Grandal’s woes, quiet bats doom Dodgers

LOS ANGELES » Of all the chants that could have emanated from the Dodger Stadium stands during the eighth inning of Game 3 of the NLCS, “We want Austin!” was not exactly the most likely.

But after Los Angeles catcher Yasmani Grandal committed his third passed ball of the series Monday night, the voices of exasperated fans pleading for his unsung backup, Austin Barnes, improbably echoed through Chavez Ravine.

And when Grandal struck out on three pitches with the bases loaded in the ninth inning of the Dodgers’ 4-0 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers, he only heard boos.

The fans’ vocal disappointment was mostly a measure of their dissatisfaction with Grandal, who is having a miserable postseason in every aspect. The veteran catcher dropped to 3 for 22 in the playoffs with 10 strikeouts despite a popup that turned into a groundrule double in Game 3.

But the unlikely chant for his backup also reflected the big-budget Dodgers’ desperate frustration with their own inability to seize the important moments near the halfway point of this series.

Game 3 was full of those missed moments, and it pushed the defending NL champions halfway to elimination. Game 4 is Tuesday night. Dodger Stadium, normally a cauldron of excitement in October, was just as quiet as the Los Angeles bats facing Jhoulys Chacin and the Brewers’ deep bullpen — except when it was booing the Dodgers. LA went 0 for 10 with runners in scoring position, struck out 14 times and managed just five hits.

Grandal’s passed ball in the eighth drew the fans’ greatest ire, but it happened after the Dodgers already trailed by four runs. Grandal has tied the bigleague record for the most passed balls in a playoff series, sharing it with four other catchers.

He also failed to control a wild pitch by Walker Buehler in the sixth inning, allowing Travis Shaw to score the Brewers’ second run from third base.

Shaw was only on third because center fielder Cody Bellinger appeared to misjudge Shaw’s long fly, allowing it to carom off the wall for a triple that probably could have been the third out of the inning.

And Buehler was still in the game because manager Dave Roberts attempted to get some extra innings from his young starter instead of employing his customary quick hook.