Jake Bauers needed 11 pitches to flip the NLCS—and put Milwaukee one win from the World Series
Milwaukee’s 6–2 Game 3 win over the Dodgers, sparked by Jake Bauers’ 11th-pitch go-ahead homer and Garrett Mitchell’s back-to-back blast, gives the Brewers a 3–0 NLCS lead and a chance to clinch their first World Series trip since 1982 on Thursday.
Jake Bauers and Garrett Mitchell power Brewers past Dodgers 6-2 for 3-0 lead in NLCS | AP News
Brewers win NLCS Game 3 2026
NLCS Game 3 winners and losers: Brewers get homer-happy to take 3-0 series lead over Dodgers - CBS Sports
Brewers’ blasts push Dodgers to the brink. Is three-peat dream over for champs? - The Athletic
Brewers vs Dodgers score, highlights, analysis as Milwaukee takes 3-0 NLCS lead
The seventh-inning answer
After Will Smith’s two-run sixth-inning double put Los Angeles ahead 2–1, Jake Bauers hit an 11th-pitch, two-run homer in the seventh. apnews +1 Garrett Mitchell followed two pitches later. mlb +1 Jackson Chourio had opened with a first-pitch homer off Blake Snell. apnews +1 Milwaukee won 6–2 Wednesday at Dodger Stadium, taking a 3–0 National League Championship Series lead. cbssports +1 The Brewers moved within one victory of the pennant. mlb +1
Snell had retired 14 straight Brewers before walking Andrew Vaughn. apnews +1 Bauers fouled off three pitches, then sent the 11th 412 feet to right; Mitchell’s homer traveled 428 feet. mlb +1
A playoff swing from an unlikely source
Bauers’ Game 3 blast followed another long duel: in Game 2, he saw 12 pitches from Yoshinobu Yamamoto before drawing a walk. mlb +1 The 30-year-old, who has played for seven MLB teams, has now shaped two pivotal at-bats in the series. mlb +1
The power swings are striking: Milwaukee hit the second-fewest homers in the regular season despite leading baseball with 103 wins. apnews +1 It now owns a 5–0 series edge in home runs. cbssports +1 Game 3 was the Brewers’ fifth comeback win in seven postseason games. apnews +1
The Dodgers have almost no room
Last year’s NLCS ended with Los Angeles sweeping Milwaukee, which had never beaten the Dodgers in three previous postseason series. apnews +1 Now the two-time defending World Series champions are one loss from elimination. mlb +1 Teams up 3–0 in a best-of-seven postseason series have won 41 of 42; only the 2004 Red Sox rallied to win. apnews +1
Game 3 showed how quickly the matchup can flip: Smith’s double briefly put Los Angeles ahead, but the Dodgers stranded runners at second and third. mlb +1 Milwaukee’s bullpen shut the door before Bauers and Mitchell reclaimed the lead. mlb +1 The Brewers could become the first team to sweep a club after being swept by that same opponent the previous postseason. apnews +1
A clincher is next
Game 4 is Thursday, Oct. 15, at 7 p.m. Central (5 p.m. Pacific) in Los Angeles. usatoday +1 A Brewers win sends the franchise to its first World Series since 1982. apnews +1 The Dodgers need four straight wins to survive, starting with Tyler Glasnow in Game 4. mlb +1
If Los Angeles wins, Game 5 is scheduled for Friday; Game 6 could return to Milwaukee on Sunday. usatoday +1