This postseason, the Dodgers offense is starting from the bottom

milwaukee — The Dodgers couldn’t overpower their opponents in the postseason as much as they outworked them. A lineup that had underperformed for most of the summer was relentless, resourceful and unstoppable in the fall.

And deep. Did we mention deep? Because while the Dodgers have stars at the top of that lineup, it’s the players at the bottom who have done the most damage.

Tuesday Winning 5-1 The Milwaukee Brewers in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series is the latest example. The Brewers were able to keep Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman in check, only to see Teoscar Hernandez, Tommy Edman, Kiki Hernandez and Andy Pages beat them repeatedly, combining for seven hits, three runs and three RBIs to give the Dodgers a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series that resumes Thursday at Dodger.

And this has been the trend throughout the postseason: hitters sixth through ninth in the Dodgers’ lineup are slashing .302/.391/.448 with 14 RBIs and a playoff-best 35 hits in eight games. The top five hitters in the order are hitting .235.

“It’s just the trust and belief that we have in each other that if you don’t get the job done, the person behind you is going to get it done,” said Kiki Hernandez, whose hit Tuesday raised his postseason average to a team-high .379. Hernandez also scored a playoff-high seven runs.

“We know that from 1 to 9, we have the best and deepest lineup in the league.”

And the hits were important, as Teoscar Hernandez tied the score on a second-inning home run, and Andy Buggs was sent to the bottom of the order after managing just one run in his first 27 at-bats of the postseason, breaking it up three batters later by Kiki Hernandez’s double.

“I was just looking for a pitch in the area that I could hit well,” Bagues, who led the 1-1 change into the right corner, said in Spanish. “Obviously it was really important. He put the team ahead of the game. But more importantly, I was able to make good connections.”

Communicating and putting the ball in play has been a hallmark of the bottom half of the Dodgers lineup — and that may be a big factor in his success. Even with his struggles, Pages only scored six times in eight games; Leadoff hitter Ohtani has posted more than that.

“Anytime you can generate traffic, especially in the postseason, it puts a lot of pressure on opposing pitchers,” Max Muncy said. “Any time you can bring people onto the base, it amplifies that, and they become more vulnerable to making mistakes.”

Teoscar Hernandez added: “From the beginning, it was putting pressure on the other side. We still have to go there and accomplish our mission.”

The spotlight of the postseason is one in which Kike Hernandez and Edman have flourished before. Hernandez is batting .330 in his last seven postseason series with the Dodgers, which is nearly 100 points better than his career average in the regular season. Edman, who tied Hernandez with two hits on Tuesday, was named NLCS MVP last season after hitting .407 in the Dodgers’ win over the Mets.

“These guys, they were created for this moment,” said Teoscar Hernandez, who leads all postseason players with 10 RBIs. “Keke, I know he doesn’t get a lot of chances in the regular season, but he knows what he can do.”

“He was a player born for this moment,” Pages added of Kiki Hernandez. “He’s proven it. He continues to do so.”

Tescar Hernandez said another key to having a good postseason performance is not getting caught up in it. Every game provides another chance to make or break, he said, and in the playoffs, every game — and every hit — is magnified.

So it’s all about what you’ve been up to lately. Play the game, celebrate victory or mourn defeat, then crush it and get ready to do it all over again.

“I know we have big names in our squad. We have really good players,” he said. “But at the same time, we still have to go there and accomplish our mission. It’s not because we have a good squad that we score a lot of goals. We go there with confidence, with a plan and we just try to execute.”

If they can do that twice more at home this week, the Dodgers can end the Brewers’ season and give themselves a week’s rest before returning to the World Series for the second time in as many years.

“We’re good. We are.” truly “Good,” said Kiki Hernandez, one of the reasons why. “The experience and trust we have in each other is that if we get behind in the game early, we’ll find a way to come back and tie it or take the lead.

“We’re 2-0 in the NLCS, but the goal is to win a World Series, not win two games on the road. And since we’re still playing the Milwaukee Brewers, we’re going to focus on them and take it one day at a time. We haven’t really accomplished anything yet.”

But when they do, expect achievement to come from the bottom up.