Luis Lara delivered the decisive blow, a rookie single that gave the Milwaukee Brewers a 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 1 of the NLCS on Sunday night, a rematch of last year’s NL Championship Series that Milwaukee had been waiting a year to play.
The moment that decided it
Lara stung 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 sacrifice bunt by Cooper Pratt. The run came in the fifth inning, and Milwaukee held the lead for the rest of the game. Brice Turang had earlier tied the score, and the Brewers’ ability to manufacture a run and protect it showed how far this team has come since being swept by the Dodgers last year.
Bullpen was the star
Milwaukee’s relievers combined to throw 4⅔ scoreless innings and escaped several difficult spots. DL Hall, Abner Uribe, Aaron Ashby and Trevor Megill all contributed. Ashby was especially effective, covering two innings and inducing a pair of infield popups in the eighth from Freddie Freeman and Shohei Ohtani. Uribe also struck out a batter to strand two runners and keep the Brewers ahead.
Defense bailed out Misiorowski
Jacob Misiorowski struggled early, but Milwaukee’s defense kept the game under control. The Brewers turned 6-4-3 double plays to end both the first and second innings. After Misiorowski exited in the fifth, Hall got an inning-ending double play to stop another potential rally. Milwaukee turned three double plays in all.
What it means for the Dodgers
Since the Dodgers’ championship run began in 2024, this is only the second time they have lost the opening game of a playoff series. The first came in last year’s World Series, when they bounced back to beat the Blue Jays in Game 2 behind Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Los Angeles now faces a 0-1 hole in the series, and Yamamoto takes the mound for Game 2 on Monday at 5 p.m. ET. Starting down 2-0 against a team as strong as the Brewers could create serious trouble, so the Dodgers need a strong answer.
