LA facing long odds after rough 7th flips script on Snell's Game 3 start

LOS ANGELES -- Dave Roberts has had his back against the wall like this, well before he stood at the helm of the Dodgers.

Roberts' 2004 Red Sox are the only team to come back from being down 3-0 in a best-of-seven postseason series. More than two decades later, Roberts will have to lead his Dodgers back from the same hole if the back-to-back champions are to keep their three-peat bid alive.

The Dodgers' season is on the brink after a 6-2 loss to the Brewers in Game 3 of the NL Championship Series on Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium. After sweeping Milwaukee in the 2025 NLCS, L.A. is one more loss away from being on the other side of the same fate.

• Brewers-Dodgers NLCS Game 4 FAQ

"It feels like we lost all the room for error that we had early in the series," Miguel Rojas said. "Can’t do anything about it anymore. We just have to come here tomorrow and win every pitch."

Said Max Muncy: "We’re playing like [crap]. They’re playing great. It’s as simple as that. No need to overcomplicate it."

In all best-of-seven postseason series, teams with a 3-0 lead have gone on to win the series 41 of 42 times (98%), with 32 of those series ending as sweeps. Only two teams have ever forced a Game 7 after trailing 3-0, and only Roberts' 2004 Red Sox have come all the way back to win.

• The best comeback attempts from 3-0 holes in playoffs

"It's certainly possible," Roberts said. "I've lived it, and I think the thing is that our guys have been battle-tested, as was that team I was a part of."

If the Dodgers can't pull off the improbable comeback, Roberts may regret one decision he made in Game 3: leaving starter Blake Snell in for the seventh inning when the southpaw had yet to record an out beyond the sixth in another injury-ravaged regular season.

One pitch into Game 3, the Dodgers trailed before they even came to the plate after Jackson Chourio parked Snell's first offering of the game into the seats in right-center. But Snell punched out his next three batters to end the first inning, the beginning of a stretch during which he retired 18 of 20, with nine strikeouts.

Snell was cruising. And by the time the sixth inning transitioned into the seventh, Dodger Stadium was rocking, as Will Smith had just broken out of his slump with a go-ahead two-run double that put the Dodgers ahead, 2-1.

It didn't take long for the Brewers to seize back the momentum. Snell walked Andrew Vaughn on seven pitches to open the frame. Jake Bauers -- who walked after an epic 12-pitch battle with Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Game 2 -- worked another long at-bat before taking Snell deep on the 11th pitch. Garrett Mitchell went back to back, chasing Snell from the game.

"I don't think they were seeing him well," Roberts said. "I was trying to get him three more hitters. … I felt good with where Blake's stuff was at."

Thus continued a recurring theme in the NLCS: Every time the Dodgers have gained some ground, the Brewers have taken it right back.

"I think it's what it's all about in the game," Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. "To be that locked in that you respond every time. It's resiliency. It's a belief. It's all those things. Our guys have done it, they've responded."

Snell had not surrendered a home run in 10 prior starts this year (nine in the regular season and one in the NLDS against Atlanta). To give up three in one start was frustrating, but he received little support from an offense that has gone a collective 3-for-32 with runners in scoring position this postseason after Smith's bases-loaded double.

And as a result, the Dodgers are staring down elimination.

"It sucks. But it's part of it," Snell said. "How do we bounce back? How do we fight? I think that's the most important thing. It's us coming together and finding a way to win."

• Key takeaways after Game 3: Can Glasnow help Dodgers stay alive?

The Dodgers' backs are against the wall, but they are set up well for Thursday. They have not lost any of the previous seven postseason contests that Game 4 starter Tyler Glasnow has pitched in. He has a 3.60 ERA in three elimination games, all with the Rays. Behind him, L.A.'s full bullpen -- with the possible exception of Justin Wrobleski, who threw 1 2/3 innings on 32 pitches on Wednesday -- should be available.

Games 1 and 2 starters Tarik Skubal and Yamamoto are not expected to be available because should the Dodgers make it out of Game 4, they will be needed to start Games 5 and 6.

On the road to back-to-back championships, the Dodgers were twice on the brink of elimination. They came back after being down 2-1 to the Padres in the 2024 NLDS and 3-2 to the Blue Jays in the 2025 World Series.

In those series, the Dodgers needed to win consecutive games. Now, they'll need to win four in a row to keep their three-peat bid going.

"We’ve never been in this big of a hole, but we’ve had our backs against the wall plenty of times before, and we’ve come out of it," Kiké Hernández said. "We’re just trying to do it one more time."

During the regular season, the Dodgers had 10 winning streaks of at least four games -- albeit with far lower stakes. As they try to begin another on Thursday with their season on the line, Roberts will remind his team that their sole focus needs to be winning: one pitch at a time, one inning at a time, one day at a time.

And while he's been in this position before, he won't go out of his way to remind his team of his place in history.

"I think they've seen the documentary," Roberts said. "They know it can happen."