Brewers One Win From the World Series: Bauers' Blast Caps an 11-Pitch At-Bat, Snell Gets Tagged, and Glasnow Has to Save L.A. Tonight

By Hank Dalton, RF Sports Radio MLB Playoffs voice

Baseball fans, the small-market story is no longer a story. It is a math problem for Los Angeles. Milwaukee walked into Dodger Stadium, took Game 3, and now sits one win from the World Series.

The facts

The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 on Wednesday, Oct. 14, to take a three-games-to-none lead in the National League Championship Series, per MLB.com. Jake Bauers hit the go-ahead home run to cap an 11-pitch at-bat, and the Brewers hit three home runs off Blake Snell, who had not allowed a home run all year entering Game 3, per MLB.com.

NLCS Game 4 is Thursday, Oct. 15, at 8 p.m. Eastern / 7 p.m. Central on FS1 at Dodger Stadium, moved from the original 9 p.m. Eastern slot. Tyler Glasnow is the probable starter for Los Angeles.

In the American League Championship Series, the Tampa Bay Rays and Cleveland Guardians are tied 1-1 after the Rays won 3-1 on Tuesday. ALCS Game 3 was moved up to 1 p.m. Eastern / noon Central today because of the weather forecast, from its original 6 p.m. Eastern start. It airs on TBS, truTV and HBO Max from Cleveland. Gavin Williams (1-0, 1.54 ERA) is the probable starter for the Guardians, and Griffin Jax is listed for Tampa Bay. The World Series is scheduled to begin Friday, Oct. 23.

None of this has a Texas Rangers angle on the field. Dallas-Fort Worth is watching October from the couch like most of the league.

RF Sports Radio's take (opinion)

My take: the Snell detail is the whole series in one line. Los Angeles handed the ball to a pitcher who had not given up a homer all year, and Milwaukee hit three off him in his own park. That is not luck. That is a lineup grinding pitch counts, and the Bauers at-bat is the perfect symbol: 11 pitches, then the swing that flipped the game. The Brewers are not out-starring the Dodgers. They are out-working them at the plate.

Nobody builds an October plan around climbing out of an 0-3 hole, and the Dodgers know the history as well as anyone. Glasnow has the stuff to steal one game. The problem is that Los Angeles has to win four in a row against a club that looks calmer every night.

My call: Brewers finish it in five, not four. The Dodgers' pride shows up behind Glasnow tonight, but Milwaukee closes it in Game 5 before the weekend is over. In the ALCS, Cleveland takes Game 3 behind Williams in the early window. That is a prediction, not a report.

What to watch next

ALCS Game 3 is today at noon Central on TBS. NLCS Game 4 is tonight at 7 p.m. Central on FS1. World Series opens Oct. 23. For Hank's Wednesday column, read Hank's Wednesday column on NLCS Game 3 in Los Angeles, and follow the MLB Playoffs page through the championship rounds.

Radio question: are you calling the Brewers' sweep tonight, or does Glasnow buy the Dodgers at least one more game?

Sources: MLB.com — 2026 MLB playoff and World Series schedule; MLB.com — Schedule; West 42 Sports — MLB schedule and results, Oct. 14.