LOS ANGELES — The Milwaukee Brewers moved within one win of their first pennant in 44 years on Wednesday night, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 at Dodger Stadium behind back-to-back seventh-inning home runs from Jake Bauers and Garrett Mitchell.
Milwaukee took a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven National League Championship Series and can finish a sweep of the two-time defending World Series champions in Game 4 on Thursday night. The Brewers last reached the World Series in 1982 while members of the American League.
Seventh-inning power surge
The Brewers, who posted the best regular-season record in baseball at 103-59 despite finishing near the bottom in home runs, turned to the long ball to rally past Los Angeles. Jackson Chourio opened the contest with a home run on the very first pitch from Dodgers starter Blake Snell. Snell then settled down, setting down 14 consecutive hitters at one point, according to ABC News.
Los Angeles took a 2-1 lead in the sixth inning when Will Smith delivered a two-run double with the bases loaded against reliever Abner Uribe. However, Milwaukee responded immediately in the top of the seventh. After a leadoff walk to Andrew Vaughn, Bauers ended an 11-pitch battle by hitting a 412-foot, two-run homer to right field off Snell. Mitchell followed on the very next pitch with a 428-foot solo shot to right-center, knocking Snell out of the contest.
Bauers and Mitchell became only the third pair of left-handed batters in postseason history to hit back-to-back home runs off a left-handed pitcher, ABC News reported. The previous instances were Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper for Philadelphia in 2024, and Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig for the New York Yankees in 1928.
“All three games we’ve played so far, and hopefully that continues, where just every time they score, we come back and score,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said, as reported by ABC News. “That’s not easy to do in baseball.”
Milwaukee added insurance runs in the eighth on a wild pitch by Justin Wrobleski and in the ninth on an RBI single by Joey Ortiz. Reliever DL Hall pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings to earn the win, and Trevor Megill recorded four outs to pick up the save.
Dodgers face historical hurdle
The Dodgers are now in danger of being swept after entering October attempting to win a third consecutive championship. Only one team in major league history has rallied from a 3-0 series deficit to win a best-of-seven postseason series: the Boston Red Sox against the New York Yankees in the 2004 ALCS.
Los Angeles struggled to convert opportunities in Game 3, leaving runners on base throughout the evening. Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani batted sixth, his lowest spot in the order in three seasons with the club, going 1 for 2 with a walk, ABC News noted.
“We’ve won four in a row a number of times this year,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, according to ABC News. “We’ve got to win tomorrow. That’s our only focus.”
Looking ahead to Game 4
Game 4 is set for Thursday at 8 p.m. Eastern time at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers plan to start right-hander Tyler Glasnow, who went 5-2 with a 3.53 ERA during the regular season, according to The Associated Press.
While the Brewers had not formally announced their Game 4 starter by early Thursday, Sports Illustrated reported that left-hander Shane Drohan is expected to start, with right-hander Dustin May potentially available out of the bullpen in relief.
