Sports
Turang’s fourth-inning homer and Milwaukee’s relievers put Brewers ahead in NLCS
Brice Turang tied the game with a solo homer, and rookie Luis Lara’s fifth-inning single gave Milwaukee a 2-1 win over Los Angeles in Sunday’s NLCS opener. The Brewers’ bullpen held the Dodgers to two hits after Jacob Misiorowski exited in the fifth.
MILWAUKEE — The Brewers opened the National League Championship Series with a 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday night, ending a seven-game postseason losing streak against them and taking the first game of a matchup between two 100-win teams.
Brice Turang tied the score with a leadoff home run in the fourth inning, driving a Tarik Skubal pitch into Milwaukee’s home bullpen. Luis Lara put the Brewers in front for good in the fifth, grounding a run-scoring single into center field after Garrett Mitchell walked and rookie Cooper Pratt advanced him with a sacrifice bunt.
Milwaukee had a chance to add to its lead later in the inning, loading the bases with two outs, but Skubal got William Contreras to fly out to right.
The Dodgers scored their only run in the second inning, when Andy Pages singled home Shohei Ohtani. Los Angeles put pressure on starter Jacob Misiorowski, forcing him to throw 35 pitches in the frame and chasing him in the fifth, but the Brewers’ relievers kept the lead intact.
DL Hall entered with a runner on and got Freddie Freeman to ground into a double play. Abner Uribe gave up two hits in the sixth, then struck out Pages with runners at the corners. Aaron Ashby covered two innings, and Trevor Megill earned the save by retiring the side in the ninth after allowing two walks. Mookie Betts’s fly ball to the center-field warning track ended the game.
The Dodgers left nine runners on base, grounded into three double plays and went 1 for 6 with runners in scoring position. They have gone 2 for 22 in those situations during the playoffs, according to the game account.
A crowd of 42,617 watched Milwaukee take the opener, its first postseason win over Los Angeles since the teams’ previous playoff meetings, including last year’s NLCS sweep. The Brewers are among five current major-league teams that have never won a World Series.
Game 2 is scheduled for Monday in Milwaukee. Yoshinobu Yamamoto is set to start for Los Angeles, with Logan Henderson scheduled for the Brewers.