Brewers vs. Dodgers NLCS Game 3 picks: L.A. turns to Blake Snell, struggling Shohei Ohtani to be in lineup

No team has three-peated as World Series champion since the Yankees from 1998-2000, and the chances of the 2026 Los Angeles Dodgers doing so are quite dim with the team down 2-0 in the NLCS to Milwaukee. Following a travel day, the series resumes tonight from the City of Angels, and there was actually talk we might see a struggling Shohei Ohtani out of the L.A. lineup -- but that will not be the case.

It should be a typically beautiful night in Los Angeles, although winds are blowing out about 9 mph at Dodger Stadium for the 8 p.m. ET start on FS1. At -185 on the money line, the Dodgers are taking 73% of handle and 76% of bets, while the Over 7.5 is seeing 88% of handle and 64% of bets. On the updated series line, Milwaukee is -285 and Los Angeles +235. That it ends in five is the +310 leader. A total of 36 of the past 38 teams that faced a 2-0 deficit in a best-of-seven series were ultimately eliminated.

This marks the first two-game series deficit for the Dodgers in this championship run. They did rally from down 2-1 in the 2024 NLDS vs. San Diego and from down 3-2 in last year's World Series against Toronto. The last time they trailed a series 2-0 was the last series they lost, in the 2023 NLDS.

Who would have guessed that playoff maestro Yoshinobu Yamamato wouldn't even pitch three full innings in the 7-4 Game 2 loss on Monday? But what is really plaguing L.A. is an inability to hit with runners in scoring position. The team is 1-for-10 with RISP in this series and 2-for-26 overall (.077) in the playoffs. Andy Pages is the lone Dodger with a hit with runners in scoring position in the postseason. None of the Dodgers' four runs scored via a hit in Game 2.

A lot of that blame is falling on the feet of the former three-time league MVP Ohtani. While battling injuries, he has not homered since Aug. 18 – his 110 plate appearances without one are a career high -- and he is hitting just .197 with a .629 OPS in his past 35 games overall. In these playoffs, he's 3-for-20 with no extra-base hits and seven strikeouts.

I would have found it incredibly hard to believe the Dodgers would have benched their $700 million man unless he asked for it. And that didn't happen in a meeting with Manager Dave Roberts on Tuesday.

"He was adamant that he can help us," Roberts said. "He's well enough to help us win a baseball game. So that's all I needed to hear. I've never wavered in my belief in him."

Maybe Roberts tries him at another lineup spot tonight, already moving Ohtani from second to start these playoffs to cleanup. And it's not just Ohtani, as Will Smith is just 1-for-23 this postseason and Mookie Betts 5-for-21 without an extra-base hit.

Two-time Cy Young winner and lefty Blake Snell takes the hill for Los Angeles on Wednesday. He's such a good pitcher, but such an injury risk, which is why you can't count on the 33-year-old much in the regular season. He was limited to only nine starts this year and was 4-1 with a 1.90 ERA.

One thing that can get Snell is wildness. That was the case on Oct. 4 in Game 2 of the NLDS at home vs. Atlanta, when he lasted only 3.2 innings because five walks hiked his pitch count to 90 by that point. He allowed a run and three hits in a no-decision. Snell is now 7-5 with a 3.23 ERA in 19 career playoff appearances spanning 86.1 innings.

He didn't see the Brewers in his 2026 limited action and last faced them in Game 1 of the 2025 NLCS in Milwaukee. Snell got the win with eight shutout innings, one hit allowed, 10 strikeouts and no walks. Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy called it perhaps the most dominant performance he's seen by an opposing pitcher in his time with the team.

For tonight, the SportsLine Projection Model forecasts Snell at 5.0 innings, 6.2 strikeouts, 3.7 hits allowed and 1.4 earned runs. He's +197 to personally win, as clearly the sportsbooks have some concerns Snell will even go five.

The Brewers haven't started catcher/DH Gary Sanchez yet in a 2026 playoff game, but I wonder if might tonight as he's about the only Milwaukee batter with good regular-season career splits off Snell at 7-for-23 with five homers, a double and eight walks.

While the Dodgers aren't hitting with RISP this postseason, the Brewers went 6-for-15 in Game 2 alone and are now batting .281 (16-for-57) in that scenario, 88 points better than L.A. is hitting overall. Willson Contreras has been especially clutch.

On the mound tonight is lefty Robert Gasser. The 27-year-old started the season in Triple-A Nashville but finished 5-5 with a 3.87 ERA in 21 outings for the big club. His first career playoff start was last Wednesday in San Diego, and Gasser allowed a run and three hits over four.

Including that, he's 2-0 with a 1.73 ERA over his past seven games overall – with one relief appearance in there. Gasser didn't fare great in two starts this year against the Dodgers at 0-2 with a 5.91 ERA and .273 opponents' batting average.

Ohtani is 0-for-7 off him, with four Ks. Freddie Freeman is 2-for-2 with two doubles. The model forecasts Gasser at 5.5 innings, 4.7 strikeouts, 4.3 hits allowed and 1.9 earned runs. It's interesting that DraftKings doesn't offer a win price on him all.