Robert Gasser, DL Hall and Joey Ortiz had their fingerprints all over the Milwaukee Brewers' Game 3 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series.
All of those players have played a big role for the Brewers this season. Hall has established himself as one of the most trusted relievers on the team, slotting in right next to Aaron Ashby, Abner Uribe and Trevor Megill in Pat Murphy's trust tree. Ortiz has been a sensational defender and turned his season around at the plate after a torrid start, finishing with a .270 average and .730 OPS, both of which are career highs. Gasser was a key arm in the rotation and has delivered two brilliant postseason starts on the road.
None of those players were drafted by the Brewers, but instead came over in two of the most polarizing trades in the recent history of the franchise. Gasser was part of the deal that sent Josh Hader to the Houston Astros, over a year before he hit free agency. Hall and Ortiz were the return for Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes, who was dealt just before spring training, going into a contract year.
Hader was one of the best closers in baseball and in the history of the franchise. He was nine saves short of setting the franchise record, and when the Brewers traded him, they were in first place in the division. They went on to miss the postseason, and the trade left the clubhouse confused.
Burnes was one of the best pitchers in baseball when the Brewers traded him, and many thought the team should have kept him even if it meant him walking in free agency. They were not far from being a World Series contender, and Burnes was a huge piece.
On Wednesday night against the Dodgers, Gasser threw five scoreless innings in his second career postseason start, becoming the first rookie to post a scoreless start in the postseason against the defending champions.
Hall came in to clean up a mess left by Abner Uribe in the sixth inning, recording two consecutive strikeouts with runners on second and third. He then pitched a clean seventh inning and got two more outs in the eighth inning before Trevor Megill came in for a four-out save.
Ortiz had an RBI single in the top of the ninth inning to add an insurance run and made a couple of very nice plays at third base to help Hall work a 1-2-3 seventh inning.
At times, small-market teams like the Brewers have been blamed for helping big-market teams ruin baseball by trading talented players like Hader and Burnes. However, Game 3 proved that the Brewers are playing the long game.