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Los Angeles Dodgers: 5th NLCS berth
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Dodger Stadium on a clear Sunday afternoon, 71 degrees, a gentle breeze blowing left to right, and baseball at its most dramatic. The Milwaukee Brewers, after a hard-fought series, were just three outs away from advancing to the National League Championship Series—but the Los Angeles Dodgers had other plans.
This was a classic example of postseason tension: close, tight, every pitch carrying the weight of a season. Willie Chavez on the mound for Los Angeles was the story early, working seven innings of one-run baseball, mixing precision and poise in a way that can only be described as surgical. He struck out eight, allowed just three hits, and when it came time for J. Kovach to record the final two outs, it was a textbook closer’s performance—calm, methodical, unshakable.
Offensively, it was Cory Brierton, the Dodgers’ first baseman, who earned the MVP honors. He was relentless: three hits, including a double, five runs scored, a home run, and a .550 batting average for the series. Alongside him, W. Cortez provided key support with timely hitting, including a double in the seventh that kept the Dodgers within striking distance. But it was Pedro Huerta, the former Oriole, who delivered the coup de grâce—a two-run, bottom-of-the-ninth hit that stole the series and sent the Dodgers into the National League Championship Series.
For Milwaukee, it was a cruel twist of fate. R. Alvarado had delivered seven strong innings, just four hits and a single run allowed, striking out seven. They battled, they competed, and yet, the postseason can be cruel, and the Dodgers snatched victory from the jaws of near-certain defeat.
When the winning run crossed home plate, 3-2 Dodgers, the crowd erupted. For Los Angeles, a trip to their fifth National League Championship Series awaits, facing the New York Mets, who swept the Reds 3-0. For Milwaukee, it’s a gut punch, a reminder of the fine margins that define October baseball.
This is why we watch. This is why the postseason captivates us: the triumph, the heartbreak, the drama, all unfolding in real time on a stage like Dodger Stadium.
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