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LOS ANGELES – The venue has changed for the National League series Monday night, but the operating mode participating teams remained the same.
For the Milwaukee brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers, there was no question of throwing, which is almost always the case at this time of the year.
There would be no repeat of the second game at Miller Park, while the Brewers lost a three-point lead in the final innings to fall 4-3. Jhoulys Chacin, the "first starter", never let the Dodgers in search of air and the pen dismissed discussions about his vulnerability to close the deal, 4-0, at Dodger Stadium.
But not without a huge fear at the bottom of the ninth.
For those who wondered if the manager Craig Counsell had lost confidence in troubled reliever Jeremy Jeffress, he delivered a resounding "no" with three starts to go. The Bullers' door opened and in Jeffress she was 7.71 in the playoffs.
Brewers Manager Craig Counsell talks about the importance of Jhoulys Chacin for his pitching staff.
Tom Haudricourt, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Counsell was waiting for Jeffress to have the chance to shoot but it did not take long to find more trouble. A single from Justin Turner, who beat Jeffress and the Brewers with a two-run homer in the second game and a brace from Manny Machado. Just like that, second and third, no outs.
No doubt the home Brewers fans were screaming at their televisions for Counsell to remove Jeffress from the match, but the manager never left his post in the dugout canoe. Jeffress relieved Cody Bellinger in trouble, but then ran Yasiel Puig on four courts. Now, the potential of potential ligation would come to the plate, and with a single withdrawal.
Counsell would remove Jeffress now, is not it? Do not call her Shirley. Jeffress stayed.
Jeffress rewarded Counsell's confidence, however hesitant, by expelling the next two batters, Yasmani Grandal and Brian Dozier, to put the Dodgers to bed for the night. And the sigh of collective relief from the brewers' nation could have matched the winds of Santa Ana that devastated the area earlier in the day.
"We're trying to win the series, not just winning games," Counsell said. "We were well prepared with the way we finished it, Jeremy Jeffress was a star for us and presented us with tremendous moments during the season.
"We have a four point lead, I trust him to get those outs, the ninth was fun, but they did not score."
The Brewers would certainly not admit it in advance, but they took the field with more in play than Los Angeles, especially after the disappointing defeat of Match 2. Chacín was their rock all season, the only pitcher to stay in the rotation from start to finish.
If they had won the third game, the Dodgers would have defeated the best pitcher of the Brewers. Beyond that, Counsell had not yet designated a Game 4 star, which probably meant another "corrector game". Later, he selected Gio Gonzalez, who participated in the first two rounds of match 1 and will probably be on leash again.
On top of that, Counsell had announced that veteran southpaw Wade Miley would pause in the fifth game after his excellent performance – and his loss – in the second game.
In summary, if the Dodgers beat Chacín, they would have an ox match against them in the fourth game and face a pitcher during a short rest in the fifth game, which would not seem to favor the Brewers. That's all that was the third decisive game.
And all of this became questionable when Chacin gave 5 1/3 innings of gutty shots, working around three hits and two goals. The pen took it away, Jeffress having survived the perilous ninth place to close the Dodgers.
"Jhoulys was just outstanding tonight," Counsell said. "The last four times we gave him the ball, it was a great performance each time."
At worst, victory ensured another playoff game at Miller Park. Even if the Dodgers win the remaining two games here, they will have to return to Milwaukee to try to eliminate the Brewers, who have no intention of letting this happen.
The Brewers knew they had little margin of error against right-handed Walker Buehler, the sensational Dodger rookie. On July 31, Buehler had a good look at his excellent runs, giving him only five hits and one point with seven strikeouts.
How long does it take for Buehler, ask yourself? In his first six attempts, the average speed of his final throw was 98.5 mph. It is a high octane gas, which is not cheap in California.
But Chacin, who relies more on finesse than on velocity, with a slider like spring, was better than Buehler tonight. Next is Corey Knebel, who eliminated four batters in one inning and two-thirds, Joakim Soria, Josh Hader (two hitters, two strikeouts) and Jeffress's high-wire act.
Thus, the team that apparently does not have enough throws now has three playoff shutouts after recording just one record in its previous franchise history. People will simply have to forget the idea that the Brewers do not have enough weapons because it has become a silly argument.
If you do not like the way they hatch matches, use as many throwers as you need to record 27 outs, so be it. But it's a formula that works for them, and they're not about to apologize for it.
"The guys we give the ball to at the start of the game are doing a hell of a job," Counsell said. "They set the tone for the games and put us in a good position.
"They put us in a very good position to use our guys in the office, and that will lead to victories."
So, far, 101 of them. And the Brewers have not finished.
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