Brice Turang’s opposite-field home run and rookie Luis Lara’s timely single powered the Milwaukee Brewers to a 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday night at American Family Field, giving the Brewers a 1-0 lead in the National League Championship Series.
In a rematch of last year’s NLCS, which the Dodgers swept, Milwaukee snapped a seven-game postseason losing streak against Los Angeles and claimed the first meeting of two 100-win teams in an NLCS since the Cincinnati Reds eliminated the Philadelphia Phillies in 1976.
Los Angeles struck first in the second. Shohei Ohtani walked, Teoscar Hernández singled, and Andy Pages delivered an RBI single to right. The Dodgers loaded the bases later in the frame, but a double play limited the damage to one run against Jacob Misiorowski, who labored through a 35-pitch inning.
Tarik Skubal dominated early, allowing just one baserunner through three innings. Turang broke through to lead off the fourth, driving a 2-0 fastball 384 feet into the left-center bullpen for a game-tying solo home run—his second career postseason homer.
Milwaukee seized the lead for good in the fifth with small-ball execution. Garrett Mitchell drew a leadoff walk, Cooper Pratt advanced him with a sacrifice bunt, and Lara lined a first-pitch single to center that scored Mitchell. Skubal exited after five innings, charged with two earned runs on five hits, seven strikeouts, and two walks (81 pitches).
Misiorowski lasted 4⅓ innings and allowed the one run. DL Hall earned the win in relief after inducing an inning-ending double play. Abner Uribe escaped a sixth-inning jam with a key strikeout, Aaron Ashby worked two scoreless innings (including pop-ups from Freddie Freeman and Ohtani in the eighth), and Trevor Megill closed it out for the save.
Megill walked Kyle Tucker and pinch-hitter Josue De Paula with two outs in the ninth, but Mookie Betts flew out to the center-field warning track to end it. The Dodgers finished with seven hits and nine runners left on base while grounding into three double plays; Milwaukee had six hits and no errors.
The Brewers’ bullpen combined for 4⅔ scoreless innings and continued its postseason dominance. Game 2 is set for Monday afternoon in Milwaukee.
