Brewers Pound Snell, Push Dodgers to Brink With 6-2 Game 3 Rout
Jackson Chourio's leadoff blast and back-to-back seventh-inning homers from Jake Bauers and Garrett Mitchell sent Milwaukee to a stunning 3-0 NLCS lead over the defending champions.
The Milwaukee Brewers are one win from the World Series after a 6-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in NLCS Game 3 on Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium, a result that leaves the defending champions facing a deficit almost no team in baseball history has overcome.
Jackson Chourio set the tone before the Dodgers' crowd could settle in, drilling the first pitch he saw from Blake Snell over the fence for a leadoff home run, one of only six first-pitch postseason homers since 1988. Los Angeles briefly answered back, taking a 2-1 lead in the sixth on Will Smith's two-run double off reliever Abner Uribe, but the lead didn't last. In the seventh, Jake Bauers worked an 11-pitch at-bat against Snell into a two-run homer, and Garrett Mitchell followed immediately with a solo shot, swinging a one-run deficit into a 6-2 lead the Dodgers never threatened again.
Brewers starter Robert Gasser held the Dodgers scoreless through five innings before handing things to the bullpen, while Snell finished with nine strikeouts but was undone by the three home runs, per ESPN's box score. Los Angeles has not hit a home run in the series.
The loss puts the Dodgers in rare territory. According to Yahoo Sports, Los Angeles has fallen behind 3-0 in a best-of-seven series only one other time in franchise history — the 1966 World Series, which they lost to Baltimore. Just two teams in MLB history have forced a Game 7 from down 3-0, and only the 2004 Red Sox have completed the comeback.
A locker room searching for answers
The mood in the Dodgers' clubhouse reflected the stakes. Infielder Kiké Hernández didn't mince words afterward.
"THIS ONE SUCKS."
On the other side, Milwaukee's players credited their composure in high-leverage spots. Garrett Mitchell called Bauers' marathon seventh-inning at-bat "super sick," and manager Pat Murphy pointed to the team's resilience, while outfielder Kyle Tucker said he still believes in the group even with the Dodgers one win from elimination.
Game 4 is set for Thursday night at Dodger Stadium, where the Dodgers must win to extend the series — and keep alive any hope of becoming the first team ever to rally from 3-0 down in an NLCS.