Freeman Backs Dodgers Plan After October 11 Loss to Brewers

The Los Angeles Dodgers lost 2-1 to the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series on Sunday, October 11, 2026, at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, despite executing their offensive plan against starting pitcher Jacob Misiorowski. First baseman Freddie Freeman said Los Angeles created opportunities but failed to deliver the decisive hit, leaving the Dodgers looking to even the series in Game 2.

According to DodgersBeat, Los Angeles scored once in the second inning and forced Misiorowski to throw 94 pitches over 4 1/3 innings. The Brewers' bullpen then helped preserve the narrow lead, while Milwaukee capitalized on a fifth-inning scoring opportunity to secure the victory.

Freeman credited the Dodgers' preparation and execution against Misiorowski, whose fastball reportedly reached 99 to 104 mph. He said the team's inability to produce a timely hit, rather than its overall approach, proved decisive.

"Yeah, I thought we had a great plan. We executed against Misiorowski really well. Got him out before five innings was complete.

We did our job there. We just didn’t get the big hit tonight," Freeman said.

The Dodgers made Misiorowski work through extended at-bats before Milwaukee turned to its relief pitchers. Freeman viewed the early departure of the Brewers' starter as a positive, even though Los Angeles could not convert its opportunities into additional runs.

"Our approach was really great, getting him out before five innings was complete. You’re facing a guy throwing 99 to 104. There’s nothing to be frustrated about how we performed against Miz tonight. We just didn’t get the win," Freeman said.

Freeman also pointed to the quality of Milwaukee's pitching staff, describing the matchup as a contest between two strong teams with effective starting rotations and bullpens. The Brewers limited the Dodgers' scoring despite the relatively early change in pitchers.

"Miz and their pen are about the same. It’s a great pitching staff," Freeman said.

He emphasized the strength of both teams' pitching units as the series began, noting that a low-scoring contest matched his expectations for the matchup.

"It’s two great pitching staffs, two great teams going at it. Kind of what we envisioned this series was going to be, kind of low scoring with our pitching staff," Freeman said.

The Dodgers' previous postseason performance had also highlighted their pitching depth. According to a report published by Yahoo Sports on October 8, Freeman credited the pitching staff after Los Angeles eliminated the Atlanta Braves 4-1 in Game 4 of the National League Division Series, winning the best-of-five matchup 3-1.

"Our pitching staff won us a series again," Freeman said, according to Katie Woo of The Athletic, after the Dodgers advanced to their third consecutive NLCS.

Los Angeles held Atlanta to eight runs across four games in that series. The Dodgers received strong starting performances from Tarik Skubal and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, while Tyler Glasnow started the clinching game and Edwin Díaz recorded the final out for his second save of the series. Freeman also hit two home runs against Atlanta.

Against Milwaukee, the decisive sequence came in the fifth inning. Garrett Mitchell drew a walk, Cooper Pratt sacrificed him to second base, and Luis Lara drove him home with a single, giving the Brewers the lead they needed.

Freeman said Milwaukee's approach resembled the style the team had displayed the previous season, with productive outs and timely hitting helping manufacture runs.

"They were a really good baseball team last year. Another really good baseball team again this year, and they’re about the same," Freeman said.

He cited the Brewers' fifth-inning execution as an example of that approach, contrasting their ability to bring a runner home with the Dodgers' missed opportunities.

"Bunt him over, get him in. They did that tonight," Freeman said.

Despite the defeat, Freeman said Los Angeles could carry lessons from forcing Milwaukee to use its bullpen early into the next game. The Dodgers were scheduled to turn to Yoshinobu Yamamoto as their starting pitcher for Game 2 on Monday.

"Four and two-thirds out of their bullpen in the first game, we can take that as a positive. Hopefully we can get to Henderson tomorrow and do the same," Freeman said.

The loss put the Dodgers behind in the series, but Freeman stressed that the opening result would not determine the outcome of the matchup. He expressed confidence in the team heading into Yamamoto's start.

"Any loss in the playoffs is not great, but it’s a long series. It’s just the first game. We’ll come back out tomorrow with Yamamoto, and we feel pretty confident," Freeman said.