For all the talk of a dominant Milwaukee Brewers bullpen, their starting pitching has been most impressive, and that again was the case in their 4-0 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 3.
The last time Jhoulys Chacin started a game at Dodger Stadium, he allowed nine runs (eight earned) in 4.1 innings. The Dodgers cruised to a 21-5 victory on a night that saw the Brewers use Hernan Perez and Erik Kratz on the mound.
This time around, Chacin built off an impressive postseason start made 10 days ago. The veteran right-hander didn’t show much sign of rust as he worked out of trouble in the second inning.
Manny Machado led off with a single and later advanced to third base on Yasiel Puig’s one-out double. However, Grandal couldn’t so much as muster a productive out, going down swinging on a high fastball. That allowed Chacin to intentionally walk Hernandez and face Buehler to end the inning.
Chacin pitched into the sixth but was removed when Mike Moustakas booted a grounder and threw wide of first base, leaving Justin Turner at second with one out. Corey Knebel retired Machado and Cody Bellinger to end the inning, then struck out the side in the seventh.
Joakim Soria and Josh Hader combined to work a hitless eighth inning. Presumably because Hader went three innings in Game 1, he was only used for two outs Monday night. The Jeremy Jeffress experience began in full earnest.
Turner led off the ninth with a base hit and Machado followed with a double. Jeffress induced Bellinger into a pop-out on the first pitch, then struck out Grandal and Brian Dozier.
Walker Buehler began his second career postseason start by recording the first five outs via strike out, though the Brewers still managed to take a 1-0 lead during that stretch.
Immediately after Christian Yelich’s one-out walk in the first inning, Ryan Braun pulled an RBI double down the left-field line. Buehler settled in from there but allowed another run when Travis Shaw’s drive to center field was impacted by the strong wind at Dodger Stadium and went for a two-out triple.
A ball in the dirt kicked off Yasmani Grandal’s glove, and the wild pitch brought Shaw home, giving the Brewers a 2-0 lead. While ruled a wild pitch, some onus was on Grandal to ensure that ball hit his chest and remained in front of the plate, rather than ricochet off the heel of his glove. The miscue added to what’s been a difficult postseason for him.
The extra run loomed large in that it prevented the Dodgers from potentially tying the game without a runner first reaching, but the backbreaker came in the seventh inning when Orlando Arcia’s fly ball to right field took flight with the wind and carried for a two-run homer.
The home run was Arcia’s second of the NLCS and third in the postseason. He hit all of three homers during the regular season.
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