Unsung hero from Brewers' Game 3 victory overshadows Pat Murphy's questionable bullpen decision

From Jake Bauers' unbelievable 11-pitch, go-ahead home run off Blake Snell to Garrett Mitchell's subsequent solo shot to Jackson Chourio's leadoff homer and Robert Gasser's five scoreless innings, there were a number of "heroes" in the Milwaukee Brewers' Game 3 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers last night. However, one less obvious hero shined in 2.1 innings of relief immediately after manager Pat Murphy made a questionable bullpen decision.

Entering the bottom of the sixth inning, the Brewers were sporting a 1-0 lead over the Dodgers -- the result of Chourio's leadoff homer being followed by a pitching duel between Gasser and Blake Snell. However, with Gasser at 72 pitches and the heart of Los Angeles' order coming to the plate for a third time, Murphy elected to go to his bullpen for the sixth frame. The Brewers' skipper called upon Abner Uribe as his first man out of the 'pen last night, which was by no means a poor decision. Though Uribe has appeared in every postseason game this year, he's excelled in a modified role where he's asked to face the opposing lineup's tough string of righties, whether that's in the sixth, seventh, or eighth inning.

However, Uribe simply didn't have it last night. While his velocity was fine and the shape of his sinker was normal, the flame-throwing right-hander couldn't locate his fastball, and, as a result, walked the first two batters he faced -- Teoscar Hernández and Kyle Tucker. Dave Roberts then elected to pinch-hit Max Muncy for Andy Pages, setting up a tough matchup for Uribe, but the Brewers' elite set-up man struck out Muncy and gave Murphy a chance to turn to his 'pen once again and replace the clearly struggling Uribe.

With DL Hall warming in the 'pen and Shohei Ohtani stepping to the plate, Brewers fans were expecting to see Murphy emerge from the dugout and replace Uribe with the ready-and-waiting southpaw, but Milwaukee's skipper didn't make the move. Instead, Uribe walked the struggling Ohtani on five pitches, loading the bases and creating a difficult decision for Murphy. With Will Smith coming to the plate, and only the left-handed Hall warmed up in the bullpen, Murphy was choosing between leaving a wild Uribe on the bump or giving the Dodgers' catcher an easier matchup with Hall.

Murphy ultimately elected to keep Uribe in the game, and Smith crushed a first-pitch center-cut sinker off the wall in left-center that scored two runs and gave the Dodgers the lead. Following the momentum-shifting hit, Murphy finally brought Hall into the game, but the damage was already done. However, the performance that Hall, who was truly the unsung hero of last night's win, turned in and the heroics from the Brewers' offense in the top of the seventh, quickly made fans forget about Murphy's rare bullpen misstep.

DL Hall's dominant performance in Game 3 was key to the Brewers incredible comeback

Hall entered the game with one out, Smith standing on second, and Ohtani on third base. Roberts once again went to his bench for right-handed infielder Kiké Hernández, who seemingly always comes up with a big hit in the postseason. However, Hall quickly struck out Hernández and then struck out Tommy Edman too, escaping the jam with the Brewers trailing by just one run.

Hall's outing, however, was far from over. Murphy kept his southpaw in the game for the seventh inning after the Brewers took a 4-2 lead in the top half of the frame, and Hall turned in the shutdown inning that Milwaukee needed to keep the momentum on their side. With just six pitches, Hall retired Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and Teoscar Hernández in order and sent the game to the eighth.

But Hall still wasn't done. With Aaron Ashby available, but also coming off 47 total pitches in Games 1 and 2 of the series, Murphy elected to stick with Hall for the start of the eighth inning. Hall retired two tough lefties -- Tucker and Muncy -- before allowing a groundball single to Ohtani. At that point, Murphy removed Hall from the game and turned to his closer, Trevor Megill, for a four-out save.

All in all, Hall covered 2.1 innings, worked out of a jam to keep the Brewers' deficit at one in the sixth, allowed just one baserunner, and struck out two batters in what was quietly one of the most important pieces of Milwaukee's Game 3 victory. Hall earned the win, and is now, surprisingly, the franchise leader in postseason pitching wins with three to his name. Pair that with the fact that Hall's performance overshadowed the questionable decision Murphy made to keep Uribe in the game, and the southpaw is likely to get even more praise from his skipper for his excellent relief appearance on Wednesday night.

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