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The Milwaukee Brewers secured a 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the opening game of the National League Championship Series at American Family Field, relying on Brice Turang's home run and a stellar bullpen effort. The win was Milwaukee's first in the postseason against Los Angeles since Game 6 of the 2018 NLCS.
As expected from a pitching matchup featuring Jacob Misiorowski and Tarik Skubal, runs were scarce. Every at-bat and managerial choice carried significant weight in determining the outcome.
Misiorowski Limits Dodgers Offense
The Dodgers excelled at fouling off Misiorowski's fastball and working deep counts. The National League Cy Young Award frontrunner failed to complete the fifth inning for the second consecutive start. Despite the early exit, Misiorowski kept Los Angeles off the scoreboard, surrendering just one run over 4.1 innings, aided by a crucial contribution from DL Hall.
Hall entered to face one batter and induced an inning-ending double play, preserving a 1-1 tie. The Brewers bullpen, which entered the postseason with the fourth-best fWAR, then took over. Over the final 4.2 innings, they held the Dodgers scoreless. The last four innings were handled by the back-end trio of Trevor Megill, Aaron Ashby, and Abner Uribe.
The game concluded when Megill induced a Mookie Betts flyout that sent Garrett Mitchell to the warning track with two runners on base.
Turang Homer Ties Game Against Skubal
Brice Turang's postseason had been underwhelming at the plate, as he was coming off a 2-for-16 performance in the NLDS. Typically, Skubal is not an ideal pitcher to face when mired in a slump. However, Turang broke out with a significant game.
His fourth-inning homer off Skubal tied the game at 1-1. He turned on an inside sinker and drove it 384 feet to left-center. The 26-year-old has quietly been one of baseball's best players. Over the past two seasons, Turang has an OPS+ above 120. Combined with strong defense and baserunning, he is the type of player who could have a major impact in this series.
Brewers Small Ball Breaks Tied Score
The Brewers knew runs would be at a premium, so they employed their small-ball approach to take the lead against Skubal. The two-time Cy Young Award winner made a rare mistake, issuing a leadoff walk to Garrett Mitchell in the fifth. The two rookies hitting behind him executed perfectly. Cooper Pratt laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Mitchell into scoring position, and Luis Lara delivered a run-scoring single at 101.9 MPH up the middle.
That proved to be enough for the Brewers' bullpen to hand Skubal the loss. The bullpen shut out the Dodgers for the final four innings to secure Game 1.
Originally reported by headtopics.