MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee Brewers drew first blood in the National League Championship Series on Sunday night, riding a clutch home run from Brice Turang and a lockdown bullpen performance to secure a 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
In a highly anticipated matchup between two 100-win juggernauts—the first of its kind in the NLCS since 1976—the Brewers snapped a seven-game postseason losing streak against the Dodgers. The win was a statement for a franchise seeking its first World Series title.
The game turned in the fifth inning when rookie Luis Lara delivered a tiebreaking RBI single off Dodgers ace Tarik Skubal. That slim lead proved to be enough, as the Brewers’ bullpen stifled the potent Los Angeles lineup. Milwaukee relievers held the Dodgers to just two hits over the final four-plus innings, continuing a dominant postseason stretch that has seen the unit surrender only one earned run in 23 2/3 innings.
The Dodgers, aiming to become the first team to win three consecutive championships since the 1998-2000 New York Yankees, struggled to capitalize on opportunities. Los Angeles stranded nine runners and grounded into three costly double plays, including a critical sequence in the fifth when DL Hall replaced Brewers starter Jacob Misiorowski and immediately induced a grounder from Freddie Freeman to end the threat.
“You can’t go into a long series against a team that has the best record in baseball and expect to just win four,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “It’s going to be a long series. We knew it coming in.”
Misiorowski, the favorite for the NL Cy Young Award, endured a taxing outing. He was pushed hard in the second inning, throwing 35 pitches and giving up an RBI single to Andy Pages that plated Shohei Ohtani. Despite the high pitch count and traffic on the bases, the young right-hander limited the damage, notably escaping a bases-loaded jam by inducing a double play from Kiké Hernández.
Turang provided the spark for Milwaukee’s offense in the fourth, smashing a leadoff solo shot into the home bullpen to tie the game. The home run was a breakthrough for Turang, who had struggled significantly in last year’s NLCS.
As the clock ticked toward the final frame, the Brewers’ depth shone through. Aaron Ashby provided two steady innings of relief before Trevor Megill came on to secure the save. Despite walking two batters in the ninth, Megill induced a final, nervous flyout to the center-field warning track by Mookie Betts to seal the win.
Game 2 is set for Monday in Milwaukee. The Dodgers will look to bounce back behind Yoshinobu Yamamoto, while the Brewers will hand the ball to Logan Henderson in hopes of taking a commanding 2-0 series lead.
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