The Brewers got exactly the kind of start they needed in Game 1 of the 2026 National League Championship Series.
Behind Jacob Misiorowski, Milwaukee opened the series with a 2-1 win over the Dodgers on Sunday night and moved within three victories of the World Series. That already gives the Brewers more wins in this NLCS than they had in last year’s matchup with Los Angeles.
The biggest swing of the night came from a rookie who barely had a chance to settle in. With Tarik Skubal starting for the Dodgers, Milwaukee put Luis Lara in the lineup, and he delivered.
Lara finished 1-for-3, but the hit that mattered came in the fifth inning, when he stepped in with a runner on second and lined a base hit up the middle to give the Brewers a 2-1 lead. That run held up the rest of the way.
For Lara, it was a breakthrough moment. He played only two games against the Padres in the National League Division Series and went 0-for-3, so this was his first playoff hit. It also happened to be the biggest hit of his professional career so far.
Misiorowski did the rest of the heavy lifting early. He worked 4 1/3 innings, gave up one run, struck out five and walked three.
It wasn’t a spotless outing, but it put Milwaukee in position to win, which is what mattered most. In the fifth, after Enrique Hernandez flied out to center and Mookie Betts drew a walk, the Brewers went to DL Hall, who got Freddie Freeman to ground into a double play.
Misiorowski’s night ended a little sooner than expected, but the Brewers never hesitated to lean on their bullpen. He was starting to fade, and Milwaukee handled it the right way rather than pushing too far. Pat Murphy and the Brewers made the move, and it paid off.
Game 2 is set for Monday in Milwaukee, with Logan Henderson starting for the Brewers and Yoshinobu Yamamoto going for Los Angeles. First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. ET.
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Mookie Betts has reportedly chosen to stay elsewhere since 2022, and Teoscar Hernandez once left the hotel during last years NLCS because his wife was uncomfortable. Muncys reaction lands on the other end of that spectrum, the kind of shrugging confidence that fits a veteran team on the road, even if the old hotel stories keep drawing fresh attention every time the Dodgers come through Milwaukee. [Read more 🡒]