LOS ANGELES — Tampa Bay's 3-1 win over Cleveland in ALCS Game 2 leveled that series at 1-1, while Milwaukee takes a 2-0 lead into Game 3 of the NLCS against Los Angeles on Wednesday at Dodger Stadium. The Brewers at Dodgers matchup is scheduled for 5:00 pm on FS1 with Milwaukee looking to move to the brink of the World Series.
The Rays' victory did little to lift a postseason-wide offensive slump. The collective playoff OPS dropped another four points to .629, the lowest mark since the wild-card era began in 1995 and just 15 points shy of the 1983 figure. Teams have averaged only 3.47 runs per game, also the lowest in the wild-card era, though the 1991 postseason averaged 3.42 and the 1990 postseason averaged 3.18.
Context matters for those earlier lows. There were only three series in that era, making outliers more likely, and the 1990 postseason featured just 14 games as both the ALCS and World Series ended in 4-0 sweeps. This postseason has already seen 29 games across the four wild-card rounds, four Division Series and four Championship Series games. The all-time record is 53 games in the 2020 playoffs, a mark that could be challenged if MLB shifts games from the regular season into the postseason under the next CBA.
The focus now turns to the NLCS in Los Angeles, where the Dodgers face a 2-0 deficit. Milwaukee has controlled the series to this point, and a win in Game 3 would put the Brewers one victory from the World Series. The low-scoring environment has defined October so far, following Tampa Bay's 3-1 win over Cleveland in ALCS Game 2 that evened the American League series.