Jake Bauers stared down Blake Snell for eleven pitches in the seventh inning, then buried him. The Milwaukee slugger launched a 412-foot two-run homer off the two-time Cy Young winner to break a 2-2 tie, and Garrett Mitchell followed two pitches later with a 428-foot solo shot as the Brewers beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in Game 3 and seized a 3-0 lead in the National League Championship Series.
Milwaukee is now one win away from its first World Series appearance since 1982 — and from sweeping the defending champions. Game 4 is set for Thursday night at Dodger Stadium, where Los Angeles will fight for its season, according to reports.
The Dodgers had briefly tasted hope. Down 1-0 after Jackson Chourio ambushed the first pitch for a leadoff homer, they took a 2-1 lead in the sixth on Will Smith’s two-run double off Abner Uribe, and Snell retired fourteen straight from there. Then came the seventh: Andrew Vaughn walked, pinch-runner Christian Yelich entered, and Bauers refused to make an out until the eleventh pitch sailed into the right-field seats for a 3-2 lead. Mitchell’s blast to right-centre ended Snell’s night at 4-2 — only the second time in his career he has given up multiple homers to left-handers in one game, according to reports.
Rookie Gasser matches a Cy Young winner
Lost in the late fireworks was rookie left-hander Robert Gasser, who delivered five scoreless innings on 72 pitches — the longest postseason outing of his young career, according to reports — and matched Snell pitch for pitch. DL Hall added two and one-third scoreless innings before closer Trevor Megill recorded a four-out save. The Brewers’ refusal to go home echoes the fightbacks seen around October baseball this month, but series are decided by star turns — and even the sport’s biggest names are being asked to carry unfamiliar loads right now.
Milwaukee added insurance the hard way: Brice Turang scored on a wild pitch in the eighth, and Joey Ortiz singled home a run in the ninth to seal the 6-2 final. Shohei Ohtani was dropped to sixth in the batting order amid a postseason slump, according to reports, yet the lineup managed just five hits and stranded runners in all but three innings.
A 44-year wait is nearly over
Milwaukee finished last in the National League in home runs this season, yet hit three off a pitcher who had not allowed one in over 46 innings. That is this October’s story: the small-market club that keeps finding new heroes, with a summer role player producing the postseason’s defining swing. For the Dodgers, bidding for three straight titles, one more loss ends the defence.
