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| Milwaukee Brewers batter Keon Broxton reacts after his solo home run during the ninth inning against the Colorado Rockies in National League Divisional Series game three on Sunday at Coors Field in Denver. Photo by Gary C. Caskey/UPI |
By Connor Grott, UPI
The Milwaukee Brewers used a masterful performance from pitcher Wade Miley to pick up a 6-0 victory against the Colorado Rockies to advance to their first NLCS since 2011.
Miley pitched into the fifth inning, and the Brewers' bullpen once again shut down the Rockies to earn their 11th straight win and a 3-0 series sweep.
The Brewers' pitching staff held the Colorado lineup to a combined two runs and 14 hits in the entire series, with the Rockies scoring in only one inning out of 28.
Miley threw 4 2/3 innings and only gave up three hits with two strikeouts.
Milwaukee got on the board in the first inning after Travis Shaw scored Christian Yelich on a fielder's choice. Later in the fourth inning, first baseman Jesus Aguilar hit a solo home run to give the Brewers a 2-0 lead.
The Brewers continued their roll in the sixth inning, scoring on two Colorado miscues from pitcher Scott Oberg -- Mike Moustakas scoring on a balk and Erik Kratz on a wild pitch -- to go up 4-0.
Orlando Arcia and Keon Broxton added back-to-back homers in the ninth inning off Rockies reliever Wade Davis to seal the 6-0 victory.
Colorado starter German Marquez was the losing pitcher for the Rockies. He went five innings, allowing seven hits and two earned runs with five strikeouts.
Brewers reliever Corbin Burnes was awarded the win. He pitched two innings and did not give up a hit or run, and struck out two.
The Brewers will play the winner of the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers series, with Game 1 of the NLCS scheduled for Friday at Miller Park.
Atlanta Braves 6, Los Angeles Dodgers 5
It came down to the wire, but the Atlanta Braves avoided a sweep after reliever Arodys Vizcaino escaped a ninth-inning jam to force Game 4 after a 6-5 win Sunday at SunTrust Park.
The Braves cut their NLDS deficit to 2-1, with Game 4 coming on Monday afternoon at Atlanta.
Rookie outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. came up huge with a grand slam in the second inning as Atlanta jumped out to an early 5-0 lead. Braves outfielder Nick Markakis scored on a bases-loaded walk prior to the grand slam, giving Atlanta a 1-0 advantage.
At the age of 20, Acuna was the youngest player to smash a grand slam in MLB postseason history. The New York Yankees' Mickey Mantle held the previous record at 21 years old (1953 World Series).
The Dodgers' offense came to life in the next inning. Justin Turner drilled a two-RBI single to cut the Braves' lead to 5-2.
Los Angeles pushed across two more runs in the top of the fifth -- after home runs from Chris Taylor and Max Muncy -- to tie the score at 5-5.
Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman came through in the bottom of the sixth, connecting on his first career postseason home run. Freeman's 396-foot moonshot to right field proved to be the game-deciding run.
"My heart's still pounding," Freeman said to reporters following the game. "That's how we've been all year. ... I like our chances. We've got a uniform on, so we know we've got a chance."
Vizcaino faced trouble in the ninth inning. With runners on first and second and no outs, he struck out Muncy, Manny Machado and Brian Dozier to end the game and prevent a heartbreaking defeat.
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