But the Los Angeles Dodgers own October for two years in a row. Wednesday evening, October 14, saw them return to Dodger Stadium hoping for an injection of energy.
The Dodgers had fallen behind the Brewers 0-2 in the National League Championship Series before its move to LA. Milwaukee beat them 7-4 in Game 2.
Last time we checked, it was still going on with Milwaukee leading 4-2. No one knew what the outcome would be. Let’s look at the narratives no matter how things turn out in the end.
Ohtani is the franchise’s poster boy, but he has not been one at the plate recently.
Two months of knee and biceps injuries have kept him from being his usual self, and he came into Game 3 with a 3-for-20 line through the playoffs. He did not collect an extra-base hit during this stretch.
His troubles have led to a discussion inside the clubhouse. According to reports, the Dodgers were considering swapping him out of the Game 3 lineup for rookie Josue De Paula. However, the manager, Dave Roberts, decided to retain him but moved him down to the sixth slot.
Initial statistics in Game 3 reflected his trouble. Ohtani had one walk and no hits through his first three trips at bat, per Sportradar stats.
The Dodgers went to their ace, who has proven that he can dominate this opponent. In the past eight games, Snell had an ERA of 1.13 and absolutely dominated the Brewers in Game 1 of last year's NLCS.
However, the previous outing didn't go well for him. Against the Brewers in the National League Division Series, he allowed three hits and five walks in 3 2/3 innings. It was an emotional blow for him when the pressure was mounting on him.
The third game of the series saw another uneven performance from Snell. According to Sportradar, he struck out nine batters in six innings but surrendered four runs, including three home runs. When he left the game, Milwaukee was out-homering Los Angeles 5-0.
Milwaukee decided to avoid going too far with the starter on the mound. Robert Gasser, a southpaw that ended up with a 1.67 ERA in his previous six starts, was not supposed to pitch too long. Pat Murphy, the team’s manager, was prepared to play aggressively with his relief pitchers.
This strategy has proven to be very successful. The relief pitchers of Milwaukee have been dominant in the first two games of the series. Robert Gasser was also successful in his role, pitching five scoreless innings, per Sportradar.
On the other hand, the Dodgers’ offense has shown the opposite result. Through seven and a half innings they had four hits, and they were 1-for-6 with runners in scoring positions, per Sportradar.
This series holds history for both the teams. The Dodgers won against the Brewers in the NLCS of 2022 after beating them in four games with a score of 15-4.
The Dodgers have previously won all the other games against the Brewers in the NLCS, such as the one in 2018, 2020 Wild Card Series, and 2025 NLCS.
In 2018, Brewers took a 2-1 lead in this series before it ended in a Game 7 win for Dodgers. Yelich is the only player left from that Brewers team. This incident contributes to the reason why no one in Milwaukee is celebrating.
The stakes are high. Milwaukee aims to reach the World Series for the first time since 1982, and Los Angeles is trying to repeat their World Series victory. Brewers have the best record in MLB this year.
The mood in the Dodgers camp has shifted. As reported by MLB.com, Milwaukee has made the defending champion team appear "old, even defeated" in the first round games.
Roberts and his coaching staff were very optimistic at the beginning of October.
They highlighted the value of their bye week and having pitchers ready for the current series. The Brewers have prevented that.
