Milwaukee just went up 2-0 on baseball's back-to-back champions, and the Dodgers are running out of room
The Brewers knocked out Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the second inning Monday and beat Los Angeles 7-4 to take a 2-0 NLCS lead. No team in history has come back from 2-0 down in an LCS more than eight times in 59 tries.
In brief
Milwaukee just went up 2-0 on baseball's back-to-back champions, and the Dodgers are running out of room
MILWAUKEE, The scoreboard read 7-4 when it was over Monday night, but the number that matters most to Los Angeles isn't on that line. Teams trailing 2-0 in a League Championship Series are 8-51 all-time. Those odds were already brutal before the Brewers did it twice.
Milwaukee continued their strong showing against the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers, winning Game 2 and heading to L.A. with a 2-0 National League Championship Series lead. The Brewers got to the Dodgers and Yoshinobu Yamamoto early on Monday night. That detail is hard to overstate. Yamamoto is the $325 million arm Los Angeles brought in to be their postseason stopper, and he couldn't stop anything in Game 2 before the Brewers chased him.
It happened fast. Milwaukee put runners on, got the big hit, and by the time the Dodgers dugout started squirming, the hole was already deep. The game never really swung back. The final: Brewers 7, Dodgers 4. Milwaukee leads the series 2-0.
This is a rematch of last year's NLCS, where the Dodgers swept the Brewers. Los Angeles has won back-to-back World Series titles and came into this postseason as the heavy favorite in the National League again. The Brewers and Dodgers were the only clubs to reach the 100-win mark in the regular season, and both won their NLDS matchups in four games. So this isn't an underdog story yet. Two elite teams went at each other in Milwaukee, and Milwaukee won both times. Now the series shifts west.
Games 3 and 4 go to Dodger Stadium, starting Wednesday. That's where Los Angeles would theoretically take back control. The crowd will be loud, the lineup will have Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman and the whole expensive machine. But even Dodger Stadium hasn't saved teams from 0-2 holes very often. Teams are historically 8-51 when trailing 2-0 in the League Championship Series. That means the team down 2-0 wins the series less than 14 percent of the time.
The Brewers, meanwhile, are playing with a freedom Los Angeles clearly doesn't feel right now. Manager Pat Murphy's club pushed the defending champs around for two straight games at American Family Field, and the home crowd energy was a genuine factor. Now they go on the road and need only two wins in five games to reach the World Series for the first time since 1982.
In the American League, Monday also brought a result that matters for how October shapes up. The Guardians waited out Rays starter Drew Rasmussen before putting on an offensive clinic against the Tampa Bay bullpen for a 7-3 victory in Game 1 of the ALCS. In the American League, the Guardians took the opener at the home of the Tampa Bay Rays, who led the contest 2-0 but couldn't hold off Cleveland's rally.
Game 1 star Chase DeLauter got the Guardians on the board with a solo shot in the sixth, then had the key hit to get the rally going in the eighth when he doubled Jose Ramirez to third. DeLauter walked in the ninth and came around to score to help seal it. Nathaniel Lowe's 2-run single put the Guardians ahead in the eighth.
While Cleveland owns two World Series titles, its most recent championship came back in 1948. The Tampa Bay Rays swept the Yankees to clinch the first spot in the ALCS and face the Cleveland Guardians, who mounted a stunning comeback against the White Sox after dropping the first two games of the ALDS. Cleveland already proved it can flip a series. Tampa Bay just handled New York. Game 2 of the ALCS goes Tuesday night on TBS.
So both LCS matchups are live, both feature genuine intrigue, and both could be functionally over within 48 hours if the early leaders keep winning. The Dodgers, Brewers, Rays and Guardians have all moved on to the League Championship Series. But only two of those teams are actually ahead right now.
The Dodgers have won 12 consecutive postseason series going back years. They are built for these moments. Their roster is deep, their bullpen is capable, and Ohtani alone changes any game he's in. Manager Dave Roberts has navigated worse situations than this and come out fine.
But none of that changes the math. Through 59 LCS series in history, a team down 2-0 has come back to win exactly eight times. The last team to pull it off was the 2019 Washington Nationals, who rallied from 2-0 down against the Cardinals before going on to win the whole thing. That took an extraordinary run of pitching and clutch hitting. The Dodgers have those things. They also have three games left and a margin for error that shrinks with each loss.
Milwaukee's rotation takes the ball Wednesday. The Dodgers need Freddie Freeman to look like October Freddie Freeman, which he usually does. And Ohtani, whose bat has been electric this postseason, will not be pitching. Los Angeles needs its offense to manufacture something the Brewers haven't given them yet.
Game 3 is Wednesday at Dodger Stadium, airing on FS1. First pitch is set for 5 p.m. Eastern.
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CAN I KICK IT? screens New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument, on Aug. 22. (Courtesy SHAOLIN JAZZ)
The live-cinema series CAN I KICK IT? returns to the National Mall this month with what its producers are calling the "Gangsters on the Mall" chapter of their free outdoor summer run. On Saturday, August 22, the SHAOLIN JAZZ production brings the 1991 crime classic New Jack City to the Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument for a night of film, music, and community under the DC summer sky.
What sets the event apart is the sound. As the film plays, DJ 2-Tone Jones builds an original score in real time, reimagining one of the most iconic crime movies of the ’90s through hip-hop, soul, funk, and more. It is less a movie screening than a live performance built around the film.
The details:
Film: New Jack City (1991), with a live soundtrack by DJ 2-Tone Jones
When: Saturday, August 22 — seating opens at 7:30 p.m. (bring lawn chairs and blankets); film begins at 8:30 p.m.
Where: Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument, Independence Ave SW & 15th St NW
A parking note from the organizers: expect road closures and restricted parking east of 14th Street NW due to a separate race event in the District. Roads west of 14th Street NW will be accessible and available for parking.
New Jack City is the second of three screenings in this year’s free CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series, which opened with Black Panther at Skyland Town Center and concludes with Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial on September 5. Produced by the Washington, DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, the series has presented more than 150 live cinematic experiences at venues across the country, from Lincoln Center to SXSW.
"I wanted to be able to tell good stories with substance and remove the ‘ego’ out of the art," said Andrew Huang during a recent interview. Now, he’s building his career at the intersection of discipline, creativity and innovation.
Andrew Huang, founder of New Place Studios. (Courtesy photo)
As a Chinese American, Huang was reared with a deep respect for hard work, consistency and excellence. He describes his childhood as "not so affluent" and later attended college to hone his passion for videography. "In college I tried to do something I loved, which was video, but along the way I knew that I had to find a job. And so I thought, ‘what was the low hanging fruit to get to that stable 9 to 5 job?,’" he stated.
Later in life, Huang found himself working for corporations where his creativity was often limited, eventually leading to burnout. "I worked in a corporation for a long time and there were a lot of missing pieces. I wanted to fill in gaps missing in corporate video production," said Huang.
He later described how his upbringing and a mindset of "survival" led him toward a corporate career. However, his desire for balance and authentic storytelling ultimately pushed him to take the entrepreneurial leap.
"I founded a new place where you can create video and film with ‘substance and style,’" said Huang. His desire for work-life balance and passion for storytelling naturally evolved into a small business based in Virginia. With the launch of New Place Studios, the entrepreneur quickly found himself reconnecting with the values that would become the foundation of everything he creates behind the camera.
Huang said being a business owner has allowed him to first embrace himself. While others may see video as simply capturing moments, he sees it as a way to preserve stories that inspire, connect and leave a lasting imprint.
By combining cinematic visuals with cutting-edge production techniques and a keen understanding of branding, Huang helps organizations and individuals communicate their vision with purpose. He said understanding a client’s "why" serves as the compass for delivering the services they need.
One benefit of working with a small business, he said, is that clients get to see the production process unfold through a micro lens while working with the same faces throughout the entire project. "The work feels personal," said Huang.
Huang does not regret leaving behind the flash-over-substance mentality and corporate hustle culture. That does not mean the Asian American entrepreneur has been without challenges in the industry. "It’s relatively hard to find other Asian American creatives or people who would want to work with me in the DMV," said Huang.
He identifies the industry culture in which everyone is trying to blend in, creatives may fear displaying their Asian identity and some feel pressure to adopt an American corporate persona. He also points to what he describes as a level of gatekeeping within the industry. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2024 statistics, Asian American and Pacific Islander entrepreneurs own more than 3 million businesses and employ 5.2 million people in the United States.
After tapping into organizations such as SCORE, which offers free small business mentorship, New Place Studios has become a trusted creative partner throughout the DMV (Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia). The company produces a range of creative services, including commercials, corporate branding, documentaries, film, 2D animation, motion graphics and photography.
For Huang, entrepreneurship has become more than a departure from corporate life. It has given him the freedom to create with intention, build meaningful connections and tell stories that go beyond the surface.
The 2026 CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
For three Saturdays this summer, some of Washington’s most familiar public spaces will do something they rarely do after dark: fill up with blankets, lawn chairs, and the sound of a movie being scored live, in real time. CAN I KICK IT?, the traveling “live cinema” series produced by the DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, is bringing a free outdoor run to the city — pairing three era-defining films with an original soundtrack performed on the spot by DJ 2-Tone Jones.
The premise is what sets it apart from a normal screening in the park. Rather than simply pressing play, 2-Tone Jones builds a score as the film unfolds, pulling from hip-hop, soul, funk, jazz, rock, electronic music, and sounds from around the world. The result, the organizers say, is less a movie night than a one-time performance — the same film you know, wired to a soundtrack you have never heard and will not hear again. Guest DJs warm up the crowd starting at 7:30 PM before each 8:30 PM screening.
The 2026 outdoor schedule
All three events are free and open to the public.
Saturday, August 8 — Black Panther at Skyland Town Center. A pop-up marketplace and community activities kick off the evening; guest DJs at 7:30 PM, film at 8:30 PM. Marvel’s superhero epic gets a one-night-only live score in Southeast DC.
Saturday, August 22 — New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument. Seating begins at 7:30 PM; the film starts at 8:30 PM. The 1991 crime drama plays out at the foot of one of the country’s most recognizable landmarks.
Saturday, September 5 — Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial. Seating at 7:30 PM; film at 8:30 PM. The series closes with Brian De Palma’s crime saga against the backdrop of the Memorial, scored live from start to finish.
First up: Black Panther at Skyland Town Center on August 8. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
A DC company with a national footprint
SHAOLIN JAZZ describes itself as a Washington-based arts company working at the intersection of music, film, art, and culture, and CAN I KICK IT? is its signature production. According to the organizers, the series has staged more than 150 live cinematic experiences around the country — at performing arts centers, museums, festivals, and cultural institutions including Lincoln Center in New York, SXSW, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Republic Square in Austin, the Tacoma Armory, and The Cary Theater.
“CAN I KICK IT? has always been about creating a shared experience,” said Gerald Watson, co-founder of SHAOLIN JAZZ. “When you combine iconic films with live music in public spaces, something special happens. People aren’t just watching a movie — they’re experiencing it together. That’s what makes these nights so memorable.”
Cinema as a community event
The DC run lands as cities across the country look for new ways to activate public space through arts and culture — and this series is a straightforward pitch for how to do it: take a landmark everyone already knows, add a film everyone has an opinion about, and let a live soundtrack turn the evening into something neighbors experience shoulder to shoulder. Families, film buffs, and music fans are all invited, and admission won’t cost a thing.
The CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series runs August 8, August 22, and September 5. All events are free; check SHAOLIN JAZZ (shaolinjazz.com) for the latest details and any weather updates before heading out.
