The Japan Times - Dodgers on brink of World Series return as Blue Jays pull level with Mariners

Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts and second baseman Tommy Edman both drove in runs while starter Tyler Glasnow recorded eight strikeouts in 5.2 innings in front of 51,251 fans at Dodger Stadium.

The result leaves the Brewers needing to stage a near-miraculous comeback in the National League Championship Series to keep their World Series hopes alive.

Only one team, the 2004 Boston Red Sox, has ever overturned a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven Major League Baseball playoff series.

The Dodgers, who are aiming to become the first team in 25 years to win back-to-back World Series titles, can complete a series sweep in game four on Friday.

The winner of the series will face either the Seattle Mariners or Toronto Blue Jays in the Major League Baseball championship showcase.

The Blue Jays knotted the American League Championship Series at 2-2 with an 8-2 victory in Seattle.

The Dodgers, who had won games one and two in Milwaukee with back-to-back pitching gems from Blake Snell and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, once again gradually wore down their opponents to clinch a ruthlessly efficient win.

Brewers skipper Pat Murphy had sprung a surprise by opting to start Aaron Ashby from the mound, but the Dodgers quickly had the left-hander under pressure.

Shohei Ohtani's lead-off triple set the tone, and Betts then doubled to make it 1-0. After walking Freddie Freeman, Murphy swiftly pulled Ashby and replaced him with livewire rookie Jacob Misiorowski.

Misiorowski stopped the bleeding to end the inning and the Brewers hit back in the top of the second when Jake Bauers's drive to center-field allowed Caleb Durbin to score.

A sharp throw from Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy got Bauers out at home plate shortly afterwards, before Glasnow and Misiorowski dominated thereafter to bottle up both offenses.

The breakthrough came in the bottom of the sixth inning, with Dodgers catcher Will Smith blasting a single before Freeman drew a walk. Edman then uncorked a line drive to send Smith home and put the Dodgers 2-1 up.

Misiorowski then exited with a final line of nine strikeouts across five innings, with reliever Abner Uribe taking over.

Uribe's stint on the mound began badly though when a wild pickoff attempt at first base allowed Freeman to score for a 3-1 lead.

The Dodgers bullpen took over with Alex Vesia, Blake Treinen and Anthony Banda shutting down Milwaukee before Japanese ace Roki Sasaki bagged the final three outs.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts believes his star-studded team still has plenty of room for improvement offensively.

"I wouldn't say it's a concern, but we've got to be better," Roberts said. "I think you're always trying to figure out how you can improve as a ballclub."

- Scherzer shines -

In Seattle, 41-year-old Blue Jays pitcher Max Scherzer turned back the clock, allowing just two runs in 5.2 innings as Toronto won their second straight to pull level with the Mariners.

Andres Gimenez homered for the second time in as many games and drove in two more runs with an eighth-inning single for the Blue Jays, who will try to claim another game in Seattle on Friday.

Josh Naylor ripped a home run off Scherzer in the second inning, putting the Mariners on the board first for the third straight game.

But Gimenez homered to put Toronto up 2-1 in the third and the Blue Jays added another with a bases-loaded walk.

Toronto tacked on two runs in the fourth inning to push their lead to 5-1 and a Seattle run in the bottom of the sixth was quickly erased when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. delivered his second homer in as many games.

Scherzer, a three-time Cy Young Award winner who won a World Series title with Washington in 2019 and Texas in 2023, notched his first postseason victory since game one of the 2019 World Series.

"These are must-win situations," Scherzer told Fox Sports. "You lay it all on the line."

K.Abe--JT