Jackson Chourio
Jackson Chourio

LOS ANGELES — Jackson Chourio homered on the first pitch of the game, Jake Bauers and Garrett Mitchell hit back-to-back home runs in a decisive seventh inning, and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 on Wednesday night to take a 3-0 lead in the National League Championship Series.

The Brewers moved within one victory of their first World Series appearance since 1982 and pushed the two-time defending champion Dodgers to the edge of elimination.

Milwaukee can close out the series in Game 4 on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium.

First pitch, first run

Chourio wasted no time silencing the Dodger Stadium crowd. The Brewers' leadoff hitter crushed the first pitch of the game, a 97.6 mph four-seam fastball over the middle of the plate from Dodgers left-hander Blake Snell, sending it to right-center field for a 1-0 lead.

It was the third postseason leadoff home run of Chourio's career, tying him with Shohei Ohtani, Derek Jeter and Jimmy Rollins for the second most in postseason history. Only Kyle Schwarber, with five, has more.

The homer came one year to the day after Chourio hit a first-pitch home run against the Dodgers in Game 2 of last year's NLCS. He joined George Springer as the only players with two first-pitch leadoff homers in the postseason since pitch counts began being tracked in 1988.

It was also the first time in the series that the Brewers scored first.

Pitchers' duel

After the early homer, the game settled into a tight pitching battle. Snell recovered to strike out several Brewers, and Milwaukee left-hander Robert Gasser, making just his second career postseason start, kept the Dodgers' struggling lineup off the scoreboard.

The 1-0 lead held through five innings.

Dodgers briefly take lead

Los Angeles finally broke through in the sixth. Catcher Will Smith, who entered the game mired in a postseason slump, hit a two-run double to put the Dodgers ahead 2-1 and bring the home crowd to life.

The runs were the first the Dodgers scored against Milwaukee's bullpen in the series and ended reliever Abner Uribe's run of scoreless appearances. Uribe had pitched in every Brewers postseason game without allowing a run before Wednesday.

Back-to-back blasts

The lead did not last. In the seventh inning, Bauers hit a two-run homer to put the Brewers back in front, and Mitchell followed with a solo shot, giving Milwaukee a 4-2 lead.

The three-run inning swung the game and the series firmly in Milwaukee's favor. The game ultimately came down to the beginning and end of Snell's night, Yahoo Sports noted.

The Brewers added a run in the eighth, and Joey Ortiz singled in another in the ninth to make it 6-2, the Brewers' largest lead of the postseason.

Closer Trevor Megill came on to protect the lead, and the game ended when Mookie Betts struck out.

Milwaukee finished with nine hits and no errors. The Dodgers managed just five hits.

Ohtani dropped in order

The Dodgers made changes to their lineup in an effort to spark the offense. Shohei Ohtani, who has been mired in a prolonged slump while dealing with right biceps and left knee injuries, batted sixth, the lowest spot of his Dodgers career.

Manager Dave Roberts had said before the game that Ohtani convinced him he was close to a breakthrough. The Dodgers had discussed benching the three-time MVP after he went hitless in Game 2.

Ohtani entered the game 3-for-20 in the postseason with no extra-base hits.

A reversal from last year

The series has been a dramatic reversal from last year's NLCS, when the Dodgers swept the Brewers in four games on their way to a second straight World Series title. Ohtani was named MVP of that series after a historic Game 4 in which he hit three home runs and struck out 10 batters.

This year, the Brewers, who won 103 games in the regular season and beat the San Diego Padres in the Division Series, have controlled the series from the start.

Milwaukee won Game 1 2-1 behind a strong bullpen effort and Game 2 7-4, with relievers retiring the final 15 Dodgers batters in order.

History against Dodgers

Teams that fall behind 3-0 in a best-of-seven series almost never recover. Only one team in Major League Baseball history, the 2004 Boston Red Sox, has overcome that deficit. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was a member of that Red Sox team, playing a key role in the comeback.

The Dodgers, who finished with one of the best records in baseball, are seeking to become the first team to win three consecutive World Series titles since the New York Yankees from 1998 to 2000.

Game 4 is scheduled for Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. The Brewers will have a chance to clinch their first pennant in more than four decades.

If the Dodgers win, Game 5 would be played Friday in Los Angeles before the series returns to Milwaukee for Games 6 and 7, if necessary.

The winner will face either the Cleveland Guardians or the Tampa Bay Rays in the World Series.