Brewers beat Dodgers 2-1 to take NLCS Game 1
The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-1 on Sunday night to open the NL Championship Series. Brice Turang homered off Tarik Skubal, and Luis Lara drove in the go-ahead run. Game 2 is Monday in Milwaukee, with Yoshinobu Yamamoto facing Logan Henderson.
Milwaukee took the first game of the National League Championship Series on Sunday night, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-1 at home. It was the first NLCS between two 100-win teams since 1976, the AP reported.
The Dodgers scored first when Shohei Ohtani came home on an Andy Pages single in the second inning, a long inning in which Los Angeles made Brewers starter Jacob Misiorowski throw 35 pitches. Misiorowski limited the damage by getting Kiké Hernández to ground into an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded.
Brice Turang tied the game with a leadoff home run off Tarik Skubal in the fourth. It was his second career postseason homer. "I wasn't trying to hit a homer," Turang told MLB.com. "I was trying to hit a nice line drive back up the middle."
In the fifth, Garrett Mitchell drew a leadoff walk and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by rookie Cooper Pratt, and another rookie, Luis Lara, then grounded an RBI single into center field. "A leadoff walk just can't happen," Skubal said afterward, according to the AP.
From there, Milwaukee's bullpen took over, as four relievers held the Dodgers to just two hits over the final innings. DL Hall got Freddie Freeman to ground into a double play right after replacing Misiorowski, and Trevor Megill closed out the win in the ninth inning. The AP says the Brewers bullpen has allowed one earned run in 23 2/3 innings this postseason.
The win ended a run of seven straight playoff losses to Los Angeles, including a sweep in last year's NLCS. The Dodgers, chasing a third straight title, went 1 for 6 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base, the Los Angeles Times reported. "It's going to be a long series," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.
Game 2 is Monday in Milwaukee. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who is 8-1 in 11 postseason games, starts for the Dodgers. Logan Henderson, who went 2-0 against Los Angeles this season, starts for the Brewers.
What we know: Milwaukee leads the best-of-seven series 1-0 after a 2-1 win behind Turang's homer, Lara's single and four scoreless relievers.
What we don't: Whether the Brewers can hold the Dodgers' lineup down again when Yamamoto takes the mound in Game 2.
Where outlets agree The AP and the Los Angeles Times both report that Turang's homer off Skubal tied the game and Lara's fifth-inning single won Game 1 for the Brewers, 2-1.
Where they differ The outlets cited here report the same key facts so far.