In a rematch of last season’s NLCS, the Milwaukee Brewers opened the series with a 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 1, a game that will be remembered as one of the better bullpen performances in this year’s postseason.
Here’s a look at the game’s key stats:
And here’s a look at the bracket:
The Dodgers wasted little time getting the scoring started, as an Andy Pages’ RBI single in the top of the first gave them a 1-0 lead.
But it was all Brewers—and all pitching, really—from there.
Brice Turang’s solo shot in the bottom of the fourth leveled the scoring.
One inning later, Luis Lara’s RBI single gave the Brewers the lead.
But Game 1 was very much about the pitching and the defense for both sides. What else would you expect when Jacob Misiorowski and Tarik Skubal each took the mound?
Credit to the Dodgers—they worked Misiorowski early and drove up his pitch count, forcing him out of the game after just 4.1 innings. The issue for L.A. was that they weren’t able to solve Milwaukee’s bullpen, as four different relievers held them scoreless over the final 5.2 innings.
It wasn’t pretty, and there wasn’t much margin for error—especially when Trevor Megill walked two batters with two outs in the bottom of the ninth and had to face Mookie Betts—but Milwaukee’s pitching depth, defense and timely hitting yet again led the way. They didn’t win 103 games by accident.
They’ll look to make it two in a row against the Dodgers in Game 2 on Monday night at 5 p.m. ET (Fox, FS1).