Brewers Beat Dodgers in NLCS Game 2

The Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-4 in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series at American Family Field, taking a 2-0 series lead after overcoming three deficits behind William Contreras and their bullpen on Monday.

According to MLB, Milwaukee became the first Brewers team to take a 2-0 lead in a best-of-seven postseason series. The Brewers entered the matchup after winning 103 games during the regular season, while the Dodgers arrived as two-time defending champions.

According to MLB, teams with a 2-0 lead in best-of-seven postseason series have won 79 of 95 previous series, an 83% rate. The Dodgers lost despite taking leads three times in the first six innings.

Contreras powered the Brewers offense by going 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs, according to The Score. His sixth-inning single drove in the go-ahead run after his fifth-inning homer tied the game.

"Our mentality is to stay focused. It doesn’t matter what the game situation is, if we’re ahead or if we’re behind, we’re going to stay on the aggression and stay focused -- and we’ve been able to do a really good job of that as a team." William Contreras said.

The catcher’s home run traveled 436 feet, according to MLB, and gave Milwaukee another response after Los Angeles briefly regained the lead. Contreras also matched a franchise postseason record with his fifth career playoff home run.

Jake Bauers helped create the decisive third inning against Yoshinobu Yamamoto by extending a 12-pitch at-bat that ended with a walk. Christian Yelich followed with a go-ahead two-run single, according to MLB.

"It was pretty clear he was trying to get in on me a little bit. It was a battle of not trying to do too much, don’t open up, let one come over the middle [of the] plate. If it comes, don’t miss it, if not, battle it out until you can take the walk.

It was straight compete mode." Jake Bauers said.

Yamamoto was removed after 2 2/3 innings, allowing three runs with one strikeout, according to The Score. It was the shortest postseason start of his career after he had posted a 1.07 ERA in his previous five playoff starts.

Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy also highlighted Contreras’ development after the catcher joined the Brewers in a three-way trade at the 2022 winter meetings. Murphy described the player’s growth and competitive approach.

"Walt filled me in," Murphy said, "and said, "I'm going to tell you, you're getting something special. This is a special guy. You've got to peel away the onion a little bit and look behind a few things that come at you strong.

But he's just grown. He wants to win very, very badly. …To see William come from where he did, it's really special." Pat Murphy said.

The Brewers bullpen protected the lead by retiring all 15 batters faced over five perfect innings, according to MLB. Aaron Ashby recorded a five-out save, and Milwaukee’s bullpen has allowed 0.31 ERA through the postseason, according to USA Today.

The series moves to Los Angeles for Game 3 on Wednesday, where the Dodgers are scheduled to start Blake Snell and the Brewers are set to counter with Robert Gasser, according to The Score.