The Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-1 in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series on Sunday night in Milwaukee. Brice Turang homered off Tarik Skubal, and the Brewers' bullpen held the Dodgers in check after starter Jacob Misiorowski's taxing outing.
Turang and Lara key the win
Luis Lara hit a tiebreaking single off Skubal in the fifth inning to give Milwaukee the lead. The Brewers took the opener in the first NLCS matchup of 100-win teams since the Cincinnati Reds eliminated the Philadelphia Phillies in 1976.
Milwaukee had lost seven consecutive postseason games against the Dodgers, including a sweep in last year's NLCS. Game 2 is scheduled for Monday in Milwaukee, with Yoshinobu Yamamoto starting for the Dodgers and Logan Henderson taking the mound for the Brewers.
Dodgers struggle with runners in scoring position
Los Angeles, aiming to become the first team to win three straight World Series titles since the 1998-2000 New York Yankees, grounded into three double plays, stranded nine runners, and went 1 for 6 with runners in scoring position. The Dodgers are now 2 for 22 in the playoffs.
The Dodgers chased Misiorowski, the favorite for the NL Cy Young Award, in the fifth inning, but managed just two hits against four relievers.
Bullpen delivers in key spots
DL Hall replaced Misiorowski with a runner aboard and got Freddie Freeman to ground into a double play, energizing the crowd of 42,617. Abner Uribe allowed two hits in the sixth, then struck out Andy Pages with runners on the corners to end the inning.
Aaron Ashby pitched two innings before Trevor Megill got three outs for the save. Kyle Tucker and pinch-hitter Josue De Paula walked with two outs in the ninth before Mookie Betts flied out to the center-field warning track.
The Brewers are among five current MLB teams that have never won the World Series.
Misiorowski battles through early trouble
The Dodgers made Misiorowski throw 35 pitches in the second inning. Pages drove in Shohei Ohtani on a ground-ball single into right field, and Tucker loaded the bases when he reached on a 10-pitch walk that included four foul balls. Misiorowski limited the damage when he got Kiké Hernández to bounce into an inning-ending double play.
Turang responded with a leadoff homer into the home bullpen in the fourth. It was his second career postseason homer; he went 1 for 15 with six strikeouts in last year's NLCS.
Milwaukee went ahead for good in the fifth. Garrett Mitchell reached on a leadoff walk and advanced on rookie Cooper Pratt's sacrifice bunt. Lara, another rookie, then grounded an RBI single into center field. The Brewers loaded the bases with two outs, but Skubal escaped the jam when William Contreras flied out to right.
Yamamoto is 8-1 with a 2.14 ERA in 11 postseason appearances. The Japanese right-hander pitched a three-hitter in a 5-1 victory at Milwaukee in Game 2 of last year's NLCS. Henderson is making his second career postseason start; he pitched five-plus innings of two-run ball in Milwaukee's 4-3 win over San Diego in Game 2 of their NL Division Series, and he went 2-0 with a 0.75 ERA in two starts against Los Angeles this season.
