The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-1 on Sunday night in Game 1 of the NLCS, a rematch a year in the making. Milwaukee took control with a fifth-inning run and held on for the win.
The go-ahead run
Rookie Luis Lara delivered the decisive hit, stinging a first-pitch changeup from Tarik Skubal up the middle to score Garrett Mitchell. Mitchell had drawn a leadoff walk and advanced to second on a Cooper Pratt sacrifice bunt. Milwaukee manufactured the run and protected the lead for the rest of the game, a formula that captured its push to the NLCS. It also showed that this Brewers team is not the one that was swept by the Dodgers last year.
Bullpen was the star
Milwaukee’s relievers were the story of Game 1. DL Hall, Abner Uribe, Aaron Ashby and Trevor Megill combined for 4⅔ scoreless innings and escaped several tough spots. Ashby was especially effective, covering two innings and inducing a pair of eighth-inning infield popups from Freddie Freeman and Shohei Ohtani.
Three double plays changed the game
Jacob Misiorowski struggled early, but the Brewers’ defense repeatedly bailed him out. Milwaukee turned 6-4-3 double plays to end both the first and second innings. After Misiorowski exited in the fifth, Hall induced another inning-ending double play to snuff out a potential Dodgers rally.
What it means for the Dodgers
This is only the second time since the Dodgers’ championship run began in 2024 that they have lost the opening game of a playoff series. The first was in last year’s World Series, when they bounced back to beat the Blue Jays in Game 2 with Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the mound. Yamamoto will start Game 2 on Monday at 5 p.m. ET, and Los Angeles faces a 2-0 series deficit against a team that has proven it can win in October.