An atypical game, when you consider not only the shadows that drastically affected hitting for the better part of it, on top of the ridiculous elite stuff from the likes of Tyler Glasnow and Jacob Misiorowski, Game 3 was primed for a low-scoring duel. That’s exactly what we got as the Dodgers managed to squeeze out a 3-1 win, yet again dominating Milwaukee’s hitters to the point where Shohei Ohtani and company didn’t need to do too much offensively.
The Dodger hitters have struggled at different moments,
and the choice of MVP in this series comes down to which pitcher you want to select. However, for Los Angeles to capitalize on these opportunities, it still needed to score in adverse circumstances, and they pulled that off.
Each of the Dodgers’ three runs came in difficult moments. Although there was definitely some luck involved, you can’t discount that production because ultimately it made the difference between winning and losing.
Think about that first inning for a second. Struggling or not, Shohei Ohtani has seen every team he’s faced in the postseason plan their whole game around him, always mindful to have the specific matchup (usually a lefty) against him when a traditional starter isn’t on the field. That’s worked out pretty well, and one well-placed hit won’t change the fact that the reigning NL MVP is scuffling, but he did play a key factor in this one, opening the game with a double down the line against the tough southpaw Aaron Ashby. The issue of having a lefty as your opener is that after Ohtani, you get Mookie Betts up there, and he quickly drove in Ohtani with an RBI knock to center.
That one run made the difference for the Dodgers not to trail at any point because, for as dominant as Tyler Glasnow was in this game, he did allow an early run, and Jacob Misiorowski looked every bit as imposing. In fact, Misiorowski stepped outside of his comfort zone to escape a jam in the first, as Ashby clearly didn’t have it.
The best way to praise Misiorowski’s pitching effort is to point out that even for a team that has sent brilliance following brilliance on the mound, his stuff still jumps out, and its effectiveness was unquestionable today. Misiorowski operated at a level where the Dodgers simply had to wait him out until fatigue affected his game, particularly considering he came in with just one out recorded in the first.
That moment came to pass in the sixth inning, with Will Smith and Freddie Freeman reaching base via single and walk to set up a key opportunity for Tommy Edman. Understanding where he is with his bullpen, particularly Abner Uribe, who had pitched in the first two games, Pat Murphy left Misiorowski out there to face Edman, who jumped on a first-pitch slider to hit the go-ahead RBI knock.
Uribe replaced Misiorowski in a tight spot, and then you have the general outlook of this series in which favorable breaks seem to be more impactful for the Dodgers than the Brewers. Both teams saw an errant pickoff throw allow a runner to advance an extra 90 feet, but the Dodgers’ one didn’t cost them a run, as Jake Bauers was stranded at third by Glasnow. Milwaukee, on the other hand, gifted Los Angeles its third run when Uribe tried a pickoff throw with runners at the corners but missed his first baseman.
By no means was this a particularly memorable performance from the Dodger offense, but the few runs they did get shouldn’t be overlooked, considering when it happened and against whom it happened.
