Brewers edge Dodgers 2-1 in National League Championship Series opener

Los Angeles – Brice Turang homered and Milwaukee’s bullpen kept the Los Angeles Dodgers’ potent bats in check Sunday as the Brewers triumphed 2-1 in Game 1 of baseball’s National League Championship Series.

One year after they were unceremoniously swept by the Dodgers in the NLCS, the Brewers thrilled fans in Milwaukee, landing the first blow in the best-of-seven series that will send the winner to the World Series.

The Dodgers are chasing a rare World Series three-peat. But the Brewers, who led Major League Baseball with 103 regular-season wins, showed they don’t plan on going quietly this year as they seek to return to the championship showcase for just the second time, 44 years after their 1982 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.

The game was billed as a duel between the Dodgers’ two-time Cy Young Award-winner Tarik Skubal and the Brewers’ flame-throwing ace Jacob Misiorowski, but neither pitcher made it to the sixth inning.

The Dodgers wore down a sometimes shaky Misiorowski but were rewarded with just one run against him in the second inning.

Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani walked on four pitches to open the frame, advanced to second on a Teoscar Hernandez single and scored on a one-out single from Andy Pages.

Kyle Tucker worked a walk in a 10-pitch at-bat to load the bases. But Enrique Hernandez hit into a double play and Misiorowski escaped the inning without further damage.

Turang tied it with a solo homer off Skubal to open the bottom of the fourth inning, and the Brewers seized a 2-1 lead in the fifth on Luis Lara’s run-scoring single off Skubal.

Garrett Mitchell had walked to open the inning and reached second on a sacrifice bunt from Cooper Pratt before Lara cracked a ball up the middle that allowed Mitchell to score.

The Brewers bullpen made the lead stand up with four relievers combining for four and two-thirds scoreless innings.

“Just the grind of the guys,” Misiorowski said of the win. “That bullpen really showed up today and did amazing. And then just the guys laying down a sac bunt to get a guy over and a clutch base hit by Lara — just, you know, our way.”

The Dodgers threatened with two outs in the ninth as Brewers closer Trevor Megill issued walks to Tucker and Josue De Paula, but Mookie Betts lofted a high fly caught for the last out.

The Brewers will try to double their advantage when they host Game 2 on Monday.