The Dodgers open the home half of the National League Championship Series on Wednesday night down 0-2 to the Brewers. Blake Snell starts for Los Angeles against Milwaukee left-hander Robert Gasser. The biggest lineup news, per Yahoo Sports' live-updates post, is that Shohei Ohtani is batting sixth. A Yahoo community thread says it is the first time he has hit that low since September 19, 2020, when he was with the Angels. It adds that Will Smith has gone from third in Game 1 to fifth in Game 2 to seventh tonight. Bleed Cubbie Blue's Al Yellon wrote that there were rumors the Dodgers might bench Ohtani altogether, but he is in the lineup.

Ohtani's October explains the move. In Game 2, a 7-4 Milwaukee win on Monday, he went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts, and his average in that box score was .150. That is well below his regular-season line: .275 with 30 home runs, 81 RBI and an .889 OPS over 139 games. Yahoo's headline called it a slump, and ESPN's preview asks whether the reigning champions can "get one back."

The Dodgers have lost both games at American Family Field, 2-1 on Sunday and 7-4 on Monday. Game 1 was close, and Game 2 was not as lopsided as the score looks. Milwaukee had 12 hits and left 22 runners on base, and Los Angeles had just three hits. Yahoo's recap-style blurbs frame tonight as a possible must-win game. Yellon adds a detail on the other side: this is the first time the Brewers have held a 2-0 lead in a best-of-seven postseason series.

The pitching matchup favors Los Angeles on paper. Snell has a 1.90 ERA with 55 strikeouts in 42.2 innings over nine starts this season, and he is 4-1. Gasser is 5-5 with a 3.87 ERA and 103 strikeouts in 109.1 innings across 21 appearances. Yahoo's SB Nation-style thread also points to a reunion: catcher William Contreras is described as an "old friend." That is the only outlet to mention it, and the reporting does not say what it refers to. Contreras hit .270 with 18 home runs and 94 RBI this season.

Both clubs won their division, with Milwaukee at 103-59 and Los Angeles at 100-62. Milwaukee comes in on a five-game winning streak, and its last three results include wins over Los Angeles on Sunday and Monday and a 3-1 win at San Diego on October 7. The Dodgers beat Atlanta 4-1 on October 7 to reach this round.

A loss tonight would leave the Dodgers one defeat from elimination. The series continues at Dodger Stadium on Thursday, October 15, and the schedule has another game there on Friday, October 16.