The Milwaukee Brewers<\/a> have taken a 3\u20130 series lead<\/a> in the NLCS against the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers<\/a>, putting themselves one win away from their first pennant since 1982. That in and of itself is impressive, but perhaps even more impressive is how they\u2019ve done it. They\u2019ve done it by not staying behind for long, making opposing pitchers\u2019 jobs tough, and not allowing the Dodgers to come back. To those who know the team, this is not a surprise. The Brewers didn’t win 103 games by accident. This team is a force to be reckoned with.<\/p>\n There have been five separate half-innings this series that saw the Dodgers take the lead. The last four times, the Brewers either tied the game or retook the lead their very next time at bat. And the fifth time \u2014 Game One \u2014 the Dodgers had taken the lead in the top of the second and the Brewers tied the game in the bottom of the fourth.<\/p>\n Back to the other four. In Game Two, the Dodgers took a 1\u20130 lead in the top of the first. The Brewers tied the game in the bottom of the first \u2014 with the third hitter of the inning getting the game-tying RBI on a single. The Dodgers retook the lead with a run in the top of the third; the Brewers took the lead back in the bottom of the third with two runs. Two innings later, the Dodgers scored two runs to put themselves back on top; the Brewers tied the game in the bottom half. In Game Three Wednesday night, the Dodgers scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth to take a 2\u20131 lead; the Brewers scored three runs in the top of the seventh to take a 4\u20132 lead.<\/p>\n One of the biggest reasons the Brewers have been so difficult to put away is that their hitters have not made life easy on Dodgers pitchers. They have shown a willingness to attack when the first pitch is there, but they haven’t made a habit of giving pitchers easy first-pitch outs.<\/p>\n Through the first three games of the NLCS, Brewers hitters put the first pitch in play eight times. Most of those swings accomplished something. In Game One, Luis Lara<\/a><\/strong>‘s first-pitch swing produced a go-ahead single off Tarik Skubal<\/a><\/strong>. The other three first-pitch balls in play resulted in two sacrifice bunts and a Garrett Mitchell<\/a><\/strong> groundout that advanced a runner to third. In Game Two, William Contreras<\/a><\/strong> delivered a go-ahead single on the first pitch from Brock Stewart<\/a><\/strong>, and Christian Yelich<\/a><\/strong> hit a hard drive to left-center on the first pitch from Justin Wrobleski<\/a><\/strong>. Though the latter was caught, it was due to it being a near-atom ball.<\/p>\n Jackson Chourio<\/a><\/strong> provided the loudest example in Game Three. Chourio attacked the first pitch of the game and homered, giving the Brewers an immediate 1-0 lead. His other first-pitch ball in play was a popup to second base in shallow right-center.<\/p>\n The larger number is even more revealing. Brewers hitters saw a first-pitch strike 59.8% of the time through three games, the lowest rate among the four LCS teams. The Cleveland Guardians<\/a> were at 65.4% after two games in the ALCS, the Tampa Bay Rays<\/a> at 68.1% after two, and the Dodgers at 71.0%.<\/p>\n No Brewers hitter better demonstrated the difficulty of putting this lineup away than Jake Bauers<\/a><\/strong>. In Game Two, Bauers battled Yoshinobu Yamamoto<\/a><\/strong> for 12 pitches, drawing a walk. Game Three saw him do something even more damaging. With the Brewers trailing 2-1 in the seventh, Bauers forced Blake Snell<\/a><\/strong> through an 11-pitch at-bat. Pitch number 10 nearly ended it. Bauers drove the ball toward the seats, but it hooked foul by a few feet. After a pickoff attempt, Snell delivered again. This time, Bauers left no doubt. He drove pitch number 11 an estimated 412 feet for a two-run homer to right-center, putting the Brewers ahead, 3\u20132. Across those two plate appearances, Bauers forced two Dodgers starters to make 23 pitches. The results were a walk and a go-ahead two-run homer.<\/p>\n The Brewers aren’t merely making pitchers throw pitches for the sake of running up pitch counts. They’re surviving pitches until they get one they can punish. That’s a miserable combination for a Dodgers pitching staff trying to find quick outs against a lineup that keeps making pitchers earn them.<\/p>\n When the Brewers get a lead, their relief corps has been almost impossible to break. Through the first three games of the NLCS, Brewers relievers made 11 relief appearances. Ten were scoreless in terms of earned runs, giving their relievers a combined 90.9% Earned Run Scoreless Outing Percentage (ScOtgER%). The lone exception came when Abner Uribe<\/a><\/strong> was charged with two earned runs in Game Three.<\/p>\n Put that 90.9% in perspective. Guardians relievers collectively ranked second among the four LCS teams at 87.5%. The Rays were at 62.5%, and Dodgers relievers were at 61.5%.<\/p>\n Underlying numbers reinforce what the ScOtgER% says. Brewers relievers have combined for 13 2\/3 innings so far in the series, allowing four hits and two earned runs. They have walked six, struck out 15, and have not allowed a home run in 50 batters faced. That has produced a 0.732 WHIP, 30.0% strikeout rate (K%), and 18.0 K-BB%.<\/p>\n This hasn’t been a relief corps repeatedly pitching itself into trouble and escaping. Brewers relievers have largely prevented the trouble from developing in the first place. That has made the Brewers especially difficult to come back against. The offense has repeatedly answered when the Dodgers have scored. And after the Brewers have regained control, their relief unit has spent nearly the entire series putting zeroes on the scoreboard.<\/p>\n The Brewers now have three chances to eliminate the Dodgers and book their place in the 2026 World Series. Chance number one will come in Game Four Thursday night. First pitch from Dodger Stadium will be at 5 pm Pacific\/7 pm Central.<\/p>\nImmediate Answer-back Innings<\/h3>\n
Tough Outs<\/h3>\n
23 Pitches, Two At-bats<\/h4>\n
Shutdown Relief Pitching<\/h3>\n
Looking Ahead<\/h3>\n
Main Photo:<\/h4>\n