The Los Angeles Dodgers are making this look too easy.
Behind yet another strong performance from their starting pitcher — this time Tyler Glasnow — the Dodgers defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 3-1 on Thursday, taking a commanding 3-0 lead in the NLCS. One more win, and the Dodgers will reach their second straight World Series.
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Game 4 is scheduled for Friday at 8:38 p.m. ET at Dodger Stadium. Only one team in MLB postseason history, the 2004 Boston Red Sox, has won a seven-game series after falling behind 3-0.
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Just like in his start in the series-clinching Game 4 of the NLDS, Glasnow had the opposing hitters off-balance all the way into the sixth inning. It wasn’t eight innings of one-hit ball or a complete game, but his performance Thursday continued the L.A. rotation’s absurd run this postseason. The unit’s ERA remains 1.54 this October, and these Dodgers have already thrown more innings in the 2025 playoffs than they did in their World Series-winning run in 2024.
Glasnow’s final line: 5 2/3 innings, 3 hits, 1 run, 3 walks and 8 strikeouts.
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His one blemish came in the second inning, when Caleb Durbin hit a triple off a whiffed diving catch attempt from left-fielder Kiké Hernández, then scored on a ground ball through the infield. The inning could’ve been worse, but third baseman Max Muncy made the play of the series for the second out.
More surprising was a completely solid night from the Dodgers’ bullpen. The unit has been bullied night after night since the start of September but has so far avoided blowing a game this postseason. With Glasnow exiting during the sixth inning, Game 3 represented their largest body of work in the series after relievers threw one dicey inning in Game 1 and got the night off in Game 2.
In Game 3, Alex Vesia entered for Glasnow and struck out Sal Frelick to end the sixth. Blake Treinen took over for Vesia with a runner on second in the seventh and prevented him from scoring. Anthony Banda threw a 1-2-3 eighth.
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And, finally, Roki Sasaki recovered from a near-meltdown earlier this week with a scoreless ninth to close out the game, showing off the kind of heat that made him a lockdown reliever previously in the postseason.
Meanwhile, the Dodgers’ offense got on the board in the first inning via a triple from Shohei Ohtani and a double from Mookie Betts. They then spent a good five innings getting dominated by the triple-digit heat of Jacob Misiorowski.
However, the rookie’s velocity flagged in the sixth inning, and that was what the L.A. lineup needed to break through.
All of that made for a brutal day at the office for the Brewers, but things got even worse in the seventh inning, when young star Jackson Chourio, their best hitter of this postseason, left the game while hopping on one foot in an apparent aggravation of his hamstring injury.
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The 2025 season has been a thrill ride for Milwaukee, which posted the best record in MLB and a 6-0 record against the Dodgers in the regular season. But this series vs. L.A. has brought all of that to a screeching halt, and now the Brewers need to beat the Dodgers on the road with Shohei Ohtani on the mound just to avoid a sweep.
It will likely be Jose Quintana starting, or at least taking the bulk of the innings, for the Brewers in Game 4 on Friday.
NLCS Game 3 live blogLive coverage is over75 updates
Thu, October 16, 2025 at 8:49 PM EDT
Thu, October 16, 2025 at 9:02 PM EDT
Thu, October 16, 2025 at 9:00 PM EDT
The Dodgers will go for the sweep on Friday in Game 4.
Thu, October 16, 2025 at 8:58 PM EDT
Sasaki makes it look easy, getting three quick outs of Vaughn, Frelick and Durbin to shut the door in Game 3.
The Dodgers are up 3-0 in the NLCS.
Thu, October 16, 2025 at 8:50 PM EDT
Koenig works around the walk, and it’s on to the ninth.
Roki Sasaki will take the ball and try to finish off the Brewers in Game 3.
Thu, October 16, 2025 at 8:50 PM EDT
The Dodgers could tack on some insurance here. Will Smith drew a one-out walk to give the Dodgers a man on base against Koenig.
Jack Baer
The Dodgers bullpen has kept it together and is only three outs from a 3-0 series lead. With Jackson Chourio hurt, the Brewers have been living a nightmare in this series.
Jack Baer
The left-hander makes short work of Ohtani to end the frame. Anthony Banda takes over for Blake Treinen in the top of the eighth with the left-handed Brice Turang and Christian Yelich both due up.
Jack Baer
Abner Uribe gets the first two outs of the seventh (the latter with some generous strike calls against Andy Pages), but that will do it for the Brewers’ ace reliever. Jared Koenig comes in to face Shohei Ohtani, whom Milwaukee is still treating as a threat every time he steps in the box.
Jack Baer
Jack Baer
Treinen gets Perkins swinging on a sweeper out of the zone to end the top of the seventh. Six outs to go for the Dodgers’ bullpen, and it’s the Brewers who have much bigger problems right now.
Jack Baer
The Brewers rookie came up limping after fouling off a Treinen sweeper. It looked like it might just be cramps, but he ended up hopping off the field on one foot after some attention from trainers. It’s worth noting that Chourio has dealt with a hamstring injury recently.
Blake Perkins enters the game for Chourio mid at-bat, and that’s an injury that’s going to loom for the rest of the NLCS.
Thu, October 16, 2025 at 8:14 PM EDT
The once-solid reliever has a 6.75 ERA in five appearances this postseason, and needed two huge mistakes from Brice Turang to escape Game 1. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is still sticking with him like he’s a bona fide late-inning arm, and now he’s in the game with one out and the tying run at the plate in the seventh inning.
Jack Baer
The Brewers’ rookie third baseman is 2-for-2 with a double, triple and walk. He gives the Brewers a runner in scoring position to open the seventh inning, as the potential troubles begin for the Dodgers bullpen.
Jack Baer
Jack Baer
Two pitches after the pick-off error, Uribe gets an inning-ending groundout from Max Muncy. The Brewers have some work to do against the Dodgers bullpen, with Alex Vesia still in to face the bottom of the Milwaukee order.
Blake Treinen is also warming, so buckle up.
Jack Baer
A pick-off move goes bad for Abner Uribe, and that gives the Dodgers a two-run lead. The wheels are coming off for the Brewers a bit here.
Jack Baer
That’s likely the Brewers’ plan if this inning reaches Shohei Ohtani. They are probably hoping it doesn’t come to that.
Jack Baer
Jack Baer
The Brewers manager visited Misiorowski after the Freeman walk and had Uribe warmed up, but opted to stick with a rookie who was clearly flagging against Edman instead of bringing in his best reliever of the regular season. It didn’t work out.