Brewers take 2-1 lead in NLCS after Game 3 win over Dodgers

The Milwaukee Brewers shut out the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-0 in Game 3 of the NLCS. The Brewers now have a 2-1 lead in the series.

It’s been a long time since there has been a postseason shutout at Dodger Stadium. The Philadelphia Phillies were the last team to do it in Game 1 of the 1983 NLCS.

Also before last night, the Dodgers went 50 consecutive home playoff games without being blanked, the second-longest streak in MLB history behind 61 for the Boston Red Sox, according to ESPN.

Milwaukee’s Travis Shaw said it was awesome to win Game 3: 

Game Recap

The Brewers got a run early in the game on Ryan Braun’s first-inning RBI double. That would prove to be the only run they needed to win.

Fast forward to the sixth, where the Brewers got their next chance to score. Shaw tripled and scored on a wild pitch. Then Orlando Arcia’s bat got hot with a two-run homer off of pitcher Walker Buehler. A big deal for the talented shortstop as he got sent to the minors twice this season in part because of poor hitting.  He has three home runs in 20 playoff at-bats compared to his total in 348 at-bats all season.

“I’m not surprised that he’s thriving in playoff atmosphere,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said about Arcia. “He’s wired the right way for this kind of baseball. The home runs are probably surprising, the fact that he’s playing at a really high level throughout the playoffs, not surprising.”

The Brewers have also found out that they can really rely on their bullpen to get them out of sticky situations.

Jhoulys Chacin showed up when he needed to. The right-handed pitcher struck out six and walked two while outpitching Buehler. He scattered three hits over 5 1/3 innings before Corey Knebel came in. Knebel had an inning and two thirds of perfect relief and struck out his last four batters.

Chacin said he’s so happy about the opportunity to play: 

Manager Greg Counsell saved Josh Hader for the eighth inning and he punched out both David Freese and Matt Kemp on eight pitches. Hader came out for another pitching change in the ninth.

Jeremy Jeffress came in and almost making a mess of things for the Brewers by giving up two singles and a walk, but he struck out two Dodger batters to seal the deal for the Brewers.

Jeffress said he debated between Hader and Jeffress for the ninth: 

Next Up

The two teams will be back in action tonight at Dodger Stadium for Game 4 of the best-0f-seven series. Rich Hill will be on the mound for Los Angeles going up against Brewers lefty Gio Gonzalez.