Dodgers Fall to Brewers: NLCS Game 3 Recap

Blake Snell stood on the mound with his hand on his hip. He waited for Jake Bauers to cross home plate before selecting his pitch for the next batter. Bauers had just hit a two-run homer, overturning the Dodgers’ lead. Snell’s strong start on Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium suddenly faltered.

Two pitches later, Garrett Mitchell hit another home run. The Milwaukee Brewers secured a 6-2 victory in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series. This win gave the Brewers a 3-0 series lead, setting up an elimination game on Thursday. The Dodgers, aiming for a historic three-peat, now need to win the next four games to reach the World Series.

For the initial five innings, the Brewers had the sole run from Jackson Chourio’s homer on the first pitch. Snell delivered a fastball at 97.6 mph, which Chourio sent into the stands. Despite this setback, Snell’s aggressive pitching style initially proved effective. He successfully mixed fastballs, curveballs, and changeups to challenge the batters.

In contrast to Snell’s previous postseason appearance against the Atlanta Braves, where he walked five and pitched only 3-2/3 innings, he proceeded efficiently against the Brewers. He pitched through six-plus innings with just two walks.

Writing fastballs at 97 mph, Snell’s velocity on Wednesday reached 97.3 mph. After Chourio’s home run, Snell retired 18 of the following 20 batters, which included 14 consecutive outs. His nine strikeouts were nearly a postseason personal best.

However, the seventh inning marked a turning point. Snell walked Andrew Vaughn and then allowed two consecutive home runs. The Brewers rapidly took the lead. The Dodgers then faced the strong Brewers bullpen, making scoring without a challenge difficult.

They managed only three hits from Brewers’ starter Robert Gasser. Abner Uribe then entered the game, which marked his seventh postseason appearance. Uribe struggled, walking two of the first batters.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts opted to pinch-hit Max Muncy for Andy Pages. After Muncy struck out, the situation demanded performance from Shohei Ohtani and Will Smith, despite their postseason struggles.

Ohtani walked, loading the bases for Smith. His sinker turned into a two-run double to offer the Dodgers a brief lead. This rally ceased when Roberts replaced rookie Josue De Paula with Kiké Hernández. Following Hernández and Tommy Edman striking out, the Brewers reversed the score with a 4-2 lead.

Snell conceded three home runs that night. In the eighth, the Brewers increased their advantage with singles off Roki Sasaki and a wild pitch from Justin Wrobleski. The Brewers secured another run in the ninth inning from singles and a stolen base off Wrobleski.

With Dodgers fans already exiting, the Dodgers went out in order in the last half inning.