The Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-1 in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series on Sunday, October 12, 2026, at American Family Field. Brice Turang and Luis Lara drove in the decisive runs, while the Brewers’ bullpen shut down Los Angeles after starting pitcher Jacob Misiorowski exited in the fifth inning.
Breaking the Seven-Game Postseason Skid
In last year’s National League Championship Series, the Milwaukee Brewers failed to score more than a single run in any game of a crushing four-sweep by the Los Angeles Dodgers. But according to ESPN, the script flipped on Sunday evening as Milwaukee edged the two-time defending champions 2-1 to snap a seven-game postseason skid against L.A.
Game 1 billed itself as a heavyweight clash between Los Angeles trade-deadline acquisition Tarik Skubal and Milwaukee’s fireballing phenom Jacob Misiorowski. Skubal carved through the early frames with typical efficiency, leaving the home crowd bracing for a repeat of last autumn’s frustrations. But the Brewers found an offensive pulse in the middle frames, turning small ball and opportunistic swings into two vital tallies.
In the fourth inning, Brice Turang erased the deficit with a leadoff drive off Skubal. According to ESPN, TruMedia tracking confirmed it was the first opposite-field home run Turang has ever hit against a left-handed pitcher in the big leagues, regular season or playoffs, and the first such home run Skubal has surrendered to a left-handed batter in the majors.
Small Ball and Rookie Execution in the Fifth
The game-winning sequence in the fifth showcased the aggressive, disciplined identity that carried Milwaukee to 103 regular-season victories. Garrett Mitchell drew a leadoff walk against Skubal, bringing rookie Cooper Pratt to the plate.
Pratt successfully executed a sacrifice bunt to advance Mitchell into scoring position. That set the stage for 21-year-old switch-hitting rookie Luis Lara. Despite striking out earlier on a Skubal fastball, Lara stayed back on a first-pitch changeup and bounced an RBI single up the middle.
“Both [Lara] and Pratt are up here not knowing they were going to be in the big leagues,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said, as noted by MLB.com. “And they both are very conscientious about getting it done the right way.”
| Game 1 Metric | Milwaukee Brewers | Los Angeles Dodgers |
|---|---|---|
| Runs | 2 | 1 |
| Hits | 4 | 7 |
| Errors | 0 | 0 |
| RISP | 1-for-4 | 1-for-6 |
| Left on Base | 5 | 9 |
High-Leverage Escapes and Ninth-Inning Drama
Before the bullpen took over, Misiorowski weathered a severe stress test in the second inning. The Dodgers forced the Cy Young favorite through a taxing 35-pitch frame, starting with a Shohei Ohtani walk and an RBI single from Andy Pages. With the bases loaded and one out, Misiorowski induced an inning-ending double play from Kiké Hernández.
“Didn’t think I had my best stuff,” Misiorowski said to MLB.com. “Obviously good enough to make it work. Props to my defense behind me.”
Megill quickly secured two outs before issuing walks to Kyle Tucker and pinch-hitter Josue De Paula. That brought Mookie Betts to the plate with the go-ahead runs aboard.
Betts launched a deep drive to center field, silencing the 42,617 fans in attendance at American Family Field, but the ball settled safely into Mitchell’s glove at the warning track.
“They got their hit,” Betts acknowledged to MLB.com. “At some point, we’ve got to get ours.”
Looking Ahead to Game 2
Historically, historical data indicates that teams securing a 1-0 lead in a best-of-seven postseason series go on to win 64% of the time, climbing to 67% in the current 2-3-2 home-format structure. Yet Dodgers manager Dave Roberts remains undeterred by the opening deficit.
“You can’t go into a long series against a team that has the best record in baseball and expect to just win four,” Roberts told MLB.com. “It’s going to be a long series. We knew it coming in. We had our chances. But they made plays, pitches when they needed to.”
The quick turnaround features Game 2 on Monday at American Family Field. Yoshinobu Yamamoto takes the ball for Los Angeles, armed with an 8-1 postseason record and a 2.14 ERA, while Logan Henderson counters for Milwaukee following a stellar regular-season campaign and a sharp Division Series outing against San Diego.
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