Can Dodgers’ Starters Sustain Their Dominance and Crash the NLCS Party?

Is there anything quite as thrilling as playoff baseball when the stakes are sky-high, the pitchers are deadly serious, and every hit—or miss—can redefine a season? Tonight, the Brewers find themselves walking a tightrope, trying desperately not to tumble into a 0-3 hole against a Dodgers squad that looks more like a parade of Cy Young contenders than a baseball team. Now, I can’t help but remember that infamous L flag photo from Milwaukee’s gang—call me petty, but hey, I called it! Can the Brewers shake off the jitters, or will they press so hard their whole offense just locks up like a frozen screen? Meanwhile, the Dodgers’ starting rotation is a fortress, and Tyler Glasnow’s on the mound—facing a lineup that collectively hits just .141 against him. So, my question to you: is this a Brewers’ moment to rise, or are they destined to be another footnote in LA’s championship march? Buckle up—it’s gonna be a fascinating ride. LEARN MORE

Brewers vs. Dodgers, Game 3, 6:08 ET

Playoff baseball has been fantastic and I think that it will only keep getting better from here. I’ve mentioned this numerous times, but the baseball season is just better in the playoffs. Each pitch matters more, each batter seems more locked in (or maybe more nervous for some of them). The strategy is at an all-time high, and this is where we separate the men from the boys, as it is said. Tonight, the Brewers have to prove they are men if they want to have any shot at keep the Dodgers from repeating as National League Champions.

The Brewers have struggled in their first two games, and I would like to take the opportunity, as a Cubs fan, that I called their demise due to them taking a picture with an L flag. Terrible form, and I’ll continue to bring that up every opportunity that I can. Hopefully, the Dodgers sweep them so we can say they went 0-4 since taking that photo. Milwaukee was able to keep the game close in the opener, but they ultimately lost 2-1. It didn’t feel like it was that close of a game, though. They couldn’t get many hits, and their only success was against the Dodgers ‘ bullpen. In Game 2, they still couldn’t get much going, aside from a first inning home run from Jackson Chourio. That dinger provided a short-lived lead for the Brewers as the Dodgers took a 2-1 lead in the second and never looked back. Yoshinobu Yamamoto was dominant throughout the game and pitched all nine for Los Angeles. He only allowed three total hits and really wasn’t in jeopardy outside of that first inning.

Tonight, the Brewers need to get a win in order to keep themselves from going down 3-0. In each of the Championship Series games to this point, the road team has emerged as victorious. Will it happen again here tonight? For the Brewers, they send out Aaron Ashby to open yet another game. He has been fine-ish to open these games, but you’re not expecting him to get much work done for the Brewers. He has pitched a total of 1.2 innings in the first two games and allowed just one hit and no earned runs. From there it will be interesting to see where the Brewers go. I suppose you do a bullpen game, but you’d ideally like someone to eat some innings. Perhaps Jose Quintana I’m not sure I’d feel too comfortable about that. For the Dodgers, their parade of excellent starters comes to Tyler Glasnow. In order to top Blake Snell or Yamamoto, he probably needs to throw a no-hitter. He pitched in two games against the Phillies, one was in relief, going 1.2 innings, allowing two hits and two walks while letting no one cross the plate. In his start, he allowed two hits, and three walks in six scoreless innings. He faced Milwaukee twice this year and allowed just two runs, one earned, over 11 innings. Collectively Brewers hitters are hitting just .141 against him.

Trying harder is usually a good sign for success when the game is basketball or football. Trying harder in a baseball game typically means that the club is going to press and perform worse. I think that’s what you’re going to see out of the Brewers tonight. I’m going to back the Dodgers on the run line, but I also think the Brewers under their team total makes a lot of sense. This Dodgers starting rotation is full of All-Star arms. Back them to get another step closer to the World Series.

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