Timely Hits,” Dave Roberts Opens Up on Dodgers’ Offensive Struggles as Team Falls 0-3 Down With Game 3 Loss

Dave Roberts (Image via X/@MLBONFOX)

The Los Angeles Dodgers are in serious trouble. On Wednesday, they lost 6-2 in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series (NLCS) and fell 0-3 down. Manager Dave Roberts later opened up about his team’s offensive struggles and claimed that they were “not getting timely hits.”

The 2-time defending champions took to the field in Game 3 on the back of a 7-4 loss in Game 2. In that game, they did have 3 hits and scored 4 runs, but none of them came through a base hit.

Two sacrifice flies from Freddie Freeman and Teoscar Hernandez, along with two throwing errors, saw them put up 4 runs on the board. That was not enough, though, as they ended up losing and fell 0-2 down.

In a huge Game 3, their bats went cold once again. Apart from a Will Smith 2-run double in the 6th inning, the Dodgers had just 4 more hits. Mookie Betts went 1-for-5 while Freeman went hitless in 4 at-bats.

Hernandez and Kyle Tucker went 1-for-3 with 1 walk each. As for Shohei Ohtani, he batted 6th and was 1-for-2 with 1 walk as he tried to break out of a huge batting slump.

Another major concern for them is that they have not hit a single home run in the NLCS. A team that hit 204 home runs in the regular season has struggled to hit a home run against the Brewers in 3 games.

In the post-game conference, Dave Roberts simply claimed that his team was just unable to get the hits in important situations.

We’re just not getting hits, getting timely hits. I thought the Will (Smith) ball, it was a big hit for us, a lot of momentum, hoping it hit a homer. But yeah, we’re just not getting those timely hits. And we’ve had some opportunities with guys on base, but can’t get that hit.

Dave Roberts told the reporters as per Sportsnet LA

Last year, the Dodgers were up 3-0 after 3 games. Game 4 saw Ohtani hit 3 home runs and pick up 10 strikeouts in his two-way role as his side swept the Brewers aside. Now, they are on the brink of a 4-game sweep with their talisman struggling at the plate.

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Dave Roberts addresses Dodgers’ chances of an improbable comeback

The hopes of a historic three-peat for the Los Angeles Dodgers are hanging by a thread. They will need to win 4 games in a row if they are to advance and reach a 3rd successive World Series. Following the loss in Game 3, Dave Roberts did address his team’s chances of an improbable comeback.

Dodgers' Dave Roberts
Dave Roberts (Image via Imago)

In MLB history, 42 times have teams taken a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven postseason series. 41 times (98 percent) have teams gone on to win the series, while 32 of those series have ended in a sweep.

The only one instance where a team came back from 0-3 down and won was in 2004, when the Boston Red Sox stunned the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series.

Roberts was part of that Red Sox team and played a crucial role in their Game 4 win. With his team down 4-3 and facing closer Mariano Rivera, the now-Dodgers skipper came in as the pinch runner and stole 2nd base before scoring on a single from Bill Mueller to tie the game at 4-4.

David Ortiz went on to hit a 12th-inning walk-off home run to win Game 4. The Red Sox then won Games 5, 6, and 7 and became the first and only side in MLB history to be 0-3 down and still win a best-of-seven series.

With the Dodgers now 0-3 down and facing elimination, Roberts knows it can be done.

Well, it’s certainly possible. I’ve lived it. And I think the thing is that our guys have been battle-tested, as was that team I was a part of. And I think the mindset has to be, and teams have been down before 0-2, 0-3, it’s just, you just got to win tomorrow.

Dave Roberts said

If the Dodgers end up losing the NLCS, there will either be a first-time winner or an end of a long drought. The Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays have never won a title, while the Cleveland Guardians last won it all in 1948, making it the longest active title drought in MLB.

For Game 4, the Dodgers will have Tyler Glasnow take the mound. They will need some input from their offense as well if they are to keep their dream of a 3-peat alive.

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