The Dodgers had chances early, chances late, and a few more in between. None of it was enough to stop the Brewers from taking Game 2 of the National League Championship Series, 7-4, on Monday and moving into a 2-0 series lead before the matchup shifts to Los Angeles.
Milwaukee’s night started with rookie right-hander Logan Henderson on the mound, and the Dodgers drew first blood against him in the opening frame. Mookie Betts thought he had struck out, but the call was challenged successfully and the at-bat continued. Betts drew a walk, Freddie Freeman moved him along with a groundout, a wild pitch pushed him to third, and Teoscar Hernandez finished the sequence with a sacrifice fly.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto opened for Los Angeles and looked like he might be headed for another October shutdown after getting a leadoff strikeout. But the Brewers quickly found traffic.
Brice Turang, after falling behind 0-2, benefited from two called balls that weren’t challenged and turned the at-bat into a one-out double. Five pitches later, William Contreras tied it with a single.
Yamamoto escaped the inning, but he had already thrown 20 pitches.
The third inning brought more of the same kind of pressure, and more missed opportunities for the Dodgers to chase a strikeout. Tommy Edman and Betts opened with back-to-back singles, but Henderson then made a pickoff error that allowed Edman to score and restore the Dodgers’ lead. Milwaukee answered right back in the bottom half.
Turang again fell behind 0-2 and again saw two pitches called balls that could have been challenged. That at-bat ended with a walk.
Jake Bauers followed with a marathon 12-pitch battle, fouling off six straight offerings before taking ball four on Yamamoto’s 73rd pitch of the night to load the bases. Christian Yelich then lined a two-run single through to give Milwaukee the lead.
Yamamoto’s night ended after 2.2 innings, and Alex Vesia came in to strike out the next hitter and stop the damage there.
Los Angeles clawed back in the fifth. Kyle Tucker doubled to open the frame, Edman bunted him over, and another errant throw from Henderson on the play allowed a run to score.
Betts then advanced Edman to third with a grounder, and Freeman followed with a sacrifice fly. Milwaukee challenged the call at the plate, but it stood, and the Dodgers were back in front.
The lead didn’t last. In the bottom of the inning, Contreras crushed a 436-foot solo homer to square the game again. Then in the sixth, after the Dodgers went down in order, Contreras struck again, this time lining an RBI single on the first pitch he saw to put the Brewers ahead 5-4.
Milwaukee kept piling on in the eighth. Edgardo Henriquez, already at eight pitches from the previous inning, surrendered a leadoff single to David Hamilton.
Hamilton stole second, moved to third on a groundout, and Turang cashed him in with an RBI single three pitches later. Henriquez then issued a four-pitch walk to Contreras, and Justin Wrobleski entered only to give up another RBI single three pitches into his outing, stretching the margin to 7-4.
Shohei Ohtani led off the ninth with a flyout and dropped to 3-for-20 in the postseason. Will Smith also flied out, and Miguel Rojas, pinch-hitting for Max Muncy, struck out to finish it.
The Brewers leave with a 2-0 cushion, and the Dodgers head home needing to dig out of the hole.
In Other News...
Brice Turang Gave The Brewers Exactly What This NLCS Opener Needed
The NLCS opener had the feel Milwaukee needed from the start: tight pitching, clean defense, and a crowd that kept leaning into every small break. Brice Turang was in the middle of all of it, helping the Brewers stay attached in a game where run prevention mattered almost as much as run scoring, and where one sharp play or one well-timed swing could change the entire mood.
Turang supplied both. His defense helped Milwaukee navigate an early jam and keep the deficit from growing, then he came through with the kind of home run that can tilt a playoff game and settle a dugout. With the bullpen backing him up and the atmosphere building around him, the Brewers had exactly the sort of jolt they were hoping for in a series opener like this, even if the full impact of that night was still left to be decided. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Won Their Way But One NLCS Concern Just Got Bigger
The Brewers opened the National League Championship Series with exactly the kind of tense, low-scoring win they needed, slipping past the Dodgers 2-1 in Game 1. Jacob Misiorowski did not have his cleanest night, but Milwaukees bullpen picked up the slack with 4 2/3 scoreless innings, and the defense helped steady everything with three double plays as the Brewers kept the game from getting away.
Misiorowskis fastball was not fooling enough hitters, and the shortened outing only sharpens the attention on how Milwaukee will handle the rest of this series. The Brewers won the opener anyway, which is the important part, but against a lineup like Los Angeles, they will need more than run prevention and clean gloves if the concern around their young starter grows into a bigger issue. [Read more 🡒]
Pat Murphy Sounds All In On Jackson Chourios October Moment
As the Brewers turn their attention to the Dodgers, Pat Murphy made it clear that Jackson Chourio has been one of the defining reasons Milwaukee has been able to keep its October run alive. The left fielder has stood out for the kind of all-around impact that matters most this time of year, with Murphy pointing to his steady defense, consistent approach and knack for coming through when the pressure rises.
Chourio has also given Milwaukee needed production at the plate in the postseason, becoming a central part of the offense in key moments. His work so far has already changed the feel of the Brewers October, and with a matchup like this one looming, the attention on what he can do next only figures to grow. [Read more 🡒]