Brewers beat Dodgers 6-2 to take a 3-0 NLCS lead; World Series one win away
Jackson Chourio homered on the first pitch, Jake Bauers and Garrett Mitchell went back-to-back in the seventh, and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 on Wednesday night to lead the National League Championship Series three games to none.
The result: The Brewers beat the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 3 of the NLCS at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday night, CBS Sports and MLB.com reported. Milwaukee leads the best-of-seven series 3-0 and is one win from its first World Series since 1982. Los Angeles is one loss from elimination in its bid for a third straight title.
How it started: Chourio ambushed Blake Snell’s first pitch for a home run the other way, making it 1-0, MLB.com reported. CBS Sports said it was among only a handful of first-pitch leadoff homers in the postseason since pitch-count data began in 1988. “It kind of set the tone for the day,” Bauers said, according to MLB.com.
The seventh-inning swing: After Will Smith’s two-run double in the sixth put the Dodgers ahead 2-1, Andrew Vaughn walked to open the seventh and Bauers worked an 11-pitch at-bat against Snell, fouling off several pitches before hitting a two-run homer to the right-field pavilion, MLB.com reported. Mitchell, on deck, followed with a solo homer. “Hat’s off to him,” Snell said of Bauers. “I mean, what an at-bat. I threw everything I had.” Milwaukee added late runs for the 6-2 final, CBS Sports and MLB.com said.
Pitching and context: Robert Gasser held Los Angeles scoreless through five before Abner Uribe struggled in the sixth; DL Hall stranded runners after Smith’s double, MLB.com reported. The Dodgers have scored only seven runs in three games. “We didn’t expect to be in this position,” Kiké Hernández said. “If we lose, we’re done.” Only the 2004 Red Sox have come all the way back from a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven postseason series, MLB.com noted.
What’s next: NLCS Game 4 is Thursday at 8 p.m. ET at Dodger Stadium on FS1, with Tyler Glasnow expected for Los Angeles and Milwaukee’s starter TBA, MLB.com and CBS Sports reported. In the ALCS, the Rays and Guardians are tied 1-1; Game 3 was moved up to 1 p.m. ET Thursday in Cleveland on TBS because of weather, CBS Sports said.