The Milwaukee Brewers used back-to-back home runs to flip Game 3 of the National League Championship Series and are suddenly one win away from a sweep and the franchise’s first World Series appearance since 1982.
The 6-2 win in Los Angeles gives the Brewers a 3-0 lead in this best-of-seven series and they could be winning the NL pennant as soon as Game 4 on Thursday, Oct. 15.
Jackson Chourio homered on the first pitch of the game to give the Brewers an immediate 1-0 lead, silencing Dodger Stadium. That remained the score until Will Smith’s two-RBI double in the sixth put the Dodgers ahead 2-1, but that would only hold up for a few minutes.
Dodgers starter Blake Snell walked Andrew Vaughn to lead off the top of the seventh and then, on the 11th
pitch of a battle against Jake Bauers, gave up a go-ahead, two-run home run. Dave Roberts stuck with Snell and Garrett Mitchell followed with a homer of his own to extend Milwaukee’s lead to 4-2, before the Brewers tacked on runs in the eighth and ninth innings.
Only one Major League Baseball team – the 2004 Boston Red Sox – has ever come back from a 3-0 series deficit.
Dodgers vs Brewers takeaways: Disaster inning flips Game 3
The moment this game shifted wasn’t Jake Bauers and Garrett Mitchell hitting back-to-back homers in the top of the seventh. It wasn’t Bauers’ go-ahead two-run bomb after a masterful 11-pitch at-bat on Blake Snell. It wasn’t even Andrew Vaughn’s leadoff walk.
No, the turning point of this game was the previous half-inning. It was when Dodgers took the lead on Will Smith’s two-run double to briefly breathe life back into Dodger Stadium after Abner Uribe walked the bases loaded, but wound up stranding two more runners in scoring position.
That bottom of the sixth can aptly be described as a disasterclass in managing by both teams. Dave Roberts pinch-hit Max Muncy for Andy Pages with two runners on and no outs to take advantage of the righty-lefty matchup. Muncy struck out. Pat Murphy stuck with Uribe, who clearly didn’t have it tonight, to get through the left-handed Ohtani with Miguel Rojas and Smith – two righties – behind him. Ohtani walked to load the bases and Smith broke out of his slump.
Then, with DL Hall entering the game, Roberts decided to burn Josue De Paula, who had already been officially introduced as pinch-hitting for Miguel Rojas, in favor of Kiké Hernández. He struck out on five pitches before Tommy Edman watched strike three on the next at-bat for the third out.
The Brewers wasted no time in making the Dodgers pay for leaving those two runs off the board, thanks in large part to Bauers – who may have just single-handedly won the pennant for the Brewers after these last two games.
– Andres Soto
Dodgers vs Brewers highlights: NLCS Game 3
11:45 PM ET, October 14 2026, Jesse YomtovTrevor Megill shuts the door
11:24 PM ET, October 14 2026, Jesse YomtovThe Brewers take a 3-0 series lead in the NLCS! pic.twitter.com/DHW1TAldKz
— MLB (@MLB) October 15, 2026
Brewers make it 5-2
10:49 PM ET, October 14 2026, Jesse YomtovBrice Turang scored on a wild pitch by Justin Wrobleski, extending Milwaukee's lead to 5-2 in the top of the eighth.
Another run comes home for the Brewers! pic.twitter.com/bnxVpW14P1
— MLB (@MLB) October 15, 2026
Garrett Mitchell goes back-to-back
10:12 PM ET, October 14 2026, Jesse YomtovTwo pitches after Jake Bauers hit a go-ahead two-run homer, Garrett Mitchell took Blake Snell deep too, a solo home run to extend the Brewers' lead to 4-2 with nobody out in the top of the seventh. Dave Roberts pulled Snell after the Mitchell homer with Evan Phillips coming out of the bullpen.
GARRETT MITCHELL
— MLB (@MLB) October 15, 2026
BACK-TO-BACK
THE BREWERS!!! pic.twitter.com/YboBtgi5Mu
Jake Bauers home run stuns LA
10:10 PM ET, October 14 2026, Jesse YomtovJake Bauers delivered a go-ahead two run off Blake Snell in the top of the seventh, putting the Brewers ahead 3-2 immediately after surrendering the lead in the bottom of the sixth inning.
JAKE BAUERS PUTS THE BREWERS BACK IN FRONT! pic.twitter.com/KK8xCFd7j1
— MLB (@MLB) October 15, 2026
Will Smith puts Dodgers ahead
09:57 PM ET, October 14 2026, Jesse YomtovWith one out and the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth, Dodgers catcher will Smith hit a two-run double up against the wall in left field, flipping this game on its head in Los Angeles. DL Hall escaped further damage by striking out Enrique Hernandez and Tommy Edman and the Dodgers take a 2-1 lead into the seventh.
To the sixth: Brewers 1, Dodgers 0
09:31 PM ET, October 14 2026, Jesse YomtovHalfway through this Game 3 and the Brewers retain the 1-0 lead they took on the first pitch of the ballgame. Since Jackson Chourio's home run, Dodgers starter Blake Snell has only given up one other hit with nine strikeouts in five innings.
GARRETT MITCHELL!
— MLB (@MLB) October 15, 2026
Another SUPERB catch by the Brewers outfield 😳 pic.twitter.com/kXc21uRx87
Through three: Brewers 1, Dodgers 0
08:57 PM ET, October 14 2026, Jesse YomtovJackson Chourio's homer on the first pitch of the game remains the only run through three innings in Game 3 of the NLCS at Dodger Stadium. Los Angeles had two on with one out in the bottom of the third inning, but Robert Gasser got Freddie Freeman to fly out and Teoscar Hernandez to ground out, stranding a runner in scoring position.
Luis Lara makes spectacular catch
08:24 PM ET, October 14 2026, Jesse YomtovLUIS LARA
— MLB (@MLB) October 15, 2026
MY GOODNESS 😱 pic.twitter.com/B0OtKYcGSW
Jackson Chourio home run on first pitch
08:15 PM ET, October 14 2026, Jesse YomtovBrewers star Jackson Chourio hit Blake Snell's very first pitch of the night over the right center field wall at Dodger Stadium to give Milwaukee an immediate 1-0 lead.
JACKSON CHOURIO
— MLB (@MLB) October 15, 2026
FIRST PITCH
BREWERS LEAD! pic.twitter.com/m6ndIzWPkK
Dodgers lineup today
08:01 PM ET, October 14 2026, Jesse Yomtov- Mookie Betts (R) SS
- Freddie Freeman (L) 1B
- Teoscar Hernández (R) LF
- Kyle Tucker (L) RF
- Andy Pages (R) CF
- Shohei Ohtani (L) DH
- Will Smith (R) C
- Miguel Rojas (R) 3B
- Tommy Edman (S) 2B
Brewers starting lineup: NLCS Game 3
07:56 PM ET, October 14 2026, Jesse Yomtov- Jackson Chourio (R) LF
- Brice Turang (L) 2B
- William Contreras (R) C
- Andrew Vaughn (R) DH
- Jake Bauers (L) 1B
- Garrett Mitchell (L) CF
- Cooper Pratt (R) SS
- Luis Lara (S) RF
- Joey Ortiz (R) 3B
Dodgers vs Brewers schedule
07:52 PM ET, October 14 2026, Jesse Yomtov- Game 1: Brewers 2, Dodgers 1 (in Milwaukee)
- Game 2: Brewers 7, Dodgers 4 (in Milwaukee)
- Game 3: Wednesday, Oct. 14 – Brewers at Dodgers – 8 p.m. ET ... GET TICKETS
- Game 4: Thursday, Oct. 15 – Brewers at Dodgers – 9 p.m. ET ... GET TICKETS
- Game 5*: Friday, Oct. 16 – Brewers at Dodgers – 9 p.m. ET ... GET TICKETS
- Game 6*: Sunday, Oct. 18 – Dodgers at Brewers – 8 p.m. ET ... GET TICKETS
- Game 7*: Monday, Oct. 19 – Dodgers at Brewers – 8 p.m. ET ... GET TICKETS
Dodgers vs Brewers odds
07:09 PM ET, October 14 2026, Jesse Yomtov
Mookie Betts feels Ohtani struggles
07:05 PM ET, October 14 2026, Jesse YomtovLOS ANGELES – Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts indicated he can relate to Shohei Ohtani -- grinding through injuries in attempt to regain his swing and end his slump. Betts fractured his hand when he was hit by a pitch in 2024.
"When you're hurt, you just want to play," said Betts, an eight-time All-Star. “So you'll make adjustments to the swing or to your body so you can play. Then you don't want to hurt while you play, so you make the adjustments to where your body doesn't feel it.
“Sometimes it's to the detriment of who you are as a player, and you don't really realize it.’’
– Josh Peter
Mookie Betts on Dodgers struggles
05:45 PM ET, October 14 2026, Jesse Yomtov"I think everybody's in a pretty good head space. Nobody is really panicking or anything," Mookie Betts told reporters before Game 3. "Obviously we know it's a tough task. It's a really good ball club over there. We just have to start one game, one pitch at a time. We can't get too far ahead of ourselves, and keep giving ourselves chances to score runs.
"At some point we've got to get that hit to kind of fall and maybe the floodgates open from there."
MLB changes NLCS Game 4 time
03:51 PM ET, October 14 2026, Jesse YomtovGame 4 of the National League Championship Series will start an hour earlier Thursday, Oct. 14, Major League Baseball announced, a result of the significant time change involving the ALCS.
The Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers will start NLCS Game 4 at 5 p.m. PT/8 ET since the time of ALCS Game 3 was moved to 1 p.m. ET due to anticipated inclement weather in Cleveland, where the Guardians will host the Tampa Bay Rays.
Originally, the Brewers and Dodgers were to tip off at 9 p.m. to space out the game times for television purposes.
2026 World Series betting odds
02:42 PM ET, October 14 2026, Jesse Yomtov
Dodgers vs Brewers tickets
11:00 AM ET, October 14 2026, Jesse YomtovGet your NLCS tickets
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How Brewers pushed Dodgers to brink of elimination. NLCS Game 3 takeaways
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