Brewers Beat Dodgers 2-1 in NLCS Game 1

Milwaukee opened the National League Championship Series with a 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday night, as Brice Turang homered and rookie Luis Lara drove in the winning run at home. The Brewers relied on four relievers to protect their narrow lead after Jacob Misiorowski left the game in the fifth inning.

Lara's go-ahead single against Tarik Skubal put Milwaukee ahead in the fifth. The victory ended the Brewers' seven-game postseason losing streak against Los Angeles, which included a sweep in last year's NLCS. Milwaukee also gained an early advantage in a matchup between two teams that each won 100 games during the regular season.

Turang tied the score in the fourth inning with a leadoff home run to left-center field, driving a 95.5 mph sinker into the home bullpen. It was his second career postseason homer after he went 1 for 15 with six strikeouts in last year's NLCS.

Milwaukee's bullpen then limited Los Angeles to two hits after Misiorowski's departure. According to the team's postseason statistics, Brewers relievers had allowed just one earned run across 23 2/3 innings entering the game.

Milwaukee rookie Luis Lara said completing the team's championship pursuit would be his greatest achievement.

"The dream for me is to win the World Series. That will be the dream moment, is we're able to complete that. Obviously very happy that I was able to come through and come through for my teammates," Lara said through an interpreter.

The bullpen's performance proved decisive after Misiorowski faced significant pressure early. Los Angeles chased the right-hander in the fifth inning, but DL Hall replaced him and induced Freddie Freeman to ground into a double play with a runner aboard. Abner Uribe then escaped a sixth-inning threat by striking out Andy Pages with runners at the corners.

Aaron Ashby covered two innings before Trevor Megill recorded the final three outs for the save. The Dodgers threatened in the ninth when Kyle Tucker and pinch-hitter Josue De Paula drew two-out walks, but Mookie Betts flew out near the center-field warning track.

Misiorowski praised the relievers for their consistent work under pressure.

"Those guys are grinding out there. Every day being able to put up zeros, that's the game. That's the goal. It's amazing what they're doing and the work they're putting in," Misiorowski said.

Brewers manager Pat Murphy acknowledged that Misiorowski did not have his best command but credited his ability to respond in difficult situations. The Dodgers had forced him to throw 35 pitches in the second inning, when Pages drove in Shohei Ohtani with a ground-ball single to right field.

Tucker subsequently loaded the bases after drawing a 10-pitch walk that included four foul balls. Misiorowski limited the damage by getting Kiké Hernández to ground into an inning-ending double play.

"You didn't see 105 (mph), whatever, but whenever he got in a jam, he got better. His stuff wasn't great, no, it wasn't, but it's still pretty darn good," Murphy said.

Milwaukee took the lead for good after Garrett Mitchell drew a leadoff walk in the fifth and rookie Cooper Pratt advanced him with a sacrifice bunt. Lara followed with an RBI single to center field, although Skubal escaped a bases-loaded situation by getting William Contreras to fly out.

Skubal identified the leadoff walk as a key mistake that allowed Milwaukee to advance the runner into scoring position.

"A leadoff walk just can't happen. A leadoff walk in that inning, then you give them the ability to bunt the ball over and then all they need is a base hit, and they got it," Skubal said.

Los Angeles struggled to convert its opportunities, grounding into three double plays and leaving nine runners on base. The Dodgers went 1 for 6 with runners in scoring position, bringing their postseason performance in those situations to 2 for 22.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said his team expected a demanding series against Milwaukee, which finished the regular season with baseball's best record.

"You can't go into a long series against a team that has the best record in baseball and expect to just win four. It's going to be a long series. We knew it coming in," Roberts said.

Freeman also praised Milwaukee's pitching staff, comparing the effectiveness of the bullpen with the Dodgers' own pitching strength. Los Angeles is seeking its third consecutive championship, a feat not achieved since the New York Yankees won three straight titles from 1998 through 2000.

Game 2 is scheduled for Monday in Milwaukee. Yoshinobu Yamamoto will start for Los Angeles, while Logan Henderson will take the mound for the Brewers. Yamamoto has an 8-1 record and a 2.14 ERA in 11 postseason appearances, while Henderson recorded a 0.75 ERA across two starts against the Dodgers during the regular season.