Jake Bauers Lifts Brewers With 412-Foot NLCS Homer as Milwaukee Takes 3-0 Lead
Updated
Updated · Yahoo Sports · Oct 15
Jake Bauers Lifts Brewers With 412-Foot NLCS Homer as Milwaukee Takes 3-0 Lead
3 articles · Updated · Yahoo Sports · Oct 15
Summary
An 11-pitch seventh-inning at-bat ended with Bauers drilling a 412-foot, two-run homer off Blake Snell, flipping Milwaukee from a 2-1 deficit to a 3-2 lead in a 6-2 Game 3 win.
Will Smith had put Los Angeles ahead with a two-RBI double in the sixth, but Bauers answered after Andrew Vaughn's leadoff walk and broke through against a Snell outing that had largely stifled Milwaukee.
The blast capped a sharp turnaround for Bauers, 31, who signed a minor-league deal with Milwaukee in January 2025 after bouncing through four organizations and nearly leaving baseball.
Bauers entered free agency talks on a one-year, $2.7 million contract after posting career highs in 2026, and his postseason surge has strengthened Milwaukee's case to keep him.
Will the Brewers finally end their 44-year World Series drought, or can the Dodgers pull off a miraculous historic comeback?
Can 22-year-old phenom Jackson Chourio cap off his historic 2026 season by leading Milwaukee to its first-ever championship?
What is truly behind the defending champion Dodgers' shocking offensive collapse and Shohei Ohtani's mysterious October slump?
Milwaukee Brewers on Brink of World Series: Small-Market Roster, Bullpen Dominance, and Dodgers’ Collapse in 2026 NLCS
Overview
Milwaukee seized early momentum in Game 3 when Jackson Chourio’s leadoff home run gave the Brewers a quick lead, but the Dodgers briefly rallied ahead after Will Smith’s two-run double. Milwaukee responded in the seventh as Jake Bauers and Garrett Mitchell hit back-to-back home runs, reclaiming and extending the lead. The Brewers’ bullpen then shut down Los Angeles, securing a 6-2 win and a commanding 3-0 series advantage. Meanwhile, Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani struggled offensively while playing through injuries, leading to a lineup demotion as Los Angeles faced elimination and a rescheduled Game 4 due to ALCS rain delays.