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. Rookie Luis Lara delivered the decisive hit, stinging a first-pitch changeup from Tarik Skubal up the middle to score Garrett Mitchell in the fifth inning.
The moment that decided the game
Mitchell drew a leadoff walk and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Cooper Pratt. Lara then put the Brewers ahead on the next pitch. Milwaukee can score in many ways, but taking a fifth-inning lead on a manufactured run and holding it for the rest of the game captured its path to the NLCS. It also showed that this is not the same Brewers team that the Dodgers swept last year.
The star: Milwaukee’s bullpen
The Brewers’ relievers combined for 4⅔ scoreless innings. DL Hall, Abner Uribe, Aaron Ashby and Trevor Megill each worked out of tight spots. Ashby was especially effective, covering two innings and inducing a pair of eighth-inning infield popups from Freddie Freeman and Shohei Ohtani. Uribe also struck out a batter with two runners on to keep Milwaukee in front.
The stat that defined the game
Milwaukee turned three double plays. Jacob Misiorowski ran into trouble early, but the Brewers’ defense bailed him out with 6-4-3 double plays to end the first and second innings. After Misiorowski left in the fifth, Hall induced another inning-ending double play to stop a potential 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 came in last year’s World Series, and Los Angeles bounced back to beat the Blue Jays in Game 2 with Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the mound. Yamamoto starts Game 2 on Monday at 5 p.m. ET, and the Dodgers know that falling into a 2-0 hole against a team this strong could create serious trouble.
Key moments from the game
Skubal struck out six batters through the first three innings. Misiorowski threw a 102 mph fastball during his time on the mound. Turang tied the game for Milwaukee before Lara’s go-ahead hit, setting up the Brewers’ lead that they would protect to the final out.
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