Category: Baseball

Blake Snell stood on the mound with his hand on his hip, waiting for Jake Bauers to cross the plate before punching in his pitch call for the next batter.

The Dodgers left-hander had just given up the lead on Bauers’ two-run homer in the seventh inning, spoiling what had been a stellar start Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium. But Snell was ready to move on.

Two pitches later, he watched another ball fly over the fence, this time off Garrett Mitchell’s bat. And with it went the last of the Dodgers’ momentum in what would become a 6-2 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series.

“It sucks,” Snell said of falling behind 3-0 in the series. “But it’s part of it. How do we bounce back? How do we fight? I think that’s the most important thing. It’s us coming together and finding a way to win.”

Read more:Plaschke: The Dodgers are done. After putting up a fight, the champs are out of gas

After setting their sights on a history-making three-peat, the Dodgers will have to win the next four games to advance to the World Series.

Only one team in MLB history has come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a best-of-seven series — the 2004 Red Sox in the American League Championship Series against the New York Yankees, on their way to breaking the Curse of the Bambino.

“At the beginning of this year, we set out to do something historic,” veteran third baseman Max Muncy said. “It looks like we’re going to have to make a little more history along the way if we want to accomplish that.

“That’s the task ahead of us. We still have the pitching staff to be able to do it. We just have to get some hits.”

For five innings, the only run on the board was the one the Brewers scored on the first pitch of the game.

Snell zipped a 97.6-mph fastball over the center of the plate, and Brewers leadoff hitter Jackson Chourio sent it into the first row of the stands in right-center.

For much of Snell’s start, however, that aggressive approach worked. He dotted the upper rail with his fastball, threw his curveball for both swings and misses and called strikes, and mixed in his changeup to right-handed batters.

Unlike Snell’s last postseason start, when he issued five walks and lasted just 3-2/3 innings against the Atlanta Braves, his efficiency got him through six-plus innings Wednesday, with just two walks.

And while Snell’s fastball averaged 97 mph in his last start — something he’d done only twice before in his career, regular season or postseason, and not since 2022, according to Statcast — he threw even harder on Wednesday: 97.3 mph.

After Chourio’s home run, Snell retired 18 of the next 20 batters, including 14 in a row, to get through six innings. His nine strikeouts were one shy of a postseason career high, which he recorded against the Brewers last year in Game 1 of the NLCS.

The game was still far from decided going into the bottom of the sixth, even though the Dodgers’ offense had been quiet.

With the way the Brewers’ bullpen pitched in the first two games, it seemed the Dodgers would have to score against the Brewers’ starters to have a chance to pull themselves out of the hole they’d dug.

They failed to do so in Game 3, logging just three hits off left-hander Robert Gasser.

Luckily for the Dodgers, pitching every game of the postseason seemed to finally have caught up to hard-throwing right-hander Abner Uribe in his seventh appearance.

Uribe took over for Gasser in the sixth inning and walked the first two batters.

Then Dodgers manager Dave Roberts had left-handed-hitting Max Muncy pinch-hit for Andy Pages. Muncy struck out, and the biggest moment of the game fell to two Dodgers who have had the worst postseason production on the team.

Roberts had moved Shohei Ohtani down to sixth in the batting order and put Will Smith behind him. Naturally, the game found them.

In a short-lived comeback story, they came through.

Ohtani drew a five-pitch walk without taking a swing. With the bases loaded, it was up to Smith, who had gone one for 25 in the postseason to that point.

He ambushed a first-pitch sinker and drove it into the left-field gap for a two-run double and the lead.

“It’s really hard to put it into words, because you feel like you finally break through,” veteran utility player Miguel Rojas said. “Will the big hit, you feel really good for him, because we all know he’s been struggling at the plate, getting the opportunities and now being able to come through.”

The rally halted there. Roberts burned rookie Josue De Paula as a pinch-hitter, swapping him out for Kiké Hernández when the Brewers brought in left-hander DL Hall. Hernández and Tommy Edman struck out to end the inning.

Read more:Shaikin: Here's how Dave Roberts explained all the Dodgers' moves that backfired

“That was the game right there,” Hernández said. “We need to put the ball in play; I didn’t. I struck out and gave Tommy a way harder job with two outs. Just have to be better tomorrow.”

Snell jogged back to the mound with a lead for the first time. He issued a leadoff walk to Andrew Vaughn. And then Bauers locked him into an 11-pitch battle — the second time in as many games that Bauers worked a Dodgers starter for double-digit pitches — that ended with a fastball over the middle of the plate.

“What an at-bat,” Snell said. “I threw everything I had. Fastball down the middle — if I can locate that better, who knows what would happen. It’s the best I’ve ever seen him play.”

Snell hadn’t given up a home run all season — not in his nine regular-season starts or his division series start. Three on Wednesday defined his defeat.

“To have three in a game is pretty frustrating,” Snell said. “It’s something I’ve got to learn from. It’s part of their journey too. It’s only going to make me better.”

The next inning, the Brewers added an insurance run with back-to-back singles against right-hander Roki Sasaki and a wild pitch from left-hander Justin Wrobleski. They tacked on another in the ninth with a pair of singles and a stolen base off Wrobleski.

Read more:'We just need to win tomorrow's game.' Dodgers remain optimistic despite 3-0 hole

With the flash of red taillights flickering outside of the stadium, a sign of fans already heading for the exits, the Dodgers went down in order to end the game.

“This is uncharted territory for us, especially the last two years,” Rojas said. “It’s kind of a tough one to kind of wrap your head around, especially with the talent that we have in this group and the way that we know we’re capable of playing, especially on the offensive part of the ball.

“With that being said, I feel like there’s nothing for us to kind of do or say. It’s just more of, come here tomorrow, we have another opportunity to win a baseball game and believe in a potential streak of four games in a row.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Heroes, zeros and other observations from the Dodgers’ 6-2 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series:

Zero: Blake Snell –– in the seventh inning

There was something different about Blake Snell this week.

All around the ballpark, the usually jovial left-hander wore a stoic expression. He walked to and from outfield catch play every day with a look of determination on his face.

His Dodgers teammates noticed it. So did his manager.

“Much more quiet, much more kind of staying to himself,” Dave Roberts said of his star left-hander, coming off a disappointing NL Division Series start in which he failed to complete four innings. “I think he’s been really anxious to get another opportunity … When you guys see him take the mound today, you’re going to see another level of intensity.”

For six innings, that was true, with Snell overcoming a leadoff home run from Jackson Chourio on the first pitch of the night by retiring 18 of his next 20 (nine via strikeout) and 14 in a row at one point.

It gave the Dodgers’ slumping offense time to finally break through, when Will Smith hit a go-ahead two-run double with the bases loaded in the sixth.

But then, in a sequence that will reverberate long into the winter, Snell returned for the seventh and suffered an historic postseason meltdown.

He walked leadoff batter Andrew Vaughn. He then got Jake Bauers in a two-strike count but repeatedly failed to put him away.

Five times, Bauers fouled off a two-strike offering. Just as he did to Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Game 2, he extended an at-bat into double-digit pitches.

“What an at-bat,” Snell conceded. “I threw everything I had.”

Finally, on pitch No. 11, Snell made a mistake, leaving a fastball down the middle.

Bauers was all over it, clobbering a no-doubt two-run homer halfway up the right-field pavilion.

If that wasn’t bad enough, Garrett Mitchell doubled the pain two pitches later, going back-to-back on another long ball to right.

That ended Snell’s night, and marked only the fifth time in his career he had allowed three home runs in a game. Even more shockingly: He hadn’t given up a big fly in any of his 10 previous outings this season.

A stunning conclusion to what had been shaping up to be a dominant start –– and perhaps the death blow to the Dodgers’ World Series three-peat ambitions this year.

Hero: DL Hall

For as shocking as Snell’s seventh-inning sequence was, what happened at the end of the sixth for the Dodgers might have been just as costly.

After doing next to nothing against the Brewers’ bullpen in the first two games of this series, the Dodgers had finally broken through against Abner Uribe, loading the bases on three walks –– in a sign of potential fatigue from the hard-throwing right-hander, who has pitched every game of this postseason for Milwaukee –– before Smith came up and snapped his 1-for-25 playoff drought with a two-run double off the wall in left.

However, Shohei Ohtani seemed to get a bad read on that drive, failing to score from first in what would prove to be a consequential mistake.

Then, the Brewers turned to Hall, tasking the second-best lefty in their bullpen to get through the rest of the inning unscathed.

On just 10 pitches, he did, recording back-to-back strikeouts of Kiké Hernández and Tommy Edman to retire the side and keep the Brewers’ deficit at just one run.

A half-inning later, Hall’s escape would prove paramount.

He wasn’t done either, collecting five more outs in seventh and eighth to earn a pivotal winning decision.

Unsung hero: Shohei Ohtani

His base-running mistake aside, Ohtani validated the Dodgers’ decision to keep him in their lineup after speculation he could be benched following Game 2.

After being dropped to the No. 6 spot in the batting order, he went 1-for-2 with his sixth-inning walk and a hit-by-pitch in the fourth. He also laced a 113.5 mph single in the eighth, and even looked better on the one out he recorded back in his first at-bat, when he lined out sharply to left.

It was a step in the right direction for the injury-hampered slugger, who entered Wednesday batting just 3-for-20 in the playoffs.

But if the Dodgers are to save their season –– now facing a 3-0 deficit that only one team in MLB history has ever overcome in a seven-game series –– they will almost certainly need more from the four-time MVP, who still doesn’t have an extra-base hit or RBI this October.

Stat of the game: Eight

That’s how many runners the Dodgers left stranded on base Wednesday, continuing a playoff-long trend of missed chances and wasted opportunities.

Even with Smith’s double, they finished 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position, falling to 3-for-32 in such situations this postseason.

Quote of the night

Max Muncy didn’t mince words when asked why the Dodgers’ offense –– now sporting a .165 batting average in this series –– has not been able to have more success against the Brewers’ admittedly stout pitching staff.

“It’s a pretty simple answer,” he said. “We’re playing like shit. They’re playing great. It’s as simple as that. No need to overcomplicate it.”

Unless the Dodgers can reel off four straight wins now, that will be the story of how their dynasty ended.

The Dodgers embarked on this postseason in search of an historic third-consecutive World Serieschampionship.

In order to accomplish that goal now, they have an even more daunting challenge impeding their path.

A year after they swept the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Championship Series, the shoe is suddenly, stunningly, unbelievably in danger of being put on the other foot.

With a 6-2 loss in Game 3 on Wednesday, the Dodgers are on the verge of not only elimination, but a humiliating sweep.

And unless they can become only the second team in MLB history to overcome a 3-0 hole in a best-of-seven series, the way they got there Wednesday will reverberate long into the winter –– serving as the potential death-knell in their modern-day dynasty.

In the sixth inning, the Dodgers had finally captured momentum in this previously one-sided matchup, taking a 2-1 lead on a bases-loaded two-run double from Will Smith against hard-throwing Milwaukee reliever Abner Uribe.

It was the kind of moment the Dodgers had been waiting for all series: A big hit with runners on base. A hard-nosed rally against the Brewers’ dominant bullpen. A late-game lead that seemed to take their season off life support.

“You feel like you finally break through,” infielder Miguel Rojas said.

Minutes later, however, it would all disappear.

After six nearly flawless innings from Blake Snell, in which he had retired 18 of 20 batters after a leadoff home run on the first pitch of the game from Jackson Chourio, the two-time Cy Young Award winner returned to the mound in the seventh with Dodger Stadium still pulsing.

Then he issued a leadoff walk, and got locked in an epic battle with Brewers first baseman Jake Bauers.

Just as he had done to Yoshinobu Yamamoto in a 12-pitch duel during Game 2, Bauers refused to be put away, working an 11-pitch at-bat in which he fouled off five two-strike offerings.

Finally, having exhausted all other options, Snell challenged him with a fastball in the heart of the plate.

Bauers was ready for it, clobbering a 412-foot shot halfway up the right-field pavilion.

Chavez Ravine went silent. The Brewers had regained a 3-2 lead.

“I threw everything I had,” Snell said. “[Then a] fastball down the middle. If I can locate that better, who knows what would happen.”

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What happened instead was a gut punch the Dodgers are unlikely to recover from.

Two pitches later, Garrett Mitchell also took Snell deep on a no-doubt drive to right.

“I mean, three home runs in a game –– I didn’t give up one the whole year,” said Snell, who had indeed not only avoided any long ball in his 10 previous outings this season, but had only allowed three homers in a single game four times previously in his entire career.

“Pretty frustrating,” he added.

This time, it was on a hanging changeup, sending another shockwave through a dazed crowd of 50,708. And this time, there would be no way back for the Dodgers’ offense, which went missing again after its sixth-inning outburst.

“This one sucks,” infielder Kiké Hernández said. “At the end of the day, we haven’t hit. It’s tough to win a series the way that we’ve been hitting.”

Added Rojas, in agreement: “It’s really hard to pitch when you have no run support. That’s on us. Offensively, we haven’t done what we’re supposed to do to keep building momentum and getting more runs in the times we have opportunities with runners on base.”

Indeed, in some ways, the Dodgers’ most costly sequence might have come at the end of the sixth, when they failed to tack on more after Smith’s two-run drive.

Shohei Ohtani, having drawn the third walk of the inning against Uribe, seemed to get a late read on Smith’s ball and only made it from first to third on the play. Then, after the Brewers turned to left-hander DL Hall, Hernández and Tommy Edman both struck out to end the inning, leaving Ohtani and Smith stranded in scoring position.

“That was the game right there,” Hernández said of his at-bat. “We need to put the ball in play. I didn’t. I struck out and gave Tommy a way harder job with two outs.”

Really, it epitomized the Dodgers’ struggles over this entire series, in which they’ve managed just 15 total hits against the Brewers’ pitching staff and gone a woeful 2-for-16 with runners in scoring position.

“It’s a pretty simple answer,” third baseman Max Muncy said of the Dodgers’ team-wide slump. “We’re playing like s–t. They’re playing great. It’s as simple as that. No need to overcomplicate it.”

Over the final three frames, a two-out eighth-inning single from Ohtani –– who, base-running mistake aside, took a step forward by reaching base three times in the wake of speculation he could be benched following Game 2 –– would be the Dodgers’ only offense.

The Brewers, meanwhile, tacked on insurance runs in the eighth and ninth en route to putting the Dodgers’ season on the brink.

“We still have the pitching staff to be able to [come back in this series],” Muncy said, with Tyler Glasnow set to start Game 4 on Thursday, and co-aces Tarik Skubal and Yoshinobu Yamamoto lined up behind him. “We just have to get some hits … We’ve just got to show up ready to play.”

At some point, of course, the Dodgers’ dynasty was bound to end.

After so many close calls the last two years, their October luck was eventually due to run out.

But not even in their worst nightmares could they have imagined a scenario like this, a loss like this, a potential sweep like this.

“It’s really hard to put it into words,” Rojas said.

And now, they either have to make history, or become history.

Even for the two-time defending champions, it feels like a too tall of a task.

LOS ANGELES — The Milwaukee Brewers refuse to say it, and the Los Angeles Dodgers refuse to acknowledge it.

But it’s over.

The Brewers are going to win the National League pennant and reach their first World Series in 44 years.

And the Dodgers’ World Series title run comes to an end.

It will become official as soon as Game 4 on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium.

Maybe Friday in Game 5. At the worst, when they get back to Milwaukee.

But this National League Championship Series is over.

The Brewers staged another late comeback, and came away with a 6-2 victory over the Dodgers to take a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven National League Championship Series.

And only the 2004 Boston Red Sox have ever overcome a 3-0 deficit to win the best-of-seven series.

History won’t be repeating itself, not even with the Dodgers' manager being the one who helped spark that comeback with a historic stolen base.

So, does Dave Roberts dare show the video clip of him stealing second base in the ninth inning of that famed Game 4 against the Yankees and closer Mariano Rivera, leading to four consecutive victories?

“Absolutely not, no," Roberts said, laughing before the game. “Then I'll lose them. I don't know if some of those guys even know I played. No, absolutely not.

“When times get tough, I just kind of go the other way and get more lax and have fun with the guys, just want to slow down."

Well, things are more than tough.

Call it impossible.

The Brewers won a major-league leading 103 games during the regular season, and they’re not about to lose four in a row now.

Next stop, World Series – which they have never won in their 58-year history.

The Brewers are careful not to pop off, let alone pop any champagne bottles, but no matter how carefully they choose their words, they are on the brink of Brewers manager Pat Murphy reading another fictional letter to his team from the late Bob Uecker in their celebration.

“The way I look at it, you're climbing a mountain, and you're getting really close to the top,’’ Murphy said, “and when you are, usually that path narrows a little bit. You know what I mean? It's not as wide. When you start the mountain, it seems like this wide [spreading his arms].

“I think as you get closer, you've just got to keep your footing, keep your head down, and you can't look too far ahead. When you look up for the prize, “Oh, where's the top,’ you might step in a crack or a pothole. You've got to keep your head down and go forward.

“If you don't, adversity is coming."

Well, the only adversity coming to the Brewers will be trying to keep sharp until the World Series begins in eight days in Milwaukee against the winner of the Tampa Bay Rays-Cleveland Guardians series.

This was no fluke.

The Brewers beat the Dodgers in every phase of the game.

The Dodgers’ big advantage entering the series was their starting rotation and their power.

Well, the Brewers’ rotation has out-pitched the Dodgers. Their bullpen has out-pitched the Dodgers, giving up just two runs all series. They hit better in the clutch, with the Dodgers hitting .094 with runners in scoring position.

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The Brewers, who hit the second-fewest homers in the major leagues this season, even out-homered the Dodgers, 5-0.

You name it, and the Brewers were better.

The Brewers came into the series confident, and at the moment there’s no doubt in their mind they are the best team in the National League.

“The belief had to be there at some point," Murphy said. “They didn't just wake up yesterday morning or this morning and say we could do this thing. I think their belief has been there. [Christian] Yelich has spoken openly about it. I think the guys followed the lead. [William] Contreras has spoken openly about it. This is what we're doing.

“But you've got to keep your head down and take each step."

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It’s certainly a far cry from a year ago when the Brewers were swept by the Dodgers in the NLCS, not leading a single inning, leaving Los Angeles with a long, quiet flight home.

“I said, 'Hey guys, remember this. It hurts, remember it,'" Murphy said. “I think they remembered so far. It seems like they remembered."

Oh, have they ever, knocking off the San Diego Padres in four games in the Division Series, and now walloping the Dodgers.

The Brewers took command of this game from the first pitch when Jackson Chourio hit a home run over the left-center-field fence off two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell, the first homer he had given up in his 11 starts this season. It was as if the blast performed a jet-stream of cold water on his face. He proceeded to retire 18 of the next 20 batters, including  he faced through the first four innings, striking out eight batters. He shut down the last eight batters in order, including 14 in a row.

The lead held until catcher Will Smith, who was in a 1-for-25 skid, hit a two-run double off the center-field wall in the sixth inning for a 2-1 lead.

Snell, now pitching with a lead for the first time, melted down.

He walked Andrew Vaughn to lead off the seventh, and then in another epic at-bat by Jake Bauers, gave up a towering home run on the 11^th pitch. Garrett Mitchell followed with another homer. Snell, who had not thrown a changeup to a left-handed hitter all night, watched two clear the fence as Roberts yanked him from the game as boos filled the air.

It was 4-2 Brewers, and with their vaunted bullpen, it was all over, with the non-sellout crowd of 50,708 streaming for the exits.

Oh, what a difference a year makes.

“Yeah, last year ended kind of terribly,’ Vaughn said. “Getting swept in the playoffs wasn't a good feeling. That definitely wasn't a fun plane ride home.

“I think it fueled everybody that experienced that last year."

Now, they will leave Los Angeles with the feeling of euphoria.

They should be departing with the National League pennant.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Brewers have Dodgers' Superteam in hopeless NLCS pit, facing its own mortality

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Somebody might want to tell Miguel Rojas that it’s not a good idea to get ahead of yourself when it comes to winning championships. 

The Los Angeles Dodgers infielder and 2025 World Series hero arrived for Game 3 of the National League Championship Series on Wednesday night sporting custom red Nike Air Jordan cleats featuring the Dodgers’ 2024 and 2025 World Series trophies alongside a rather presumptuous message:

“2026 loading…”

Miguel Rojas’ cleats say a 3-peat is loading pic.twitter.com/XEFcf6GQ6Q

— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) October 15, 2026

Unfortunately for Rojas, the Milwaukee Brewers apparently didn’t get the memo that a third straight title was a foregone conclusion. 

Photographers captured the flashy footwear at Dodger Stadium, where Rojas started at third base against left-hander Robert Gasser. But by night’s end, those championship cleats looked more like a premature victory lap.

Rojas reached base twice with a single and a walk before manager Dave Roberts inexplicably removed him during a pivotal sixth-inning rally.

With Milwaukee reliever Abner Uribe reeling after Will Smith’s two-run, bases-loaded double, Roberts pinch-hit Josue DePaula for Rojas, only to replace DePaula with Kiké Hernández after Brewers manager Pat Murphy countered with a left-hander.

Roberts also lifted Andy Pages for Max Muncy two batters earlier. 

Both pinch-hitters struck out, leaving two runners stranded in scoring position.

One inning later, Blake Snell surrendered back-to-back home runs as Milwaukee seized a 4-2 lead.

JAKE BAUERS PUTS THE BREWERS BACK IN FRONT! pic.twitter.com/KK8xCFd7j1

— MLB (@MLB) October 15, 2026

Suddenly, Rojas’ cleats weren’t looking so clever.

The Brewers went on to win the game 6-2 and now lead the NLCS 3-0, leaving Los Angeles one loss away from watching its historic three-peat aspirations disappear.

Ironically, only one team has ever overcome a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven MLB postseason series: the 2004 Boston Red Sox, featuring Roberts himself.

Maybe Rojas didn’t jinx the Dodgers.

But if Los Angeles completes this collapse, those “2026 loading” cleats might become an unfortunate fashion statement that didn’t work out on the field.

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LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers finally got the big hit they needed, but it didn’t matter. Jake Bauers had another epically long at-bat, this time culminating in a two-run home run to help the Milwaukee Brewers to a 6-2 win in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series on Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium.

Milwaukee leads the series three games to none, a nearly full reversal of last year’s NLCS between these same two franchises.

Blake Snell had a fantastic first six innings, with nine strikeouts in an efficient 81 pitches, and retired 14 in a row through the sixth. He allowed just one run to that point, on a first-pitch home run by Jackson Chourio to open the game, the first long ball allowed by Snell in 11 starts this season.

It would not be his last.

The Dodgers grabbed a lead in the sixth inning, their latest lead of the series, and Snell was back out for the seventh. He walked Andrew Vaughn to open the frame, then up came Bauers, whose 12-pitch walk was the beginning of the end for Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Game 2 in Milwaukee. This time, Bauers only fouled off five pitches instead of six, one of them a long drive down the right field line but well foul.

Then, Bauers straightened one out on pitch number 11, a ball hit deep into the right field pavilion reminiscent of Matt Stairs 18 years earlier.

JAKE BAUERS PUTS THE BREWERS BACK IN FRONT! pic.twitter.com/KK8xCFd7j1

— MLB (@MLB) October 15, 2026

“I think he retired 13 or 14 in a row and his stuff was really good. I don’t think they were seeing him well,” manager Dave Roberts said, explaining his plan for the seventh inning. “I was trying to get him three more hitters. We had Evan [Phillips] for that fourth hitter.”

With the left-handed Garrett Mitchell batting, Snell remained in the game, but only for two more pitches as Mitchell homered as well, giving Milwaukee a two-run advantage.

That’s really been the difference in the series, with the Brewers able to take advantage and add on when needed, while the Dodgers have been scratching and clawing with very little to show for it.

Starter Robert Gasser allowed only a walk and three hits in his five scoreless innings, the latest in a growing number of pitchers to give the Dodgers fits this postseason. Two of those hits came in the third inning, and a praying mantis provided LA’s best scoring chance against the left-hander, annoying Chourio in left field before he was able to recover and catch a fly ball off the bat of Freddie Freeman.

Abner Uribe struck out four in 2 1/3 innings in pitching each of the first two games of the NLCS, and he was the first Milwaukee reliever out of the bullpen in Game 3, getting the sixth inning. This time, the right-hander was vulnerable, walking a career-high-tying three batters among his first four faced.

Up came Will Smith, with just one single in his first 26 at-bats this postseason with nine strikeouts. A wild Uribe was left in to face Smith, who’s wife Cara posted on Instagram earlier Wednesday about the birth of daughter Carter, the couple’s third child.

Smith doubled off the wall, scoring two to give the Dodgers a lead. Smith’s double was the big hit they’d been missing, and the Dodgers’ first extra-base hit with runners in scoring position this season, and just their third hit overall in those situations, in 32 at-bats.

WILL SMITH, CAPTAIN CLUTCH! pic.twitter.com/WsXEg5Lagd

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) October 15, 2026

But with only one out in the inning and runners on second and third base, they remained stranded as Kiké Hernández and Tommy Edman struck out. The Dodgers were not able to tack on, and the inning used up nearly all of the Dodgers’ bench. Max Muncy pinch-hit for Andy Pages with two on and nobody out, but struck out against Uribe.

“Abner is death on righties. You’re trying to guard against — you want to keep the inning going, and you don’t want a double play ball. Muncy’s not starting, and you want to fire that bullet in a leverage spot,” Roberts explained after the game. “First and second base, nobody out, it gives us the best chance to keep the inning going, in my opinion, and it gets Shohei up, and you have a chance to build an inning.”

Josue De Paula was first called to pinch-hit after the Smith double, but when Pat Murphy removed the right-handed Uribe in favor of the left-handed DL Hall, Roberts burned the left-handed De Paula, choosing the right-handed Hernández instead.

“It’s not like we’re playing like really bad. I think we’re just not getting the hits that we need to really explode as an offense,” shortstop Mookie Betts said earlier Wednesday. “One hit can kind of lead to two and then kind of keep us going.”

That one hit did not lead to two.

Hall, who got the final two outs of the sixth inning when the Brewers still trailed, remained in the game after they regained the lead. The left-hander needed only six pitches to retired the Dodgers in order in the seventh, a shutdown inning that must seem foreign to the Dodgers.

Los Angeles scored in only four different innings in Games 2 and 3, and after each one the Brewers scored in the very next frame. Milwaukee added insurance runs in the eighth and ninth innings on Wednesday, because they’ve been the better team this season and in this series.

That’s one of many reasons the Brewers now have up to four chances to get the one win they need to advance to their first World Series since 1982.

“Right now we’ve got a tall task,” Betts said before Game 3, “But it’s something we can achieve.”

That’s looking less and less likely now.

NLCS Game 3 particulars

Home runs: Jackson Chourio (2), Jake Bauers (1), Garrett Mitchell (1)

WP — DL Hall (3-0): 1 2/3 IP, 2 strikeouts

LP — Blake Snell (0-1): 6+ IP, 4 hits, 4 runs, 2 walks, 9 strikeouts

Sv — Trevor Megill (4): 1 1/3 IP, 2 strikeouts

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The Dodgers turn to Tyler Glasnow trying to keep their season alive on Thursday (moved up one hour earlier, to 5:08 p.m., FS1). Milwaukee has not yet named its Game 4 starting pitcher, but I’m not sure that matters all too much.

For as good as Blake Snell was in Game 3 of the NLCS on Wednesday night, it was the long ball that got the best of him.

Snell, who came into the postseason without giving up a home run during the regular season, gave up three to the Brewers.

Snell spent most of the night playing from behind, as he put himself in a 1-run deficit after Jackson Chourio blasted a solo shot over the right center field wall, from a 97.6 mph fastball.

Snell went ahead and settled in afterward striking out nine batters and giving up two hits before disaster struck in the seventh.

After his catcher Will Smith got him his first lead of the night in the sixth inning, Snell immediately gave it back up.

When Snell took the mound in the seventh, he opened the inning by giving up a walk to Andrew Vaughn.

Brewers manager Pat Murphy quickly removed him from the game and put in Christian Yelich as a pinch runner.

Murphy’s move wouldn’t end up being a factor as Jake Bauers had other plans.

Bowers and Snell had a long 11-pitch at-bat, where he showed plenty of muscle, including on the 10th pitch when he hooked a ball foul, resulting in it landing just outside of a home run.

On the 11th pitch, he made up for the previous swing by launching a 97.8 mph four-seam fastball over the right field fence for a 412-foot home run.

In the next at-bat, Milwaukee tacked on an insurance run when Snell left a changeup hanging in the center of the strike zone — landing 428 feet over the center field fence to give Los Angeles a 4-2 deficit.

Snell was replaced after the home run and finished the night giving up only four hits, four runs and two walks.

For the second consecutive NLCS game, Jake Bauers has delivered.

The Milwaukee Brewers first baseman worked a 12-pitch at-bat in Game 2 on Monday, fouling off six straight pitches from Los Angeles Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto before taking ball four to load the bases with two outs. Christian Yelich then ripped a go-ahead RBI single into center field. The Brewers went on to win Game 2 7-4.

There was an overwhelming sense of deja vu in Game 3 on Wednesday.

Blake Snell had been dealing, retiring 14 Brewers batters in a row after giving up a leadoff homer to Jackson Chourio on the first pitch of the game. That streak ended when he walked Andrew Vaughn to lead off the top of the seventh. Enter Bauers. The 31-year-old fouled off five pitches from Snell, the most dangerous of which was a hard liner on a hanging slider that he pulled just foul to right before it could clear the stands.

Snell got away with that one. The next pitch, the 11th of the at-bat, however, a 97.8 mph fastball in the exact same location, would be a different story.

Bauers got all of it, driving the ball 412 feet to right field for a no-doubt, go-ahead home run.

Garrett Mitchell added on with a 428-footer of his own two pitches later, putting an end to the former Cy Young winner's night as the Brewers took a late 4-2 lead on the Dodgers.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jake Bauers' brilliant at-bat gives Brewers lead in NLCS Game 3 over Dodgers

Will Smith has unlocked a new power.

Dad strength.

Smith, who welcomed in his third child alongside his wife, Cara, ahead of Wednesday night’s NLCS Game 3 matchup against the Milwaukee Brewers, showed off his newly found strength when the Dodgers needed it most.

WILL SMITH, CAPTAIN CLUTCH! pic.twitter.com/WsXEg5Lagd

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) October 15, 2026

Smith came up to the plate in the sixth inning, with the bases loaded after Brewers manager Pat Murphy made the questionable decision to leave right-handed pitcher Abner Uribe in the game, despite walking three of the four batters he faced in the inning.

The Dodgers catcher, who’s had his fair share of struggles in the postseason this year, needed to see only one pitch to capitalize on the moment after Uribe threw a 98.4 mph sinker in the middle of the strike zone.

Smith immediately launched the ball off the center field wall for a double and brought home Teoscar Hernandez and Kyle Tucker from third and second base, while Shohei Ohtani slid into third to make it a 2-1 lead for the Dodgers.

It was the first lead of the evening for Los Angeles, after they gave up a leadoff home run to Jackson Chourio on the opening pitch of the game.

After Smith’s double, the Brewers pulled Uribe from the game and brought in DL Hall.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts made his fair share of strategic moves by having Max Muncy come off the bench to bat in place of Andy Pages after Tucker’s walk. He also went to another veteran by pulling Josue De Paula and having Kike Hernandez pinch-hit for him.

Hernandez went down swinging, while second baseman Tommy Edman went down looking.

Jackson Chourio made a new friend at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday. 

The Milwaukee Brewers superstar had an unexpected visitor during Game 3 of the National League Championship Series between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers when a praying mantis decided to make itself comfortable on the outfielder’s shoulder.

And unlike opposing pitchers throughout this postseason, this little guy wasn’t intimidated by Chourio.

Television cameras caught the hilarious encounter as Chourio noticed the green insect perched on his left shoulder and attempted to brush it away. The praying mantis wasn’t having it, quickly relocating to his right shoulder as the 22-year-old struggled to shake his new friend.

Chourio couldn’t stop smiling throughout the ordeal, providing one of the funniest moments of the postseason.

Jackson Chourio made a new friend pic.twitter.com/G51xSSJaBA

— MLB (@MLB) October 15, 2026

Jackson Chourio vs. Praying Mantis@MLBONFOXpic.twitter.com/f9kBunnqHI

— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) October 15, 2026

Perhaps the insect was simply looking for a better view of baseball’s hottest October attraction.

After all, Chourio wasted absolutely no time making his presence felt Wednesday, ambushing the first pitch he saw from Dodgers ace Blake Snell and launching an opposite-field home run to give Milwaukee an immediate 1-0 lead. It was Chourio’s sixth postseason homer and he hasn’t even reached his 23rd birthday yet. 

JACKSON CHOURIO
FIRST PITCH
BREWERS LEAD! pic.twitter.com/m6ndIzWPkK

— MLB (@MLB) October 15, 2026

Apparently, even insects wanted a front-row seat.

Baseball has a strange history with praying mantises. Former Washington Nationals outfielder Victor Robles famously had one land on his cap during a game, creating another unforgettable insect cameo.

A praying mantis landed on his hat, and instead of freaking out, he gave the little guy an update on the game. pic.twitter.com/8HCC6bVYUj

— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) September 20, 2026

But Chourio’s visitor picked quite the stage.

The Brewers entered Wednesday holding a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven NLCS, looking to avenge last October’s four-game sweep at the hands of the Dodgers.

Meanwhile, the Dodgers returned home desperately needing a victory to keep their pursuit of a historic third consecutive World Series championship alive.

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Jackson Chourio continues to marvel in the postseason.

After Chourio saw a first-pitch 97.6 mph fastball come his way by Blake Snell to open Game 3 of the NLCS, he got all of it and hit a leadoff home run over the fence in right-center field to make it a 1-0 game.

JACKSON CHOURIO
FIRST PITCH
BREWERS LEAD! pic.twitter.com/m6ndIzWPkK

— MLB (@MLB) October 15, 2026

By giving Milwaukee the early lead, Chourio made a record-setting moment by becoming the league’s leader in postseason home runs before turning 23.

Coming into Wednesday night, Chourio was tied with Juan Soto and Kyle Schwarber with five home runs, but with the solo shot, he now has six postseason homers, and that number still has time to increase.

Chourio, 22, is in the midst of his third postseason run and came into Wednesday night averaging .290 with 20 hits and 17 RBIs in the postseason.

Despite struggling in the NLDS against the Padres a week ago where he finished the series hitting .200, Chourio became the Brewers’ all-time postseason home run leader when he blasted one over the left field fence in the opening game of the series.

Since the Brewers wrapped the series up against San Diego, he’s found his stride again, as he came into Wednesday night batting .300 in the NLCS.

Alex Call received a warm welcome from fans at Dodger Stadium just hours after the Los Angeles outfielder made some controversial remarks about risqué advertisements that have been running during MLB games.

Call was introduced to the crowd a few minutes before the Dodgers took on the Brewers on Wednesday in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series, and several got out of their seat to cheer him on.

While the roars were louder for Dodgers stars Max Muncy and Roki Sasaki, it was clear his polarizing remarks about postseason ads did not bother many at Chavez Ravine.

Call first pleaded for an end to the racy MLB advertisements, some of which featured a nearly nude Sydney Sweeney promoting prediction market Novig, on his Twitter page on Tuesday, describing them as “soft porn.”

“Can we please get the soft porn ads off playoff broadcasts, TBS, Fox, NBC, @MLB?” Call wrote. “My son wants to watch baseball with Dada, but how do I justify that when a half-naked women [sic] could come on screen anytime??

“This is America’s Pastime. Parents shouldn’t have to worry about this.”

The post was met with mixed reviews — some social media users agreed, while others argued the revenue from the spots was helping pay his salary.

Call’s yet to further address his statement, but if the response at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday was any indication, Dodgers fans will be backing him regardless.

If you’ve been watching the MLB Playoffs this October, it’s been hard to miss advertisements featuring Sydney Sweeney in her underwear, Megan Fox in a red bodysuit selling erectile dysfunction pills, or the latest horror movie set to hit theaters this Halloween.

October baseball has parents across the country wondering if they need to keep the remote control within arm’s reach once the commercials come on. You can count Atlanta Braves legend Dale Murphy, and his son, Taylor among them, as baseball royalty takes aim at the increasingly provocative advertising invading baseball broadcasts. 

And they’re not alone. 

The controversy erupted Monday when Taylor Murphy, watching the playoffs with his children, decided he’d seen enough of the commercial breaks featuring Sweeney promoting sports prediction platform Novig, Fox advertising prescription erectile dysfunction treatment for Ro and frightening horror movie trailers.

“Hey @MLB – wanna get more kids watching baseball? Maybe start with the commercials,” Murphy wrote on X.

He then delivered the kind of common-sense criticism that should make Major League Baseball’s marketing department uncomfortable.

“You don’t need a Nickelodeon game. You’re not the Savannah Bananas. Just show baseball in a way I can leave on in my house.”

Two days later, his famous father entered the fray.

“Agree with my son, Taylor…” wrote Dale Murphy, the two-time National League MVP, seven-time All-Star, five-time Gold Glove winner and Braves Hall of Famer whose No. 3 hangs proudly in Atlanta.

Agree with my son, Taylor…@MLBhttps://t.co/2lxzFrPhAq

— Dale Murphy (@DaleMurphy3) October 14, 2026

When a player who spent nearly two decades representing baseball’s traditional values starts questioning what the sport is selling between innings, perhaps the league should pay attention.

And Murphy wasn’t the only major leaguer raising his voice.

Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Alex Call, who isn’t on the team’s postseason roster, joined the criticism with a pointed message directed at MLB and its television partners.

“Can we please get the soft porn ads off playoff broadcasts, TBS, Fox, NBC, @MLB?” Call wrote.

“My son wants to watch baseball with Dada, but how do I justify that when a half-naked women could come on screen anytime?? This is America’s Pastime. Parents shouldn’t have to worry about this.”

Can we please get the soft porn ads off playoff broadcasts, TBS, Fox, NBC, @MLB? My son wants to watch baseball with Dada, but how do I justify that when a half-naked women could come on screen anytime?? This is America’s Pastime. Parents shouldn’t have to worry about this. https://t.co/7YAWSZgo5d

— Alex Call (@ACAD_27) October 14, 2026

Several Dodgers teammates reposted his message.

At the center of the controversy is Sweeney, the 29-year-old “Euphoria” actress who has turned her partnership with Novig into a master class in provocative advertising.

Her latest commercial, released Sunday, features the actress wearing little more than white underwear bearing the company’s name while strategically covering her breasts with footballs.

“There are grown men making spreadsheets to bet on what color underwear I’m wearing,” Sweeney says.

The punchline? Novig is supposedly about sports, not sex.

That’s a curious distinction for a company using sex to sell sports gambling.

Sweeney has defended the campaign by pointing to athletes who previously posed nude for ESPN’s Body Issue. But there’s an obvious difference between celebrating athletic bodies and using a Hollywood actress’s body to attract customers to a sports wagering platform.

Actress Sharon Stone also weighed in, arguing that women’s sports shouldn’t be reduced to attracting male attention for gambling.

Of course, the Murphy family’s criticism ignited its own backlash.

Some social media users questioned why the family-friendly outrage centered on revealing advertisements rather than the gambling being promoted. Others pointed to the White House’s controversial execution livestream, accusing critics of selective moral outrage.

Those comparisons raise legitimate questions about where Americans draw their lines, but don’t invalidate a parent’s right to question what appears on a baseball broadcast.

The league has spent years obsessing over attracting younger audiences, implementing rule changes, embracing social media and desperately trying to make baseball more appealing to the next generation.

Yet during its most important games, the television experience can feel designed for an entirely different audience.

The same people thinking sexualized commercials are a problem during a baseball game are cool with an execution being streamed live for all to see.

You really can’t make this stuff up. https://t.co/Bmzjq3esHr

— Brian L (@mplsbadger) October 14, 2026

There’s nothing inherently wrong with Sweeney appearing in provocative advertising or Fox promoting a legal prescription treatment. Adults can make their own decisions about what they watch, purchase and consume.

But parents should also be able to watch a playoff game with their children without wondering what sexually suggestive commercial or terrifying movie trailer might appear during the next pitching change.

MLB doesn’t necessarily control every advertisement sold by its broadcast partners, but it certainly has a stake in the experience being delivered under its name.

The sport can’t spend the afternoon telling families baseball belongs to everyone, then shrug its shoulders when those same families complain about what they’re seeing during the broadcast.

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The Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers are well into Game 3 of the NLCS, and fans should have no problem finding a seat.

Moments before, Blake Snell fired a first-pitch fastball to Jackson Chourio, and it was sent over his head into the bleachers in right center field; the moment captured the emptiness that is a 5 p.m. start time at Dodger Stadium.

Edward Lewis of The Post was out in the bleachers in left center and captured the calm surroundings of Dodger Stadium, and captured the full sound of the song “Tom Sawyer” by the band Rush echoing from the speakers.

Hunter Baumgardt, who covers the Brewers for Fox Sports 920 in Wisconsin posted a video on X, six minutes before first pitch and wrote, “Plenty of room for ya.” while his camera panned across the stadium featuring a sprinkle of empty blue and yellow seats.

6 minutes from first pitch at Dodger Stadium.

Plenty of room for ya. pic.twitter.com/yzUzFukWNs

— Hunter Baumgardt (@hunterbonair) October 15, 2026

In his video, it panned across Dodger Stadium and showed a mix of blue and yellow empty seats sprinkled throughout the stadium.

In the comments section of Baumgardt’s post, Brewers fans were letting their thoughts on the empty seats be known.

@Lisa_lehman commented on Baumgardt’s post and wrote, “Means more to us. This would never happen at the AmFam.”

@Mikekomb commented, “It is a 5pm start in LA. I will give them some grace.”

Other fans were questioning the loyalty of the Dodgers fan base as @tdell5 wrote, ” ‘5 PM is too early. We have to work’ blah blah blah.”

Since 2013, ESPN has logged the Dodgers as No.1 in fan attendance during the regular season, including this past year, where they averaged 49,805 fans per game.

The Dodgers came into Wednesday night facing a 2-0 deficit in the series, and the momentum wave is being ridden by the Brewers, while the Dodgers are trying to find a way to not sink.

Earlier in the day, Eric Fisher of Front Office Sports reported that after Monday night’s 7-4 loss, ticket prices plummeted by 42%, costing $97 to get through the gates.

Ex-Met Freddy Peralta had an up-and-down 2026 season, but when it’s mattered the most, he’s delivered.

In Game 2 of the ALCS on Tuesday, the Rays pitcher tossed six scoreless innings to help Tampa Bay even up the series with the Guardians at a game apiece.

His former employer, Mets owner Steve Cohen, was in attendance at Tropicana Field to see the former Met take the mound — a fact that surprised Peralta.

“Oh, I had no idea,” Peralta admitted postgame. “I don’t know if he came to watch just the game or maybe me too, but what I can say is that we have a good relationship and when he traded for me [in January] he texted me, we spoke, also when we were in spring training we had really good communication. … I think that he’s awesome. I’m happy that he was here.”

Peralta was sent to the Mets in a trade with the Brewers on Jan 21. In 22 starts in Queens, he went 5-9 with a 4.99 ERA, far from what the Mets had hoped Peralta would bring.

Upon arriving in Tampa via trade deadline deal in August, Peralta found his groove, posting a 5-2 record with a 3.25 ERA during his regular season stint.

Across 10.2 innings of work thus far in the 2026 postseason, Peralta has given up just one run.

The Mets couldn’t get the best out of Peralta, but he’s recorded two solid playoff starts for the Rays, signaling that Peralta could be the newest of the list of success stories for pitchers in Tampa Bay.