(Photo credit: Michael McLoone)

LOS ANGELES -- The Milwaukee Brewers have control of the National League Championship Series, enough so that the two-time defending World Series champions are pondering what was previously believed to be unthinkable.

With a relentless offense and a dominating bullpen, the Brewers have a 2-0 lead in the NLCS over the Los Angeles Dodgers with the best-of-seven matchup set to resume on the West Coast on Wednesday.

The Dodgers are so troubled about a stagnant offense that they have considered reducing four-time MVP Shohei Ohtani to a bench role for at least one game, if not more.

Ohtani is 1-for-7 with a walk in the series and 3-for-20 with three walks in six games this postseason as he looks physically compromised after dealing with left knee and right biceps discomfort for three months.

Los Angeles' 2025 postseason hero Will Smith is 0-for-7 with a walk in the series and 1-for-23 in the postseason as the Dodgers have averaged 3.2 runs during their six playoff games.

'Grind. Win one game at a time, one pitch at a time,' said Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts, who took over Ohtani's leadoff spot late in the regular season. 'The mindset can't really change. We can't add more pressure. There's already enough as it is. Keep it simple. One pitch at a time. Figure out a way to get a hit.'

They didn't do much hitting against Milwaukee starters Jacob Misiorowski and Logan Henderson to start the series and did even less against a Brewers bullpen that retired all 15 batters it faced in Game 2.

Milwaukee is now set to send left-hander Robert Gasser (0-0, 2.25 ERA) to the mound in Game 3. The rookie was 5-5 with a 3.87 ERA in 21 regular-season appearances (20 starts) and has already faced the Dodgers twice this season, going 0-2 with a 5.91 ERA.

In the deciding Game 4 of the NL Division Series against the San Diego Padres, Gasser came through with four solid innings, allowing one run in an eventual 3-1 victory.

As for what kind of Dodgers lineup Gasser will face, the Brewers are trying to avoid all the speculation.

'That's kind of our whole theme coming into this thing: 'Hey, guys, yeah, they might be this, they might be (that),'' Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. '... That's for other people to consider. Let's just play the game the way we play the game, and let's go right at people and see what we can do. That's not going to change.'

If there is an area of concern for Milwaukee, it is with a defense that has not been at its best. Henderson had two throwing errors in Game 2.

'It's what we do in response that matters,' Murphy said. '... They've played good defense. There's going to be miscues. That's just part of it. It's what you do on the next play.'

Also looking to improve is Dodgers left-hander Blake Snell (0-0, 2.45), who will be on the mound for Game 3.

Injuries limited Snell to nine regular-season starts, but he went 4-1 with a 1.90 ERA in them. He then walked five and lasted just 3 2/3 innings in Game 2 of the NLDS against the Atlanta Braves.

Snell has just three career regular-season starts against the Brewers and none since 2024, going 1-2 with a 5.79 ERA. He did pitch eight shutout innings against the Brewers in last season's NLCS with 10 strikeouts.

--Doug Padilla, Field Level Media