Brewers blank Dodgers for 2-1 NLCS lead
LOS ANGELES — Orlando Arcia hit a two-run home run, and Jhoulys Chacin delivered 5-1/3 strong innings Monday as the Milwaukee Brewers grabbed the lead in the National League Championship Series (NLCS) with a 4-0 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Ryan Braun got the Brewers off to a fast start with an RBI double in the first inning as Milwaukee took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven NLCS, with Game 4 set for Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium. The victory moved the Brewers two victories away from their first World Series appearance since 1982.
The Dodgers made things interesting in the ninth inning by loading the bases with one out, but Yasmani Grandal and Brian Dozier struck out against right-hander Jeremy Jeffress to end the game.
Chacin (1-0) gave up just three hits and two walks while striking out six. Brewers starters have given up just one run over 13 innings in the series.
Relievers Corey Knebel, Joakim Soria, Josh Hader and Jeffress completed Milwaukee’s five-hit shutout.
Dodgers rookie starter Walker Buehler (0-1) had eight strikeouts over seven innings, matching his second-longest start from the regular season. He was charged with four runs on five hits and one walk.
The top three spots in the Dodgers’ order went a combined 1-for-12, with that hit coming in the ninth inning on a single from Justin Turner. Los Angeles went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position, including 0-for-3 in the ninth.
Grandal hit a fifth-inning double, but his rough series continued.
In addition to striking out in the ninth, he struck out with a pair of runners in scoring position and one out in the second inning. He also had a passed ball in the eighth inning and could not corral a wild pitch in the sixth that allowed Travis Shaw to score with two outs.
Grandal has three passed balls and two errors in the series.
The Brewers struck with one out in the first inning when Braun’s RBI double down the line in left field scored Christian Yelich from first base. Yelich was on base after a walk. The NL MVP candidate went 1-for3, making him 2-for-11 in the series.
Milwaukee boosted the lead to 2-0 in the sixth inning when Shaw tripled off the wall in center field with two outs and scored on Buehler’s wild pitch.
The Brewers put the game away in the seventh inning when Erik Kratz’s double was followed by Arcia’s home run over the short wall in the right field corner. It was Arcia’s second home run in two games and third of the postseason.
After scoring eight runs off the Brewers’ bullpen over the first two games of the series, the Dodgers were held scoreless by four Milwaukee relievers over the final 3-2/3 innings. —