MILWAUKEE -- Yoshinobu Yamamoto kept changing the question. Jake Bauers kept finding an answer.
The Dodgers’ right-hander used five pitch types in a third-inning confrontation that stretched seven minutes and four seconds in Game 2 of the NL Championship Series Monday night. Bauers kept the inning alive through six consecutive two-strike foul balls, making one of October’s best pitchers work for an out that never came.
By the time he walked to first, the bases were loaded, Christian Yelich was ready, and Yamamoto had run out of room to work.
“It just got to a certain point where it was straight compete mode,” Bauers said. “A little bit like a blackout, just kind of in the flow a little bit.”
Milwaukee still needed Yelich’s two-run single, William Contreras' repeated heroics and five perfect innings from its bullpen to finish a 7-4 victory at American Family Field. But the 12-pitch walk helped change the shape of Game 2 of the NLCS, forcing Los Angeles to start covering outs with relievers in the third inning.
The Brewers head to Dodger Stadium with a 2-0 series lead. And Yamamoto, a pitcher who threw a complete game against them in this round last October, left Monday having recorded eight outs.
“That changes the game,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said of Bauers’ at-bat. “I think it's a turning point, I really do.”
The inning began with David Hamilton, batting ninth, singling to center. Jackson Chourio lined out to right before Hamilton stole second base. Afterward, Brice Turang worked a six-pitch walk and Contreras flied out to center.
That left Bauers with two outs, two runners aboard and a pitcher whose repertoire gives hitters plenty to worry about. Before the game, Bauers had identified the trap: trying to guess along with Yamamoto instead of simplifying the plan and trusting his eyes.
Five pitches into their matchup, the count was full.
Seven more pitches would follow.
“It was pretty clear he was trying to get in on me a little bit," said Bauers. "It was a battle of not trying to do too much, don’t open up, let one come over the middle [of the] plate, if it comes, don’t miss it, if not, battle it out until you can take the walk."
From the Brewers’ dugout, Sal Frelick saw something encouraging in the foul balls: Bauers could cover both Yamamoto’s fastball up and in and his splitter down and away.
“He wasn’t cheating,” Frelick said. “He was seeing it well. When he’s doing that, you’re usually going to get a good result.”
Two foul balls gave Dodgers defenders chances near the third-base line. Neither was caught. Yamamoto kept searching along the edges, and Bauers kept getting another pitch.
“I think I was trying to work on the edge of the zone, and some pitches it was really good, but he just stayed on it,” Yamamoto said through interpreter Yoshihiro Sonoda. “He did a good job.”
Finally, a curveball bounced for ball four.
It matched the longest plate appearance of Bauers’ career and was the longest against Yamamoto in his MLB career. It was the 12th postseason walk of at least 12 pitches since pitch counts were first tracked in 1988.
It was also the Brewers' second-longest postseason plate appearance in terms of pitches, behind only Brandon Lockridge's 13-pitch strikeout in Game 3 of the 2025 NLDS against the Cubs' Jameson Taillon at Wrigley Field.
Yelich watched the whole thing unfold from the on-deck circle.
“The deeper the at-bat got, I knew he was getting on, whether it be by hit or walk, whatever it may be,” Yelich said. “You want to follow a great at-bat like that with a good at-bat.”
Two pitches later, he did. Yelich singled to center on Yamamoto’s 75th and final pitch, giving Milwaukee the lead. Alex Vesia replaced Yamamoto and finished a 40-pitch inning.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts had hoped his starter could get through it and provide more length. Instead, Los Angeles faced five-plus innings of bullpen work.
“They had much better at-bats than we did across the board top to bottom, and then they put the ball in play, created havoc. That’s what they do, and we didn’t do that,” Roberts said. “That’s the difference in the game.”
Bauers’ contribution was fitting for a season built on accepting responsibilities, from coming off the bench to playing through a broken toe. Monday’s assignment was simple: Keep the rally moving.
“I knew that was a moment where the guys needed something, the team needed something,” he said.
Seven minutes against Yamamoto sounded exhausting. To Bauers, it was something else.
“It was fun. It was a blast, honestly,” he said. “Any time you can get that locked in doing anything, it’s to me one of the most enjoyable experiences I think a human being can have.”