The defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers are on the brink of elimination, with plenty of blame to go around.
The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 3 of the NLCS behind homers from Jackson Chourio, Jake Bauers and Garrett Mitchell on Wednesday. With that, the Brewers are one win away from their first World Series appearance since 1982.
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Only one team, the 2004 Boston Red Sox, has managed to overcome a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven series. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was on that Red Sox team. Los Angeles can only hope that a similar miracle happens.
Game 4 is scheduled for Thursday at 5 p.m. PT at Dodger Stadium, with Tyler Glasnow set to take the mound for the Dodgers against what will likely be either Dustin May or a bullpen game for Milwaukee.
The Brewers had Blake Snell on the first pitch and the 11th pitch
This game ultimately came down to the start and end of Dodgers starting pitcher Blake Snell’s night. He allowed a homer on the very first pitch of the game, when Chourio ambushed a fastball in the middle of the zone for a solo homer.
That home run appeared to be the only run of the game through the first five innings, as Snell settled in and dominated. At one point he struck out 14 straight batters, and then the Dodgers offense finally did something.
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Los Angeles didn’t do it against Milwaukee starter Robert Gasser, who pitched five scoreless innings and simply pounded the zone with sinkers that the Dodgers couldn’t do much about. But with his pitch count at 72, Milwaukee pulled Gasser after five as he made his third trip up the Dodgers order.
In came Brewers relief ace Abner Uribe, who hadn’t allowed an earned run in his last 11 appearances between the regular season and the playoffs. It was the playbook the Brewers love, sending their high-leverage arms to cover the back half of a game, but this time it worked poorly.
The Dodgers went walk, walk, strikeout, walk, double against Uribe, with Will Smith providing that final hit after going 1 for 25 to start the postseason.
It was a huge boost for the Dodgers, and it gave them their first lead of the game.
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He then went right back to Snell’s 99th pitch of the game – and his 101st.
Similar to what he did against Dodgers Game 2 starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Bauers executed an 11-pitch at-bat against Snell that ended with a two-run homer after a leadoff walk by Andrew Vaughn.
The Dodgers kept Snell to face Mitchell. Two pitches later, the Brewers hit another home run and a reason to start seriously scouting teams in the ALCS.
It was the first time in Snell’s career that a pair of left-handed hitters hit consecutive home runs against him. Together, Bauers and Mitchell hit more home runs against Snell in this game than he allowed to lefties in the entire 2026 regular season.
Milwaukee added more runs in the eighth and ninth innings, building its largest lead of the playoffs with four runs.
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NLCS completely turned upside down for the Dodgers
The weird part about this game was that it bore little resemblance to how the Brewers racked up 103 wins in the regular season and then went through the NLDS against the San Diego Padres.
Milwaukee was tied for 28th in MLB in home runs during the regular season, but beat Los Angeles 5-0 in this series. Gasser is a traditional ground ball pitcher, but only two of his 15 outs in Game 3 came on the ground, compared to 10 through the air and three by strikeout. The bullpen had to pick up Uribe, its most dominant arm the last two years.
Meanwhile, the Dodgers once again saw a member of their super-rotation leave the game with little to celebrate. They once again saw a series of veteran hitters fail to string together hits. They once again remained home runless after ranking in the top 10 in MLB for home runs this season.
Los Angeles is now 3 for 29 with runners in scoring position in the postseason. That’s a batting average of .103. These successes come solely from last season’s train wreck, Andy Pages, and Smith, who was shaping up to be this season’s train wreck. Arguably the team’s best hitter in the postseason was Kyle Tucker, the butt of all the jokes during the regular season.
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It seems almost academic whether or not Shohei Ohtani should continue to play on that bad knee — although he fared relatively well on Wednesday, going 1-for-2 with a walk and a hit by pitch. It doesn’t matter if Ohtani is at his MVP best or barely able to walk; There’s no title on the table with the Dodgers’ postseason performance.
They needed a similar RISP collapse from the Atlanta Braves to get past the NLDS, and Milwaukee couldn’t be less interested in doing a similar favor for Los Angeles. Through three games, the Brewers have clearly shown themselves to be the better team – or at least, the only team with a functional offense.
A win on Thursday would mean avenging last year’s sweep at the hands of the Dodgers with a sweep of their own. A win anytime over the next four games would mean a trip to the Fall Classic. If Wednesday is any indication, these Brewers are ready.
Follow Yahoo Sports for updates, highlights and more as the Dodgers host the Brewers in Game 3 of the NLCS.
Mookie Betts hits, and that’s the end of Game 3. The Brewers take a 3-0 NLCS lead.
The crowd’s energy was sapped with Chourio’s homer from the first pitch. Dodgers fans had cause to cheer for a few minutes in the bottom of the sixth, when Smith hit his RBI double, but the Brewers silenced them again in the top of the seventh.
The Dodgers will return here tomorrow with all three of their prospects on the line.
Edman punches, and it makes two.
Enrique Hernandez lines out, and it’s a lost run for the Dodgers.
Chourio is out and we head to the Dodgers’ halfway point of the ninth.
Megill is looking for 3 more outs. The Dodgers are looking for 4 more runs.
Pratt steals second, then Joey Ortiz singles to the left side of the infield, and it’s another Milwaukee run on the board.
Wrobleski is on the mound to finish this game for the Dodgers.
Cooper Pratt just hit a one-out single for his third hit of the game.
Will Smith flies out, and that’s the end of the eighth.
This game is 5-2 heading into the ninth inning.
Ohtani is successful!
It’s a single with 2 outs, but it’s his first hit of this game.
That’s it for DL Hall. Trevor Megill comes in to try to get a 4 out save and seal a 3-0 lead for the Brewers.
Yelich and Bauers strike to end the inning, but the run still counts.
The Dodgers still have 6 outs and are down by 3 runs.
Sheesh. With Wrobleski facing Yelich, a wild throw goes past Will Smith and Turang goes home.
It’s 5-2 Brewers and things are getting ugly in LA.
Turang singles with one out in the top of the eighth. This is his first success in this match.
Then Contreras singled to put the runners in the corners with one out.
That’s it for Roki Sasaki. Justin Wrobleski replaces the Dodgers.
Jack Baer
That’s 5 up, 5 down for DL Hall in a huge spot for the Brewers. The Dodgers are down to their final six outs and the Brewers can avoid the top of their lineup without another baserunner.
Jack Baer
Roki Sasaki warms up for the Dodgers.
Jack Baer
Jack Baer
Jack Baer
DL Hall remains on hand to face the top of the order for the Dodgers in the bottom of the seventh.
Jack Baer
Jack Baer
Freddie Freeman catches a line drive from Joey Ortiz and doubles Cooper Pratt at first to end the inning.
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