Brewers manager Pat Murphy has done his level best to paint his side as the scrappy underdog in their National League Championship Series against the Dodgers. On the other side, Dave Roberts has been quick to dismiss such a narrative. Yet as Los Angeles put the finishing touches on a 5-1 victory to take a commanding 2-0 series lead on Tuesday night, it was hard to argue which side seems more likely to represent the National League in the Fall Classic.

The Dodgers bullpen, which was perceived as one of their precious few weak points, has been largely able to sit and observe from afar as starters Blake Snell and Yoshinobu Yamamoto have combined to throw 17 innings of one-run ball to stifle most of Milwaukee's enthusiasm. It will be an incredibly tall task for Murphy's crew to buck historical trends and overcome the deficit, especially since the next three games will be at Dodger Stadium.

Still, he has reason to believe.

"You guys might have us counted out," he said during his media availability after the loss. "And I understand that. Ninety percent of the teams that have been in this situation don't win the series. But this team has been counted out a lot this year and I think there's some fight left in them."

That sounds as much of a message to his team through the media as one to the media. Murphy is not going to sit up there, throw his hands in the air and say "it's over, folks." That would lose him the locker room and have a negative impact on ratings.

No one expected the Brewers to put together the best record in baseball this season. Momentum is only as good as the next game's starting pitcher and that could flip for Murphy's Brewers. Or, you know, he'll go down expressing confidence in his team.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Pat Murphy Explains Why He Believes Brewers Still Have a Shot vs. Dodgers.