MLB: Shutout! Milwaukee dominates L.A. again

The Milwaukee Brewers won game 3 of the National League Championship Series at the Los Angeles Dodgers 4:0 and took a 2-1 lead in the series. Once again, the pitching staff of the Wisconsin team dominated, while the hosts often stood in their own way.

The Brewers allowed a total of five hits in the game, three of which were due to starter Jhoulys Chacin, who pitched 5 1/3 innings (2 BB, 6 SO). After him came a total of four more pitchers, whereby star-reliever Josh Hader was only used for two outs at the end of the eighth inning.

Closer Jeremy Jeffress took over the ninth inning, loaded the bases (2 H, BB), but also managed two strikeouts – like in the final out against Brian Dozier. For Milwaukee it is already the third shutout in the sixth game of this postseason.

“The guys we give the ball to at the beginning are doing a really good job. And they set the direction,” said Brewers manager Craig Counsell.

The Brewers took the lead offensively in the first inning. Ryan Braun managed an RBI double against Walker Buehler, who kept up seven innings, but also conceded all four runs (5 H, BB, 8 SO).

In the sixth inning Travis Shaw was able to improve after his triple when he came home with a wild pitch from Buehler. In the seventh inning Shortstop Orlando Arcia finally managed his third home run (2 RBI) in this postseason – in the entire regular season he had only made three home runs.

Hader, who usually doesn’t pitch on consecutive days, only needed eight pitches and is therefore an option for Game 4 according to Counsell: “We’re playing to win this series and not just a few games. Since Josh didn’t have to work too much today, it gives us some options for the days to come.”

With loaded bases in the ninth inning after a single by Justin Turner, a double by Manny Machado and a walk by Yasiel Puig, Counsell continued to rely on Jeffress, who finally collected strikeouts against Yasmani Grandal and Dozier. Previously the Dodgers had already loaded bases in the second inning, but they didn’t make anything out of it.

“We had the right people on the record at those moments, but we didn’t make anything of it,” lamented manager Dave Roberts: “We were 0-10 with Runners in scoring position.”

This success makes the Brewers the first away team to make a post-season shutout at Dodger Stadium since the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 1 of the NLCS in 1983.

The series continues in the night to Wednesday from 3.09 am (live on DAZN) with game 4. The Dodgers bet on Rich Hill, the Brewers send Gio Gonzalez on the Mound. He had already pitched two innings for the start of game 1.

This article was published without prior review by Major League Baseball.