Max Muncy stood at the plate one botched swing away from what would have been his third strikeout of the game. But this time, he knew what to do.
In his third at-bat against Brewers pitcher Brandon Woodruff on Wednesday, Muncy finally understood the pitch mix Woodruff employed. He had tried and failed to hammer Woodruff’s slider four times before.
“He had kind of done a similar sequence all three at-bats,” Muncy said.
So when Woodruff hurled the 88.2-mph slider, Muncy shortened his swing. On his fifth try swinging at Woodruff’s slider, he drilled a grounder to left field. The stands erupted as Justin Turner bolted home, giving the Dodgers a 2-1 lead they would not relinquish.
The Dodgers went on to defeat the Brewers 5-2, taking a 3-2 lead in the NLCS. They face the Brewers in Game 6 on Friday, with the first pitch set for 5:30 p.m.
The Brewers employed their unpredictable bullpen model after the first batter, when Woodruff replaced started Wade Miley at the mound.
Through the first four innings, Woodruff struck out five batters while allowing one hit and a walk. Two of those strikeouts were Muncy’s at-bats, in the second and fourth inning.
“Throwing absolute missiles in there,” Muncy said of Woodruff.
The Brewers’ reliance on their bullpen challenged the Dodgers with its unfamiliarity. They rarely saw the same pitcher twice in a game, ramping up the difficulty of each at-bat. And they had to be prepared to face almost anyone from the bullpen. Muncy said some of the Brewers’ relievers were completely unfamiliar.
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Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is congratulated by Yasiel Puig after scoring a run.
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Dodgers Yasiel Puig celebrates while running out an RBI single in the sixth inning.
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Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw shows an emotional outburst while pitching against the Brewers in the sixth inning.
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Dodgers Clayton Kershaw pumps his fist after inducing Brewers hitter Erik Kratz to ground out to shortstop Manny Machado to end the seventh inning.
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Dodgers right fielder Yasiel Puig is brushed back off the plate with an inside pitch in the eighth inning.
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Dodgers Yasiel Puig takes a bow in front of the Dodgers bench after he apparently stole third base in the eighth inning in game five of the National League Championship Series at Dodger Stadium. The play was nullified and he went back to second base.
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Dodgers right fielder Yasiel Puig slides safely to second base after hitting a double in the eighth inning.
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Dodgers Clayton Kershaw celebrates after scoring a run against the Brewers in the 7th inning.
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Dodgers Yasiel Puig slides safely into second base with an eighth inning double as Brewers second baseman Hernan Perez is late with the tag.
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Dodgers Yasiel Puig celebrates hitting a double in the eighth inning.
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Clayton Kershaw scores a run on Justin Turner’s RBI against the Brewers in the 7th inning.
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Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw raises his arms after scoring on a double by Justin Turner in the seventh inning.
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Dodgers Yasiel Puig celebrates while running out an RBI single in the sixth inning.
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Dodgers Yasiel Puig celebrates while running out an RBI single in the sixth inning.
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Dodgers Justin Turner is congratulated after scoring a run in the sixth inning.
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Dodgers pinch hitter Yasiel Puig celebrates his RBI single against the Brewers inthe 6th inning.
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Dodgers right fielder Yasiel Puig hits an RBI single scoring Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Manny Machado in the sixth inning.
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Dodgers Max Muncy is tagged out by Brewers shortstop Orlando Arcia after a rundown in the sixth inning.
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Clayton Kershaw watches the flight of a Mike Moustakas fly ball in the fourth inning.
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Kiké Hernández shows frustration after striking out in the fifth inning in Game 5.
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Dodgers center fielder Chris Taylor beats the throw to first base.
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Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw reacts after striking out Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Jesus Aguilar with the bases loaded in the third inning.
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Cody Bellinger walks slowly back to the dugout after striking out in the third inning.
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Justin Turner fields a fourth inning grounder and thows out Brewers hitter Hernan Perez.
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Dodgers first baseman Max Muncy tosses his helmet after striking out for the second time in the fourth inning.
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Brewers pitcher Brandon Woodruff throws a pitch against the Dodgers in the fourth inning in Game 5 of the NLCS at Dodger Stadium Wednesday.
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Dodgers shortstop Manny Machado breaks his bat on a ground out in there first inning.
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Lorenzo Cain is caught stealing and tagged out by second baseman Max Muncy.
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Dodgers’ Cody Bellinger beats the tag of Brewers second baseman Hernan Perez to steal a base in the first inning.
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Dodgers Justin Turner is hit by a pitch in the first inning.
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Brewers pitcher Wade Miley is pulled form the game by manger Craig Counsell in the 1st inning.
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Dodgers center fielder Cody Bellinger dives but can’t make the catch on a single by Brewers’ Lorenzo Cain in the first inning.
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Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw throws a pitch against the Brewers in the fifth inning.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) Before the NLCS, he had opposed Woodruff only once.
In the face of almost-constant unfamiliarity, Muncy struggled. Despite posting a .973 OPS and .582 slugging percentage in the regular season, Muncy fell to a .855 OPS and .455 slugging percentage in the postseason.
Muncy earned six strikeouts and three hits in the first four games of the series. And at first, with his two strikeouts against Woodruff, Wednesday looked like more of the same. But Muncy did not let that discourage him.
“At this point in the year, strikeouts don’t really matter,” Muncy said. “What matters is just finding a way to get the big hit.”
And Muncy delivered. He struck out one more time against Xavier Cedeno in the seventh inning, but by that point the Dodgers held a comfortable 5-1 lead.
It marked the beginning of a change in the Dodgers’ hitting, a response to a stifling Brewers bullpen and to shadows on the field that impaired their vision. The powerful offense stopped chasing home runs.
“Our approach was single them to death,” said Cody Bellinger, who hit one for three with a walk. “And we did a great job executing that.”
After Muncy’s sixth-inning hit, Woodruff left the mound, too familiar to keep succeeding. The Dodgers offense took over, earning nine hits and scoring five runs by the game’s end.
The battle against the Brewers continues but the mystery at the plate is gone. Five games into the NLCS, the Dodgers have steadily built familiarity with the Brewers relievers. Reading pitches and predicting sequences becomes more reliable with time. Facing an elite bullpen doesn’t become easier, Muncy said, but it is less daunting.
He and the rest of the Dodgers are picking up clues.
blake.richardson@latimes.com
@rblakerich_
