Brewers fans erupt at American Family Field as Milwaukee takes commanding 3-0 NLCS lead
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) — Thousands of Milwaukee Brewers fans packed American Family Field Wednesday night for a Game 3 watch party, and they were rewarded with another dramatic postseason victory.
The Brewers defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 at Dodger Stadium to take a commanding 3-0 lead in the National League Championship Series, moving Milwaukee just one victory away from its first World Series appearance since 1982.
About 3,000 fans gathered at American Family Field to watch the game on the big screens, bringing playoff energy to the ballpark despite the Brewers playing more than 2,000 miles away.
The crowd didn't have to wait long for something to celebrate.
Jackson Chourio jumped on the first pitch of the game from Dodgers starter Blake Snell and launched a leadoff home run, immediately sending the watch party into a frenzy and giving Milwaukee a 1-0 lead.
Fans inside American Family Field said the atmosphere felt different from last year's postseason run, when Los Angeles swept Milwaukee in the NLCS.
"Complete 180 from last year," Brewers fans Ashlee Walk and Katelyn Kugler said. "Hopefully we can bring out the brooms tomorrow after we get the game today. ... We're seeing our World Series this year, on my mama."
For much of Wednesday's game, Chourio's home run stood as Milwaukee's only offense.
Snell settled in after the opening pitch and retired 14 consecutive Brewers at one point, striking out nine over six innings.
Meanwhile, the Dodgers struggled to capitalize despite putting runners on base throughout the night.
That changed in the bottom of the sixth.
Brewers rookie starter Robert Gasser had kept Los Angeles off the scoreboard before Milwaukee turned to Abner Uribe.
Uribe walked Teoscar Hernández, Kyle Tucker and Shohei Ohtani to load the bases, and Will Smith followed with a two-run double to left-center field.
Just like that, Los Angeles had its first lead of the night, 2-1.
It didn't last long.
Milwaukee answered immediately in the seventh inning with one of the defining sequences of its postseason run.
Andrew Vaughn opened the inning with a seven-pitch walk and was replaced by pinch-runner Christian Yelich.
Jake Bauers then battled Snell through an 11-pitch at-bat before launching a 412-foot home run to right field, putting the Brewers back in front 3-2.
The Milwaukee dugout erupted.
So did American Family Field.
Before the celebration could settle down, Garrett Mitchell stepped to the plate and delivered another blow.
Mitchell launched a 428-foot solo home run to right-center field on Snell's final pitch of the night, giving Milwaukee back-to-back homers and a 4-2 advantage.
The sequence turned a one-run deficit into a two-run lead in a matter of minutes and sent Brewers fans watching back home into another frenzy.
"That leadoff home run, that was electric, that was hype as [expletive]," Brewers fan James Kunz said. "Brewers in four, let's go!"
Milwaukee wasn't finished.
Brice Turang reached on an infield single in the eighth before William Contreras singled to move him along. Turang later scored on a wild pitch, extending the Brewers' advantage to 5-2.
Joey Ortiz added another insurance run with a two-strike RBI single in the ninth to make it 6-2.
Milwaukee's bullpen took care of the rest.
DL Hall followed Uribe and helped shut down the Dodgers before Trevor Megill took over in the eighth.
Los Angeles put runners on base in several innings but couldn't produce the big swing it needed. The Dodgers also remained without a home run through the first three games of the NLCS.
For Brewers fans at American Family Field, the final outs brought another celebration — and the realization that Milwaukee is now on the doorstep of baseball's biggest stage.
The victory gives the Brewers a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series against the two-time defending World Series champions.
Los Angeles has now been pushed to the brink of elimination.
The Dodgers have faced a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven postseason series only once previously in franchise history, when they were swept by the Baltimore Orioles in the 1966 World Series.
For Milwaukee, the situation represents a dramatic reversal from one year ago.
The Dodgers swept the Brewers in four games during the 2025 NLCS. Milwaukee has also never defeated Los Angeles in any of their three previous postseason series.
Now, the Brewers have an opportunity to change all of that with one more victory.
Fans at the watch party said they believe this team has what it takes to finish the job.
With Milwaukee just one victory from the World Series, talk of a sweep grew louder throughout American Family Field Wednesday night.
Game 4 is scheduled for Thursday at Dodger Stadium.
The Brewers will enter with a chance to complete the sweep, eliminate the defending champions and secure the franchise's first National League pennant.
And if Milwaukee does it, the thousands of fans who packed American Family Field Wednesday night will have been there for another chapter in what is quickly becoming a historic postseason run.