Brewers 6–2 Dodgers: Bauers and Mitchell turn NLCS Game 3 in one inning

Published 15 October 2026. Cover: Dodger Stadium during a different game on 20 May 2006; illustrative, not a photograph of the 2026 NLCS. Frederick Dennstedt, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.

Milwaukee beat Los Angeles 6–2 at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday, 14 October, and now leads the best-of-seven National League Championship Series 3–0. The immediate answer to MLB's final box score is straightforward: Jackson Chourio opened the game with a first-pitch home run, Will Smith briefly put the Dodgers ahead with a two-run double in the sixth, and Jake Bauers and Garrett Mitchell homered back-to-back in the seventh. The more revealing question is how quickly Milwaukee changed the game after Los Angeles finally found its opening.

A lead that lasted only until the next half-inning

Chourio's leadoff shot made it 1–0, but Blake Snell settled into a strong middle stretch. MLB's Dodgers report says he retired 14 consecutive hitters at one point. Robert Gasser kept the Dodgers scoreless through five innings. When Milwaukee turned to Abner Uribe in the sixth, the balance shifted: Uribe walked three batters and Smith doubled home Teoscar Hernández and Kyle Tucker. Los Angeles led 2–1, and it had forced Milwaukee to protect a bullpen that had been worked repeatedly in this postseason.

That is why the seventh inning matters more than a simple claim that the Brewers had the better power. A walk ended Snell's run of retired hitters. Bauers then stayed with an 11-pitch plate appearance and sent a fastball to right field for a two-run homer. Mitchell followed with a solo shot, moving the score from 2–1 Dodgers to 4–2 Brewers before Los Angeles could defend its new lead. MLB's Bauers report documents the pitch battle; the official play-by-play confirms the scoring sequence. Milwaukee added a run in each of the eighth and ninth innings.

Power was the surprise, response was the pattern

Milwaukee hit three home runs in Game 3, all against Snell. That was not merely the expected expression of a home-run-heavy club: MLB's Brewers analysis notes the team hit 154 regular-season homers and had only 10 three-homer games. The unusual power display is the obvious headline, but the timing is the stronger competitive point. After Smith's double gave the Dodgers a reason to believe their bats had changed the series, Milwaukee answered in the very next half-inning. The Brewers had also found a late route through Game 2, though this game was decided by a different combination of patience and power.

There is a counterargument to any sweeping verdict on the Dodgers' pitching. Snell was effective for much of the night, and one difficult plate appearance does not erase that work. Los Angeles also created a real sixth-inning lead. The narrower conclusion is that the Dodgers did not keep control after obtaining it. Milwaukee's hitters made the next opportunity count, and Los Angeles produced no further runs from five hits overall.

What 3–0 settles, and what remains open

A 3–0 series lead puts Milwaukee one win from the World Series; it does not award the pennant. The Brewers' own sixth inning showed a vulnerability: Uribe's command deserted him, and Smith reached the wall with the double that changed the lead. DL Hall stranded the remaining runners, but another short start could again ask a lot of the relievers. Los Angeles, meanwhile, cannot afford merely to wait for a better outing. Its lineup must turn traffic into runs before Milwaukee can answer with another decisive swing.

Game 4 is scheduled for Thursday, 15 October at 8 p.m. Eastern time, which is 02:00 on Friday in Lusaka, according to MLB's current schedule. That is an elimination game for the Dodgers, not a prediction of the series outcome. Game 3's durable lesson is specific: Smith's double created a path back, but Bauers' long at-bat and Mitchell's immediate follow-up closed it almost as soon as it appeared. The verified match page has the final score and fixture details.