Bauers and Brewers Dominate Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers lost Game 3 of the National League Division Series as the Milwaukee Brewers took a 3-0 lead over the 2-time defending World Series champions. Barring a miracle, the Dodgers will not become the first team to win 3 straight titles since the 2000 Yankees.

While LA hasn’t played up to their standard during the NLCS, a ton of the credit belongs to Milwaukee.

The Brewers have been the better team not only this week, but all season. 1 team has had more production out of their starting pitching, relief pitching, and lineup from top to bottom, and that team is 1 game away from reaching the World Series.

Just a year after sweeping Milwaukee in the NLCS, Los Angeles is getting a taste of its own medicine.

“They have more experience now. They really are taking great at-bats, better than last year. Their ball-in-play average is great, and they are also slugging, which they didn’t do last year. Those are good offensive combos. Defensively, they are everywhere making plays, and it has been hard for us to build innings and score,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts.

Beating any of Tarik Skubal, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, or Blake Snell in a postseason setting is impressive; taking down all 3 in order is almost unfathomable, and the Brewers made it look like business as usual.

Tyler Glasnow will try to stop the bleeding on Thursday, but it will be tough to cauterize the wound as Milwaukee attempts to finish the job early.

The Dodgers getting swept in any round felt impossible entering the 2026 playoffs, but after watching the last 3 contests, it almost feels inevitable.

Jake Bauers was the unsung hero in Game 2, working a 12-pitch walk against Yamamoto that led to a big inning and Yamamoto’s exit.

In Game 3, it was Bauers again, who on the 11th pitch of the at-bat in the 7th inning, hit a go-ahead 2-run home run off of Snell.

“There was for sure a moment when I thought to myself, ‘You are in it again.’ As for the approach in the at-bat, I didn’t want to miss a fastball. I said I’ll adjust to anything else, but if I get a heater, don’t miss it,” said Bauers.

The decision to keep Snell in the game past the 6th inning was ultimately a mistake, but Snell was dealing up until that point, striking out 9 batters, with his only hiccup being a leadoff home run from Jackson Chourio on the first pitch of the game.

“I think he had retired 13 or 14 in a row, and his stuff was really good. I don’t think they were seeing him well. I was trying to get him 3 more hitters. He hadn’t given up a home run all year, but it’s baseball,” said Roberts. “You have to give Bauers credit. He put together another good at-bat, which he also did at their place when he spurred a rally.”

Bauers is a 7-year veteran journeyman who, before 2026, never hit over .235 or more than 12 home runs in a season. This year, he batted .266 with 26 home runs and a .389 on-base percentage, ranking 3rd in MLB.

“There are a lot of people to credit. I have played a lot of places and picked up knowledge from a lot of people. I think what changed for me this year is I stopped caring about results; I started competing, caring about the moment, and getting out of my own way. I came into this year thinking there was only one thing holding me back, and that was myself. And so I think I gave myself the space to believe that I could play in this league,” said Bauers.

Only 1 team has ever overcome a 3-game deficit in MLB history: the 2004 Boston Red Sox, a team Dave Roberts played for. While the 2026 Dodgers will likely not rewrite history, they will take it 1 game at a time.

“They know what is at stake. We have won 4 in a row a number of times this year. I think 10 times or something like that. But we have to win tomorrow, so that is our only focus,” said Roberts.

As for the Brewers’ approach. Why change a single thing? This series has played out perfectly for them so far, and they will enter Game 4 with extreme confidence, while their opponent will have very little.

“There is nothing to change. The Dodgers are an incredible team that has won back-to-back championships. You think they are not good enough to come back and win a game against us? Our guys know what we are up against, but that doesn’t change anything; we come out and play the same way every time,” said Brewers manager Pat Murphy.