THE APEX TIMES
Brewers take NLCS Game 3, leave Dodgers one loss from elimination
Milwaukee scored six runs at Dodger Stadium to take a commanding 3-0 series lead, highlighted by Jake Bauers’ two-run homer after a long at-bat and Jackson Chourio’s first-pitch postseason blast.
The question after Game 3 was simple: could the Dodgers stop the Brewers from turning the NLCS into a rout? The answer was no. Milwaukee beat Los Angeles 6-2, taking a 3-0 lead and moving within one win of its first World Series trip in 44 years.
The game’s momentum swung hard in the seventh inning, when Jake Bauers forced an extended duel and then delivered the decisive swing. Bauers fouled off 10 pitches from Dodgers left-hander Blake Snell before turning an 11th pitch into a two-run homer that sent Dodger Stadium into stunned silence.
Milwaukee struck again immediately after taking the lead. With the Brewers ahead 3-2, Garrett Mitchell doubled and then stretched the advantage further, pushing the game toward the same kind of “on-the-rope” feeling the Dodgers had tried to avoid.
Dodgers starter Robert Gasser kept Los Angeles from adding to the scoreboard for much of the night, but the turning point began when Gasser was lifted for Abner Uribe in the sixth. Uribe issued three walks, setting the stage for Will Smith’s two-run double that got Los Angeles back within one run.
Even before the late-inning slugfest, the Brewers announced they were going to swing for the moment. Jackson Chourio hit a home run on the first pitch of a postseason game, a feat the release notes hadn’t been done often since pitch count tracking began in 1988.
With the series now out of reach for a quick recovery, the Dodgers’ path back becomes historically narrow. MLB history shows that 42 teams have trailed 3-0 in a best-of-seven postseason, and most of them have been swept, with only rare exceptions reaching a Game 7.
Why It Matters
- Milwaukee’s 3-0 NLCS lead puts the Dodgers in a must-win situation for their season life, tightening the margin for any late adjustments.
- Bauers’ seven-inning swing represents a defining “moment win” for the Brewers, using patience against a top-of-the-staff arm and then converting immediately.
- The Brewers continue a pattern of late-stage resilience in the postseason, with this game described as their fifth comeback win in their first seven contests.
- For Los Angeles, the loss means the two-time defending champion storyline now depends on producing consecutive wins in a series that has rarely allowed extended comebacks.
Key Facts
- The Brewers beat the Dodgers 6-2 in NLCS Game 3 at Dodger Stadium to take a 3-0 series lead.
- Milwaukee is one win away from advancing to the World Series for the first time in 44 years.
- Jake Bauers hit a two-run home run in the seventh after fouling off 11 pitches from Dodgers left-hander Blake Snell.
- Will Smith’s two-run double helped pull Los Angeles to 3-2 before the Brewers expanded the lead.
- Robert Gasser held Los Angeles scoreless through five, but Abner Uribe replaced him in the sixth and allowed three walks before Smith’s double.
- Jackson Chourio hit a home run on the first pitch of a postseason game, per the MLB release.
- The release emphasizes that comebacks after an 0-3 hole are extremely uncommon in best-of-seven postseason series.