LOS ANGELES – A stormy night at Dodger Stadium saw the brutal power of the “green fortress,” as the Dodgers soared into the narrow door of deciding the World Series after crushing the Brewers 3-1 in Game 3 of the NLCS. After leading 2-0 and virtually controlling the entire series, the Los Angeles team was just one step away from victory, while the yellow and blue faced a baseball nightmare.
Early in the game, Shohei Ohtani exploded home with an opening triple down right field, then followed up with a double to give England the lead. Mookie Betts followed with a double to bring Ohtani home, creating a dream start. The Brewers only managed to tie the game 1-1 in the second inning before the Dodgers’ tremendous pressure continued to increase.
In the second half, the fateful push came. Willie Smith opened the streak, Freddie Freeman drew a walk, and Tommy Edman—the hero of the game—hit the winning home run to put Dave Roberts’s men ahead. Next, Abner Uribe made a pick-off error, costing the Brewers another point. The magic of history was on its way.
In the shadow of the postseason hammer blows, Tyler Glasnow was a nightmare: 5⅔ innings, just one run to the plate, and eight strikeouts. The starter continued his “machine-like” form from the start of the NLCS, when the Dodgers’ starting pitchers allowed just 2 runs in 22⅔ innings in three games.
The cruelty didn’t stop there. The pitches of Alex Vesia, Blake Treinen, Anthony Banda, and the phenomenal Rōki Sasaki kept clean sheets in the final 3⅓ innings—each pitch a hammer blow to humiliate Milwaukee.
Milwaukee is in danger of turning the miracle into a story once again. With a historic 0-3 record that has only been repeated once (the 2004 Boston Red Sox), many analysts now fear they are just a name in the history books. Rookies like Jacob Misiorowski and Caleb Durbin have been flying high, but those efforts have been washed away as history has “played” with them in the past.
The pressure is not just coming from the field. Milwaukee’s symbol of hope, Jackson Chourio, had to leave the field with a calf injury, making the situation even more dire.
With a 3-1 victory, the Dodgers need just one more win to return to the World Series and defend their throne – something that has not happened since the New York Yankees’ consecutive championship streak in 1999–2000.
And perhaps it will be Shohei Ohtani – who hit the opening triple – who will deliver the decisive blow at the gateway to history. The Brewers’ Game 4 against José Quintana will decide everything: win to survive, or watch America explode as “Orang” once again raises the MLB flag highest.
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