Jake Bauers hit a go-ahead two-run home run off Blake Snell in the seventh inning on Wednesday night. The Brewers beat the Dodgers 6-2 at Dodger Stadium and lead the best-of-7 NLCS 3-0. Yahoo Sports reported that the homer ended an 11-pitch at-bat. Sportsnet and MLB's Reddit account posted video of all 11 pitches, and another MLB Reddit post focused on the bat flip.
The box score fits that account. Los Angeles led 2-1 after a two-run sixth. Milwaukee then scored three in the seventh, on three hits, and added a run each in the eighth and ninth. Bauers finished 1 for 4 with two RBI and two strikeouts, and the homer was his only hit. Snell took the loss. DL Hall got the win and Trevor Megill the save. The Dodgers stranded 19 runners, against 10 for Milwaukee, and drew four walks to the Brewers' two. The Brewers hit three home runs and the Dodgers none.
Yahoo framed it as a second straight game in which Bauers was rewarded for a "textbook at-bat". MLB.com's Adam McCalvy built his piece around the idea that Bauers refuses to give up, "not on his career, not against a pair of Dodgers aces." The feed summaries don't say which game or at-bat the first half of that refers to, and we have no further detail from the article itself. A Reddit clip has Bauers telling Derek Jeter that Milwaukee fans are "drinking, they're drinking for sure."
The at-bat came against a pitcher who had been hard to score on. Snell carried a 1.90 ERA with 55 strikeouts in 42.2 innings over nine games this season. Bauers' regular season was solid: .266 with 26 home runs, 86 RBI and an .873 OPS over 144 games, so a 1B with that production beating a starter of Snell's quality is a product of his season. It is not a fluke.
The sweep-in-waiting is built on close, late wins. The Brewers (103-59, NL Central champions, five straight wins) took Game 1 by 2-1 on Oct. 11 and Game 2 by 7-4 on Oct. 12. The Dodgers finished 100-62 and top the NL West, and they have now lost three in a row.
Thu, Oct 15, 8:00 PM ET
Game 4 is Thursday, Oct. 15, at Dodger Stadium. Milwaukee can clinch the pennant there, and Game 5 is also scheduled in Los Angeles on Oct. 16.
Discussion