American Family Field in Milwaukee, home of the Brewers, during a Dodgers-Brewers game. (Image: SidewalkMD / Wikimedia Commons — CC BY-SA 4.0)
The Milwaukee Brewers are one victory away from the World Series. Fueled by three home runs — including back-to-back blasts in the seventh inning — the Brewers quieted Dodger Stadium with a 6-2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series on Wednesday night, taking a commanding 3-0 lead in the series.
Jackson Chourio set the tone from the very start, launching the first pitch of the game from Blake Snell over the outfield fence. The Dodgers briefly grabbed a 2-1 lead in the sixth inning on Will Smith's two-run double, but Milwaukee answered with a power surge an inning later. Jake Bauers, after grinding through an 11-pitch at-bat, and Garrett Mitchell hit consecutive home runs in the seventh to break the game open and put the Brewers firmly in control.
Snell, the Dodgers' star left-hander, struck out nine batters but could not keep Milwaukee's lineup down when it mattered most. The Brewers' pitching staff did the rest. Robert Gasser tossed five scoreless innings, and reliever DL Hall earned the win with 2 1/3 scoreless frames out of the bullpen.
The victory capped another statement night in a remarkable season for a Milwaukee club that won 103 games — and it carried extra weight given what happened last October, when these same Dodgers swept the Brewers out of the NLCS. Now the roles have flipped, and the two-time defending World Series champions stand on the brink of elimination.
History is firmly on Milwaukee's side. In the long history of best-of-seven baseball series, only the 2004 Boston Red Sox have ever climbed out of a 3-0 hole. The win also showcased the roster-wide depth that has defined the Brewers all season — from Chourio's instant spark to Bauers' marathon at-bat to a bullpen that slammed the door. It was the same formula that produced 103 regular-season wins, and it has Milwaukee looking every bit like a team of destiny.
For the city, the moment is decades in the making. The Brewers have never won a National League pennant since joining the league in 1998, and the franchise's lone World Series appearance came in 1982, when it was still an American League club. They can end that drought Thursday night in Game 4 at Dodger Stadium (9 p.m. ET, FS1) — one more win, and Milwaukee is going to the World Series.
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