Chacin pitches Brewers to NLCS lead

Associated Press

LOS ANGELES

Jhoulys Chacin combined with four relievers on a five-hitter, Orlando Arcia hit a two-run homer and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-0 on Monday to take a 2-1 lead in the NL Championship Series.

Los Angeles loaded the bases against Jeremy Jeffress in the ninth inning, but the struggling closer shut the door. He struck out Yasmani Grandal and pinch-hitter Brian Dozier to complete Milwaukee’s third shutout in six playoff games this year.

Game 4 in the best-of-seven series is tonight at Dodger Stadium, with left-hander Rich Hill pitching for Los Angeles against Gio Gonzalez.

Ryan Braun had an early RBI double off rookie Walker Buehler, who struck out eight in seven innings. Travis Shaw tripled and scored on a wild pitch in the sixth. Arcia connected for his third postseason homer in the seventh.

Chacin scattered three hits over 51/3 innings before giving way to Corey Knebel, who worked 12/3 perfect innings and struck out his last four batters.

With a runner on second and Milwaukee nursing a 2-0 lead, Knebel got Manny Machado to ground out before whiffing Cody Bellinger to end the sixth.

The right-hander then fanned Yasiel Puig, Grandal and Enrique Hernandez in the seventh.

Joakim Soria retired Chris Taylor on a foul popup for the first out of the eighth. Josh Hader, who didn’t pitch in Game 2 after tossing three scoreless innings in the opener, needed only eight pitches to strike out pinch-hitters David Freese and Matt Kemp to end the eighth.

“We’re playing to win the series, not just games. Obviously with Josh doing not as much tonight, there’s lots of possibilities there going forward,” Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell said.

Justin Turner singled and Machado doubled to start the ninth for Los Angeles. Bellinger popped out before Puig drew a walk, but Counsell stayed with Jeffress, who settled down and came through.

Milwaukee’s vaunted bullpen delivered after the Dodgers hit .333 and scored eight of their nine runs against Brewers relievers in the first two games, both decided by one run.

The Brewers became the first visiting team to pitch a postseason shutout at Dodger Stadium since the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 1 of the 1983 NLCS.

Los Angeles had gone 50 straight home playoff games without being blanked, the second-longest streak in major league history behind 61 straight for the Boston Red Sox, according to STATS.

The 1905 New York Giants and 1966 Orioles are the only other teams to toss three shutouts in their first six games of a postseason, STATS said.

The Brewers entered these playoffs with one shutout in their postseason history.

“I love just the emotion of these games, the adrenaline everyone is able to play with,” Braun said.