LOS ANGELES — Three games into the NLCS, there’s no doubt which team deserves to represent the National League in the World Series.
After a third consecutive Brewers win, only a historic comeback will prevent Milwaukee from advancing to the World Series. A 6-2 Brewers win gives them a 3-0 advantage in the NLCS, ensuring champagne and celebratory t-shirts will be on hand at Dodger Stadium Thursday in case the visitors clinch.
"We play for each other," said Jake Bauers, who hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the seventh. "It's as simple as that. (And) it's a special thing to be a part of."
“Job's not finished,” added Garrett Mitchell, who followed up Bauers’ homer with one of his own.
The Brewers haven’t been this close to the World Series since 1982, when they lost to the Cardinals in their lone appearance. The Dodgers, meanwhile, are stumbling to the finish line in defence of their 2024 and 2025 championships.
“We're just not getting those timely hits,” lamented Dodgers manager Dave Roberts.
Entering the game, the Dodgers were desperate for a power outburst. They sung the praises of Shohei Ohtani despite his struggles. They bumped Kyle Tucker up in the batting order, citing his even splits. But for the third game in a row, they had no answers offensively.
If the end is nearing for baseball’s two-time defending champions, it’s because their offence has been abysmal. Will Smith’s sixth-inning double was only the second extra-base hit of the series for the Dodgers, who managed just five hits in total Wednesday. They have yet to hit a home run in the NLCS.
“We've had some opportunities with guys on base,” Roberts said. “But we can't get that hit.”
Now, the corresponding part of that equation is the Brewers, who have done a tremendous job limiting the offence that ranked fourth in baseball in runs scored this season. Give Milwaukee credit. But the Dodgers’ legacy exists because they usually beat good pitching. Not this time — at least, not so far.
But while the Dodgers struggled to hit for power, the Brewers connected for some big swings. Jackson Chourio homered on the first pitch of the game, a 98 m.p.h. fastball from Blake Snell.
“It was definitely important to set the tone early,” Chourio said.
Later, after Snell had dominated throughout the middle innings on his way to nine strikeouts, Bauers and Mitchell changed the tenor of the game once again.
When he was facing the Dodgers in the 2020 World Series, Snell was taken out of Game 6 in what would become an extremely controversial decision. Six years later, he stayed in the game and it backfired anyways as Bauers and Mitchell became the first ever left-handed hitters to hit back-to back-homers off Snell.
Until Wednesday, Snell hadn’t surrendered a single homer this year.
“It's baseball,” Roberts said. “I felt good with where Blake's stuff was at. You've got to give Bauers credit. He put together another good at-bat.”
Indeed he did. One game after working a pivotal 12-pitch walk in Game 2, the pending free agent worked Snell for 11 pitches before homering.
"Super sick. What more can you say about JB, man?" Mitchell said afterwards. "It's a selfless at-bat."
"No moment's too big for Jake," added Brewers manager Pat Murphy. "He's a special cat."
Leading up to Game 3, Snell was extremely focused on the task in front of him. Roberts described him as "much more quiet" than usual, and behind the scenes the left-hander was listening closely to what Brewers players said in press conferences — all part of an effort to embrace the mental side of the game, which he estimates is 80 per cent of the sport.
“Snell was unbelievable,” Murphy said. “This guy was sensational.”
A little easier to say after a win, maybe, but for most of the night Snell really did dominate.
Opposite Snell, Gasser more than held his own. The lefty with the low arm slot covered five innings for the Brewers, allowing just three singles without allowing a run. That’s more or less ideal considering it looked like a mismatch compared to the two-time Cy Young winner.
Once Gasser left, the Brewers turned to Abner Uribe once again. The right-hander has pitched in every one of Milwaukee’s playoff games — and pitched well — until Wednesday, when he walked three of the first four hitters he faced.
That set up a Will Smith double into the left-centre field gap, briefly giving the Dodgers the lead. But it’s borderline impossible to win with two total extra-base hits in three games.
On a quiet night for the Dodgers lineup, Ohtani did his part, reaching base three times with a hit by pitch, a walk and a line drive single. It wasn’t enough to change the outcome, but it’s certainly enough to justify his presence in the lineup, and perhaps even a higher spot in the batting order with the season on the line Thursday.
One way or another, the Dodgers can’t keep playing like this.
"They know what's at stake," Roberts said. "We've got to win. That's our only focus."
A prominent member of the 2004 Red Sox team that overcame a 3-0 deficit to beat the Yankees in the ALCS, Roberts said he doesn’t intend to bring those memories up to his players. They have their own experiences overcoming adversity, he said, and can draw on those.
“They've seen the documentary,” he said. “They know it can happen.”
Twenty-two years later, Tyler Glasnow will start this must-win game for the Dodgers, while the Brewers have yet to announce a starter for what’s expected to be a bullpen game. On paper, advantage Dodgers. But as we’ve seen throughout this NLCS, it’s never wise to underestimate the 2026 Brewers.
As Brewers owner Mark Attanasio said from the visiting clubhouse after the game: “One more to go.”
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