The Los Angeles Dodgers have not homered in the National League Championship Series, and the Milwaukee Brewers, who hit the second-fewest home runs in the majors, beat them 6-2 on Wednesday at Dodger Stadium for a 3-0 series lead. Jake Bauers and Garrett Mitchell hit back-to-back homers off Blake Snell in the seventh inning. Game 4 is Thursday night in Los Angeles.
The Brewers hit the second-fewest home runs in baseball during the regular season, even as they topped the majors with 103 wins, according to the AP game report. In Game 3 they went deep three times, and they now have eight homers this postseason.
Brewers Go Deep Three Times, Including an 11-Pitch At-Bat
Jackson Chourio homered on the first pitch of the game, a 98 m.p.h. fastball from Snell, Sportsnet reported. It was definitely important to set the tone early,
Chourio said.
The start time for NLCS Game 4 has been changed to 5pm PT. pic.twitter.com/EYhLcXBlpU
Snell then retired 14 batters in a row. The Dodgers moved ahead 2-1 in the sixth, but the lead lasted one half-inning.
To open the inning, Andrew Vaughn worked a seven-pitch walk, and pinch-runner Christian Yelich came in for him. Bauers then followed with a 412-foot shot to right on the 11th pitch of the at-bat for a 3-2 lead. Mitchell was next and his drive traveled 428 feet to right-center, chasing Snell.
FINAL: Brewers 6, Dodgers 2Milwaukee takes a 3-0 lead in the NLCS and can sweep the Dodgers tomorrow. Jake Bauers hit a go-ahead homer on the 11th pitch of an epic at-bat, Garrett Mitchell followed with another homer and Robert Gasser threw five scoreless for a monster win.
Snell gave up four runs and four hits in six-plus innings, struck out nine and walked two. Manager Pat Murphy still credited him: This guy was sensational.
Dodgers Stay Homerless and Go 3 for 32 With Runners in Scoring Position
Los Angeles had runners on base in all but three innings, but couldn’t get enough across. In the NLCS they have not yet homered, and this postseason they are 3 for 32 with runners in scoring position.
Cheer on the Brewers during tonight's NLCS Game 4 from INSIDE American Family Field ‼️$15 tickets are AVAILABLE NOW and include $10 in loaded value to use at the ballpark→ https://t.co/ilcWEEmO1m pic.twitter.com/WoAlXcftK8
In the sixth, Will Smith’s two-run double off reliever Abner Uribe gave the offensively starved Dodgers a 2-1 lead. Uribe had loaded the bases on walks. Replacing Uribe, DL Hall gave up one hit and struck out two, then handed the ball to Trevor Megill in the eighth.
Ohtani went 1 for 2 with a walk while batting sixth in the order, his lowest spot since he joined the Dodgers three years ago. Manager Dave Roberts conceded the problem: We’ve had some opportunities with guys on base,
Roberts said. But we can’t get that hit.
Brewers Answer Every Rally for a Fifth Comeback Win
Per MLB.com, in the last two games, the Dodgers have scored runs in four separate innings. All four times, the Brewers have answered immediately with runs of their own. It was the fifth comeback victory in seven postseason games for the Brewers.
Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy said the pattern held in all three games: All three games we’ve played so far, and hopefully that continues, where just every time they score, we come back and score.
Bauers put it simply: We play for each other.
The approach was visible in Game 2, a 7-4 win in Milwaukee. The Brewers had to face Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Yahoo Sports reported. Bauers turned in an epic 12-pitch battle with Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Game 2 on Monday in Milwaukee. Third baseman David Hamilton described the plan as trying to have long at-bats.
Dodgers Face History in Game 4
Only one team in big league history has rallied from a 3-0 deficit to win a best-of-seven postseason series: the Boston Red Sox, against the New York Yankees in the 2004 AL Championship Series. Roberts was on that team. His Game 4 message was narrower: We’ve got to win tomorrow. That’s our only focus.
The one other occasion when the Dodgers fell behind 3-0 in a best-of-seven postseason series, the Baltimore Orioles swept them in the 1966 World Series. The Brewers have never beaten Los Angeles in three previous playoff series.
The Dodgers will send Tyler Glasnow to the mound for this must-win game, while the Brewers have not yet announced a starter for what’s expected to be a bullpen game. First pitch is 8 p.m. on FS1, according to CBS Sports. Owner Mark Attanasio, speaking from the visiting clubhouse after the game, kept it short: One more to go.
Thursday’s Game 4 is at Dodger Stadium, where the Brewers can become the first major league club to complete a postseason sweep of an opponent that swept them in the previous postseason.