Category: MLB

The Dodgers have a big hole in the middle of their batting order, and it’s not Shohei Ohtani.

If anything, Ohtani has reemerged as an offensive force in the cleanup spot, singling, walking and scoring the Dodgers’ only run Sunday in a 2-1 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series.

The problem is with the guy hitting in front of Ohtani.

Will Smith walked in four plate appearances, marking just the second time he’s reached base in the postseason. In the four division series games against the Atlanta Braves, he had a single in 16 at-bats, striking out seven times. He’s hitting .053 in the playoffs — only Cleveland’s Ángel Martínez has a lower average among players with at least nine at-bats.

But there’s not much the Dodgers can do about it. They are built to win with pitching and Smith, the catcher, is the guy they rely on to guide those pitchers through games.

Read more:Plaschke: Dodgers could be in big trouble if Brewers steal their October swagger

Dalton Rushing, who started just three fewer games behind the plate than Smith this season, is injured and not on the roster. Hunter Feduccia, who did make the team, caught just 15 complete games this season and isn’t an option to start in the playoffs.

“I’m not going to put Feduccia in place of Will Smith,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “That’s just not going to happen.”

So Roberts and the Dodgers are left to muddle on with Smith regardless of how much he struggles offensively. That’s because he’s far more valuable crouching behind the plate than standing next to it.

“I don’t even know how he’s performing offensively,” said Tarik Skubal, who took the loss Sunday. “Catchers, I think it’s the most important position on the field. They’re the ones calling pitches, dictating game flow, rhythm, all that type of stuff. I’m going to trust those guys always.”

Smith appears to be executing his catching duties very well, since opponents have scored just 10 runs and are hitting .160 against the Dodgers this postseason. Only Tampa Bay, which has played two fewer games, has done better.

As for what Smith thinks, that’s unknown because the Dodgers did not make him available to the media Sunday. But since he’s not coming out of the lineup, the next-best solution might be moving him to another spot in the order.

That worked with Ohtani, who had as many strikeouts as hits in the first two games of the division series, when he batted second. Since being dropped in the order, he has reached base four times in three games, stolen a base and scored twice.

“There’s always lineup construction. I can think it through. He’s not swinging the bat well,” Roberts said of Smith. “It’s hard because of the body of work, he just has that knack to get a hit, to get a big hit.”

That’s exactly what happened last fall when Smith’s two-out, 11th-inning home run in Game 7 of the World Series helped the Dodgers win a second straight title.

Smith was on the injured list for 86 days this summer because of neck disk inflammation, returning for the final month when he slashed .290/.400/.548. He has cooled off considerably in October, just as he did last year, when he returned from a right hand contusion three games into the playoffs and got just two hits in his first 14 at-bats.

Read more:Brewers get just enough off Tarik Skubal, draw first blood in NLCS Game 1 win

He recovered to bat .400 in last year’s NLCS win over Milwaukee, then broke a 4-4 tie with his winning homer against the Toronto Blue Jays. Just as important, though, Smith caught all but 11 innings in the Dodgers’ final 15 postseason games — including two 11-inning games and another that lasted 18 innings.

Smith rarely has hit well in the postseason, batting just .206 in 18 series, which may explain Roberts’ lack of panic. Plus, Roberts knows his All-Star catcher has helped him win three World Series rings, and if the Dodgers are to get another, it will be on the strength of their pitching, not their hitting.

And that side of Smith’s game is as strong as ever.

“To be honest, that’s not where my focus is with Will,” Skubal said of his catcher’s hitting. “My focus is what he’s doing behind the dish and he’s very important. He’s very important to the entire pitching staff.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

MILWAUKEE — This isn't why the Los Angeles Dodgers got Tarik Skubal.

The Dodgers outbid everyone else interested, including the Milwaukee Brewers, because they thought the two-time Cy Young Award winner would deliver them a third consecutive World Series title. They gave up three highly touted prospects to get Skubal because, when you're the Dodgers, the future doesn't matter nearly as much as the present.

What Los Angeles didn't do was get Skubal to lose Game 1 of the National League Championship Series, giving those Brewers their first postseason win over the Dodgers since 2018. It was only Skubal's second loss in the postseason, and first since the 2024 ALDS.

"I didn't do my job," Skubal said after taking the loss in Milwaukee's 2-1 win over the Dodgers on Sunday, Oct. 11. "Anytime we lose and it's 2-1, I didn't do my job."

Harsh as it might be to say, Skubal is right. Though the Dodgers have rallied after losing a Game 1 before — they lost the first game of the World Series last year and look how that turned out — there's a reason he was on the mound to start this series.

Skubal was 3-1 with a 1.97 ERA in his previous seven postseason starts, including a win in Game 1 of the NLDS against the Atlanta Braves. He'd never gone fewer than six innings in a playoff game or thrown fewer than 84 pitches. Since joining the Dodgers on Aug. 2, Skubal was 5-2, and Los Angeles had won his last seven starts.

If Los Angeles wanted to send the Brewers a message that their 103-win regular season was nice and all but they shouldn't expect this postseason matchup to be different than their others, Skubal was the guy to do it.

Except he wasn't.

Jacob Misiorowski, Milwaukee's young ace, didn't have his best stuff, giving up an RBI single to Andy Pages in the second inning after issuing a leadoff walk to Shohei Ohtani. But Misiorowski and the Brewers bullpen managed to limit the damage from there, allowing the Dodgers only three runners in scoring position over the last six innings.

The Brewers, meanwhile, got sharper against Skubal the more they saw him.

In Skubal's first run through the Milwaukee lineup, he had six strikeouts while allowing just one hit. In his final two innings, he gave up two runs on four hits while walking two and striking out one.

"I thought my stuff was just as good as it was early and late," Skubal said. "They just put the ball in play later in the game."

The Brewers tied the game in the fourth, when Brice Turang led off with a homer on a 2-0 pitch. In the fifth inning, Skubal gave up a leadoff walk to Garrett Mitchell, who took second on Cooper Pratt's sacrifice bunt and scored on Luis Lara's single to center.

After Joey Ortiz grounded out, the Brewers loaded the bases on a single by Jackson Churio and a walk by Turang. William Contreras flew out to right to end the inning, but the damage had been done. Alex Vesia relieved Skubal in the sixth inning.

"A leadoff walk just can't happen," said Skubal, who threw 81 pitches in five innings. "Leadoff walk in that inning and then you give them the ability to bunt the ball over. Then all they need is a base hit and they got it. I think I did a good job of limiting damage that inning, but the leadoff walk just can't happen. It gives them an opportunity to create something, and ultimately that's all they needed today."

Scattering two runs on five hits would be good enough in most games. But not against a team as opportunistic as the Brewers.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto will start Game 2 for the Dodgers, and he's about as good of a second option as there is. He's 8-1 in the postseason overall and has won his last five starts, including a 5-1 win over the Brewers in Game 2 of last year's NLCS.

But Yamamoto was supposed to be locking the door on Milwaukee after Skubal had closed it, not making sure the Dodgers don't head back to Los Angeles in an 0-2 hole.

"We feel good with our guy," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "You can't go into a long series against a team that has the best record in baseball and expect to just win four. 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. We've just got to reset.

"We've got our guy going tomorrow, who we trust undoubtedly, and we've got to win a baseball game."

That's what the Dodgers thought about Skubal, too. Look what it got them.

Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dodgers got Tarik Skubal for this moment. But Cy Young ace 'didn't do my job' | Opinion

The Dodgers dropped Game 1 of the National League Championship Series.

The Brewers needed just two runs to beat the Dodgers Sunday. While two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal outlasted NL Cy Young candidate Jacob Misiorowski on the mound, the Dodgers offense managed just a single run.

But Freddie Freeman isn’t worried.

“Any loss in the playoffs is not great, but it’s a long series. It’s just the first game,” he said.

The Dodgers appear to have the edge in starting pitching, but Skubal’s five innings wasn’t enough to fend off the Brewers. Milwaukee won Game 1 and it could be argued the Dodgers didn’t exactly help themselves in the series opener.

The Dodgers were 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position and left nine runners on base. Had LA capitalized on any one of those moments, the Dodgers likely would have won the game.

The back-to-back World Series champions are already putting the past behind them and have their sights set on Game 2.

“We got to focus on the task at hand, and that’s winning the game tomorrow,” Betts said.

The Dodgers deploy World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto as their Game 2 starter, giving them their best chance to take a game at American Family Field.

Unsurprisingly, in a battle of two aces, Jacob Misiorowski and Tarik Skubal, the expected NL Cy Young winner and the two-time reigning AL Cy Young winner, runs were hard to come by in this pitchers’ duel. But ultimately, in Game 1 of the NLCS, the Brewers came out on top 2-1.

The Dodgers struck first against Misiorowski. Shohei Ohtani drew a leadoff walk, then Teoscar Hernandez singled. With one out, Andy Pages slapped a ground ball single through the right side to bring home Ohtani and give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead.

Misiorowski did not have his best stuff in this game. He hit 104 MPH once, but the vertical break on his fastball was down a couple inches and the command wasn’t there as he walked three on the night. Still, he battled and was able to induce a 6-4-3 double play to end that 2nd inning.

Then, drama.

In the 4th inning, Teoscar Hernandez danced a little too far off of first base, Misiorowski stepped off, spun around, and calmly threw to first to get Hernandez out, seemingly ending the inning. However, home plate umpire Edwin Moscoso called a balk on Misiorowski. Pat Murphy was emphatically upset at the call.

Misiorowski ended up striking out Kyle Tucker to end the inning, so no harm was truly done. Miz was emotional coming off the mound, and the Brewers appeared to have a fire lit under them after that. Immediately after, to leadoff the bottom of the 4th, Brice Turang slugged his first home run of the postseason.

OCTOBER BRICE BOMB ‼️ https://t.co/hTHNHzKUsVpic.twitter.com/sURnGSilex

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) October 12, 2026

That tied the game at 1-1 and cemented momentum in the Brewers favor.

“Yeah, I didn’t want to foul a ball off my knee again, so I was like I’m going to stay inside of this one. Not try to do too much, just drive back up the middle and get inside of it. Yeah, I just got it. Just trying to stay inside of it, drive it up the middle, and sometimes less is more.” Turang said.

The Brewers would keep it going in the 5th after Garrett Mitchell led off the inning with a walk, then was moved over on a sacrifice bunt from Cooper Pratt. That perfectly set up Luis Lara to give the Brewers the lead.

THE ROOKIE WITH A HUGE OCTOBER RIBBIE pic.twitter.com/KrjIXDgpyh

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) October 12, 2026

At just 21 years old and the youngest player on the team, Lara came through when his team needed him the most.

“(Lara) is very committed to team. He’s very committed to not letting his teammates down, and I think that’s what makes the guy special at this point. Both him and Pratt are up here not knowing they were going to be in the Big Leagues, and they are both very conscientious about getting it done the right way. They’re more concerned about not letting their teammates down than not letting a national audience down.” Murphy said.

“Really I was just looking to push the runner across. That was the only thing that was going through my mind. That’s what I’m focused on in that moment is just finding a way to connect, put the ball in play, and find a way for the run to score. Thanks to God I was able to do that.” Lara said.

The Brewers had an opportunity to bring in some insurance runs in that inning. Jackson Chourio followed with a single, then Brice Turang drew a walk, loading the bases with two outs for William Contreras. However, Contreras flew out to deep right to end the threat.

The Brewers had a few more chances to add on, but were unable to capitalize. Jake Bauers was picked off first by Alex Vesia in the 6th on what clearly should’ve been called a balk. Vesia’s stride was towards home and far beyond the 45 degree angle that’s allowed. Yet it was not called.

Then in the 8th, Chourio led things off with a single. The Dodgers then brought in $72MM reliever Tanner Scott and refused to allow him to face a single right-handed batter. They intentionally walked William Contreras to face Jake Bauers, and then intentionally walked Andrew Vaughn to face Garrett Mitchell. Mitchell grounded out to end the inning and leave it a 2-1 Brewers lead heading into the 9th.

Trevor Megill was called upon to lock things down once again, and he was able to deliver, albeit with a little bit of stress. After inducing an infield fly and a flyout, Megill walked the 8th and 9th hitters for the Dodgers to turn the lineup over to Mookie Betts. Betts flew out to deep center to end the game and Garrett Mitchell caught it and celebrated with an emphatic fist pump.

The Brewers will not be swept out of the NLCS this year. They have taken the 1-0 series lead and are now three wins away from reaching the World Series.

For the Brewers to accomplish their goal, they’ll need to win the games started by Misiorowski. They were able to accomplish that and have now set themselves up with a chance to take a 2-0 series lead with Game 2 on Monday afternoon. It’ll be Logan Henderson on the mound for the Crew while Brewers killer Yoshinobu Yamamoto is on the mound for the Dodgers.

MILWAUKEE –– Grading the performance of every Dodgers player from the 2-1 loss against the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series:

Mookie Betts: B

Hit a single in the third. Drew a walk in the fifth. And was denied another potential hit by Brice Turang to open the game. All in all, more good at-bats from the leadoff spot.

Freddie Freeman: C

Hit a trademark opposite-field single off Jacob Misiorowski in the first, but also a double-play grounder that ended the fifth inning four pitches after Misiorowski’s exit.

Will Smith: D

After an ugly 1-for-16 performance in the NLDS, Smith rolled into an inning-ending double-play in the first, then weakly flied out his next two times. He finally reached base with a walk in the eighth, but it might be time for him to move down in the lineup.

Shohei Ohtani: B

Drew a four-pitch walk in his first at-bat. Then sliced a looping single the other way in the sixth. Still doesn’t look like himself. But has reached safely in all five games this postseason.

Teoscar Hernández: B

Epitomized the Dodgers’ approach against Misiorowski with a pair of singles the other way early on. But didn’t do anything against a couple relievers. Not that he was alone on that.

Max Muncy: D

Had a sixth-inning single, but also struck out twice. Also booted a grounder at third that helped create a bases-loaded jam in the fifth, ultimately contributing to Tarik Skubal’s early exit from the game. 

Andy Pages: B

Drove in the game’s first run with an opposite-field single in the second. But left runners stranded on the corners in the sixth, whiffing on a 99 mph fastball from Abner Uribe.

Kyle Tucker: B

Worked an impressive 10-pitch walk in the Dodgers’ second-inning rally, then another free pass that briefly delayed defeat with two outs in the ninth. Struck out twice in between, though.

Kiké Hernández: D

Hit into first, and most costly, double-play of the night with the bases loaded in the second. Overall, finished 0-for-3 and also had some shaky moments at second base.

Josue De Paula: B+

Came off the bench again for a pinch-hit at-bat in the ninth and drew a walk. Once again, an October moment wasn’t too big for him.

Tarik Skubal: C-

Was dominant early, striking out six of first nine batters (including three on three pitches). But gave up a home run to Brice Turang after falling behind in the count in the fourth. Then paid for a leadoff walk in the fifth, which allowed the Brewers to play some #BrewerBall (sac bunt, RBI single). First time in his playoff career he didn’t complete six innings.

Alex Vesia: B+

Walked the leadoff man in the sixth, but recovered by picking him off and striking out the next two batters.

Evan Phillips: B+

Struck out the side in the seventh in his first full inning of work this postseason. Then returned for the eighth but was quickly replaced after a leadoff single. Still, he has looked sharp so far this October.

Tanner Scott: A

Got out of an eighth-inning jam by retiring a couple lefties (amid Dave Roberts intentionally walking two righties to risk a bases-loaded jam).

Dave Roberts: B

His offense had the right approach, and he pressed the right buttons with his bullpen. But there was nothing he could do about the offense’s missed chances.

The Los Angeles Dodgers will look to rebound from the 2-1 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series on Oct. 11.

Dodgers pitcher Tarik Skubal spent more time on the mound in the battle with Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski, but it was the runs that Skubal allowed that made the difference in the game. 

Skubal struck out seven and allowed five hits, but it was two earned runs against him that made the difference. Misiorowski pitched 4⅓ innings, allowed five hits and one earned run while striking out five.

The Brewers managed to overcome the early run scored by the Dodgers in the top of the second inning. Brice Turang hit a solo home run 384 feet into left center field in the fourth inning. Luis Lara followed it up with a single to center field in the bottom of the fifth that brought in Garrett Mitchell.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto will be the Game 2 starter for the Dodgers. Logan Henderson will be on the mound for the Brewers. Here’s when they will play:

When is Dodgers vs Brewers Game 2? How to watch

• Time: 5 p.m. ET
• TV channel: Fox
• Live stream: Fubo and Fox One

Watch the MLB playoffs on Fubo

NLCS schedule for Dodgers vs Brewers

Sunday, Oct. 11

NLCS Game 1: Brewers 2, Dodgers 1

Monday, Oct. 12

NLCS Game 2: Dodgers at Brewers, 5 p.m. ET, Fox, FS1, Fox One & Fox Deportes

Wednesday, Oct. 14

NLCS Game 3: Brewers at Dodgers, 8 p.m. ET, FS1, Fox One & Fox Deportes

Thursday, Oct. 15

NLCS Game 4: Brewers at Dodgers, 9 p.m. ET, FS1, Fox One & Fox Deportes

Friday, Oct. 16

NLCS Game 5*: Brewers at Dodgers, 9 p.m. ET, FS1, Fox One & Fox Deportes

Sunday, Oct. 18

NLCS Game 6*: Dodgers at Brewers, 8 p.m. ET, FS1, Fox One & Fox Deportes

Monday, Oct. 19

NLCS Game 7*: Dodgers at Brewers, 8 p.m. ET, Fox, FS1, Fox One & Fox Deportes

(*if necessary)

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Brewers vs. Dodgers: When is NLCS Game 2?

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MILWAUKEE – The Dodgers have a fight on their hands.

In their 2-1 defeat to the Brewers at American Family Field on Sunday night, the Dodgers were shown what they’re in for in this National League Championship Series.

The Blue-Collar Brewers claimed Game 1 by doing what they did in their 103-win regular season.

They leveraged their bullpen.

They bunted the go-ahead runner into scoring position.

They played clean defense.

Here’s what they didn’t do: They didn’t roll over the way they did last year when the Dodgers swept them in four games at this stage of the postseason.

“You can’t go into a long series against a team that has the best record in baseball and expect to just win in four (games),” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “It’s going to be a long series. We knew it coming in.”

The Brewers played with an edge they didn’t have a year ago, the team’s attitude vocalized before the game by their manager and spirit animal, Pat Murphy.

Speaking about Dodgers starter Tarik Skubal, Murphy said, “I just want to step on his throat, do you know what I mean? I mean that respectfully because I really like Tarik, but I just want to beat him.”

Murphy was joking, but he wasn’t.

The Brewers didn’t exactly step on Skubal’s throat. What they did was more like pinch him into submission, as they tied the game on a Brice Turang homer in the fourth inning and moved ahead on a run they manufactured in the fifth.

Somehow, that was enough for them to win the game on a night in which the Dodgers were able to do to likely Cy Young Award winner Jacob Misiorowski what they did to Braves ace Chris Sale in the previous round.

The Dodgers ran up Misiorowski’s pitch count and forced him out of the game after just 4 ⅓ innings, but they couldn’t break the fireballer.

The second inning was the Dodgers’ most productive inning – but also the most frustrating.

Shohei Ohtani started the inning by drawing a four-pitch walk and advancing to second base on a single by Teoscar Hernández. He was driven in by another single, this one by Andy Pages. 

Kyle Tucker followed up with a 10-pitch walk to load the bases with one out, and that brought up Kiké Hernández, who worked a seven-pitch at-bat that ended with an inning-ending double play.

Misiorowski threw 35 pitches in that inning alone, but the Dodgers had only one run to show for it.

The Dodgers extracted a price for the defeat, however, as Misiorowski’s fifth-inning departure resulted in the Brewers using four relievers, including their best three.

“Hopefully in a long series it could prove to be beneficial the more times we see them,” Roberts said.

As dependent as the Brewers were on their bullpen in the regular season, they are even more so now.

Outside of Misiorowski, they have only one other pitcher capable of making traditional starts in the postseason, rookie Logan Henderson.

But the 24-year-old Henderson is by no means an old-school workhorse. In each of his last three regular-season starts, he pitched five innings. In his postseason debut against the San Diego Padres in the Divisional Round, he pitched five innings.

Beyond that, they have right-hander Dustin May and left-hander Robert Gasser. May lasted only three innings in his NLDS start. Gasser wasn’t much better, pitching four.

With the majority of the innings expected to be pitched by the bullpen, the Brewers were likely hoping to minimize the group’s exposure in a game started by Misirowski. The more their high-leverage relievers pitch, the more fatigued they will be later in the series and the more the Dodgers’ hitters will become familiar with them.

DL Hall finished the fifth inning, after which Murphy turned the game over to the Big Three of the Brewers’ bullpen.

Abner Uribe, the team’s second-best reliever, pitched the sixth. 

Aaron Ashby, who pitched the second-most relief innings in the majors during the regular season, covered the seventh and eighth.

Closer Trevor Megill took care of the ninth.

The Brewers will have to run this back three more times over the next eight days, which will be extraordinarily difficult against a team with as much experience and depth as the Dodgers.

Can the Brewers take this across the finish line?

Whether they can or not, they promise to scratch and claw until the final out of the series is recorded. The Dodgers know that.

“We didn’t necessarily expect a sweep,” Kiké Hernández said. “It’s gonna be a good series.”

A series that will probably end up back at American Family Field for Game 6, perhaps even Game 7.

First and foremost, the Dodgers wanted Tarik Skubal on their team. When they pursued him at the trade deadline, they saw him as the rare player who could improve their odds of winning a third straight World Series.

It didn’t hurt that by acquiring him they prevented other postseason contenders, including the Milwaukee Brewers, from landing the two-time Cy Young Award winner. The Dodgers guaranteed that they wouldn’t have to face him in October.

“I’m sure it’s in the back of your head, the teams that are interested,” president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said Sunday before the Dodgers’ 2-1 loss to the Brewers in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series. “Certainly not a driver, but not nothing either. As far as how happy I am, I am very happy it’s Skubal versus Miz and not Miz and Skubal [for the Brewers] in the next two.”

Read more:Plaschke: Dodgers could be in big trouble if Brewers steal their October swagger

That sentiment rang even truer when the Dodgers dropped Game 1 at American Family Field, despite forcing “Miz” — Jacob Misiorowski, the NL Cy Young favorite — out of the game in just 4⅓ innings, and despite having Skubal, who struck out seven in five innings but gave up two runs in a fine effort, on their side.

“That’s our job, trying to get the starter, especially when you’re facing a guy like him, out of the game early,” said left fielder Teoscar Hernández, who logged two hits against Misiorowski. “I think we did a pretty good job, we just didn’t get the job done when we needed with guys in scoring position.”

The Dodgers hit into three inning-ending double plays in the first five innings and overall left nine men on base, going one for six with runners in scoring position.

In a role reversal, the Dodgers, who scored almost exclusively via the home run in the first round, pulled ahead with a pesky approach at the plate.

Designated hitter Shohei Ohtani opened the second inning with a four-pitch walk. Then Teoscar Hernández and Andy Pages hit opposite-field singles to move Ohtani around the bases and give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead.

Taking a similar “grind him out” approach to the one they deployed against Atlanta Braves ace Chris Sale in Game 3 of the Division Series, the Dodgers forced Misiorowski to throw 35 pitches in the inning — 10 alone to Kyle Tucker, who worked a walk.

By the third inning, Misiorowski’s fastball velocity, which touched 104 mph, had dropped to double digits. And though the Dodgers didn’t score again against him, they continued to rack up his pitch count. By the time he exited with one out in the fifth, it was at 94.

The Brewers, known for their peskiness, instead tied the score with one swing against Skubal. In the bottom of the fourth inning, Brice Turang got the barrel of his bat to an inside sinker and lifted it over the fence in left-center, into the Brewers’ bullpen.

“A 2-0 sinker in, I mean, I’m going to live with that, left-on-left,” Skubal said. “He put a good swing on it. The first at-bat he broke his bat [on a similar pitch], ground ball.”

Though the Brewers have players who can hit home runs, they pulled ahead the next inning with a sequence more closely aligned with their identity.

Skubal walked Garrett Mitchell on five pitches. Brewers rookie Cooper Pratt moved him into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. And then Luis Lara sent a ground-ball single through the middle of the infield to drive in the go-ahead run.

“The leadoff walk just can’t happen,” Skubal said. “It gives them an opportunity to create something, and ultimately that’s all they needed today.”

Skubal battled traffic to get out of the inning without giving up another run. But in such a tight game, that marked the end of his start.

The American Family Field atmosphere added an extra charge to the close contest. The home crowd was perhaps its loudest (until an ear-splitting cheer at the final out) when it took issue with a balk call against Misiorowski. It looked as if he had picked off Hernández to end the fourth inning, but Hernández instead was awarded second base.

That play still was seared into their collective memory when Dodgers left-hander Alex Vesia picked off Jake Bauers at first base. Brewers fans shouted “balk!” over and over.

The bullpens battled to a scoreless draw, the Dodgers’ last stand falling flat after Tucker and pinch-hitting rookie Josue De Paula drew a pair of two-out walks against Trevor Megill. Mookie Betts drove a deep fly ball to the warning track, momentarily silencing the crowd, until Mitchell closed his glove around it. So the edge the Brewers gained against Skubal held.

“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 said after the game. “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. We’ve just got to reset. We’ve got our guy going [Monday], who we trust undoubtedly, and we’ve got to win a baseball game.”

Read more:Will Smith is in a slump, but benching him isn't an option for Dodgers

That guy is right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who last year threw a complete game at American Family Field in Game 2 of the NLCS.

The road doesn’t get much easier for the Dodgers’ offense Monday, when it’ll face right-hander Logan Henderson, who held the Dodgers to one run in seven innings when the Brewers came to Los Angeles in August. But imagine if instead the Brewers had outbid the Dodgers and they had to go through Skubal first.

“It would look really different,” manager Dave Roberts said Saturday. “What those guys do — they had the best record in baseball. Certainly when you’re talking about a seven-game series, to see Tarik on the other side … the series would look a lot different.”

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

MILWAUKEE –– The Dodgers did almost everything right early on Sunday night.

Key word: Almost.

In Game 1 of the National League Championship Series, in a marquee pitching matchup between a reigning two-time Cy Young Award winner and this year’s presumptive recipient of such hardware, the Dodgers came in with a clear game plan against the Milwaukee Brewers and their young stud ace, Jacob Misiorowski.

They wanted to stress Misiorowski’s pitch count by working tough, long at-bats. They wanted to shorten their swing against his 105 mph fastball and hit balls the other way. They wanted to get him out of the game quickly and let their own ace, Tarik Skubal, pitch with a lead.

“Try to make him earn,” infielder Kiké Hernández said. “Make him grind it out.”

On almost all accounts, they were successful.

There was just one problem.

“We didn’t score enough,” Hernández sighed.

Indeed, in a 2-1 loss at American Family Field that put the Brewers in front to open this best-of-seven series, the Dodgers wasted chance after chance against Misiorowski and the Brewers’ stout bullpen, hitting into three double-plays, stranding nine men on base, and squandering an early lead en route to a Game 1 defeat.

“We lost,” shortstop Mookie Betts said. “So it didn’t really work.”

It almost did, of course, with the Dodgers putting together the kind of quality at-bats that have become a trademark of their October offense.

Misiorowski needed 94 pitches to get through only 4 ⅓ innings. He gave up five hits, four of them to the opposite field. He topped out at 104 mph with his fastball, yet got the Dodgers to whiff on only five of their 27 swings against it.

“I thought our approach was really great,” first baseman Freddie Freeman said.

However, after an RBI single from Andy Pages in the second inning, the team wouldn’t score again.

Instead, the Brewers rallied in front of a raucous home crowd, tying the score on Brice Turang’s solo home run in the fourth before taking the lead on an RBI single from Luis Lara in the fifth.

Those were the only real mistakes Skubal made in his five-inning, seven-strikeout outing. But in a game that saw the two bullpens combine for 7 ⅔ scoreless frames –– a potential preview of things to come this series –– that would be two too many to prevent a Game 1 defeat.

“It’s gonna be a good series,” Kiké Hernández said. “For us, it’s a matter of turning the page and coming back being ready to play tomorrow.”

Granted, Sunday’s opener was always more important for the Brewers –– who were trying to protect home-field advantage, and needed to capitalize on Misiorowski’s start given the lack of star power in their rotation behind him.

Still, the result will sting for the Dodgers, after they seemingly had the game where they wanted it early, only to cede control with their costly string of missed opportunities.

The Dodgers spent Saturday’s off-day workout prepping for Misiorowski’s unprecedented fastball velocity, using a drill Albert Pujols introduced to the team in 2021 –– in which they took swings against a velocity machine from several steps in front of home plate –– to calibrate their approach against his triple-digit heat.

From the start, the strategy paid off. Just like against Braves ace Chris Sale in the NL Division Series, the Dodgers extended at-bats and created stress repeatedly.

In the first, Freeman singled on a line drive the other way, though that was negated by a Will Smith inning-ending double-play (extending what is now a 1-for-19 postseason drought for him).

In the second, a four-pitch leadoff walk from Shohei Ohtani was followed by more opposite-field singles from Teoscar Hernández and Pages –– the latter opening the scoring and continuing his recent turnaround this postseason.

In the next at-bat, Kyle Tucker continued the grind, battling his way to a 10-pitch walk that kept the rally going.

Suddenly, with the bases loaded and Misiorowski nearing 40 pitches in the second inning alone, it appeared the Dodgers were on the verge of a knockout blow.

They would regret not making it come to fruition.

Instead, Kiké Hernández bounced into another double-play that allowed Misiorowski to escape the danger, representing a turning point that even Hernández felt “changed the game.”

Misiorowski’s pitch count continued to climb in the third (when Betts hit a leadoff single) and the fourth (when Teoscar Hernández hit a leadoff single, then was gifted second on a controversial balk call that negated a pick-off), but the Dodgers again failed to add to the lead.

In the fifth, he was finally chased from the mound afrer a one-out walk from Betts. But even then, Freeman hit into yet another double-play four pitches later against reliever DL Hall.

In case you had forgotten, the Dodgers hit into more double-plays (128) than any other NL team in the regular season.

“I don’t think it was anything about frustration,” Teoscar Hernández said. “It’s just, we need to be better with guys in scoring position.”

On Sunday, the trend would quickly prove costly.

After three dominant innings to start the game from Skubal –– who struck out six of his first nine batters, including three on three pitches –– Brice Turang stayed inside a tailing 2-0 sinker to leadoff the fourth and deposited it in the Brewers’ left-field bullpen.

The solo blast tied the game. It awoke a sold-out, yellow-towel-waving crowd at American Family Field. And it set the stage for the Brewers to take the lead in the bottom of the fifth.

All around Milwaukee’s home ballpark, signs have displayed the club’s slogan for this October: “Win Our Way.”

In the fifth, the Brewers showed what that meant.

Epitomizing their style of so-called Brewer Ball, the club’s small-ball offense put its identity on display. Garrett Mitchell drew a leadoff walk. Cooper Pratt bunted him to second. Then, with a short swing on a hanging first-pitch changeup, Luis Lara bounced an RBI single back up the middle.

It was something out of seemingly nothing –– a reminder of how the Brewers, with their bottom-10 payroll of $123 million, ranked second in the majors in scoring this year (despite hitting the second-fewest number of home runs).

“They’re a good baseball team,” Skubal said. “They do that type of stuff.”

The Brewers almost broke the game open after that, later loading the bases with two outs while inflicting their own damage on Skubal’s pitch count. And though Skubal would get out of it, he wouldn’t return for the sixth, removed after 80 throws in the shortest start of his postseason career.

Four Brewers relievers, meanwhile, would make the 2-1 lead stand up, stranding more runners in the sixth (when Pages struck out against Abner Uribe with runners on the corners), the eighth (after Smith drew a walk) and once again in the ninth (when closer Trevor Megill walked two batters with the bases loaded, including pinch-hitting rookie sensation Josue De Paula, before finally ending the game on a flyout from Betts).

So often, they almost seemed to get to the Brewers.

But in the end, it was Milwaukee that executed its game plan more clinically, drawing first blood in an NLCS rematch that already looks nothing like last year’s Dodgers sweep.

“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 said. “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. We’ve just got to reset.”

A pair of long inning cut short the promised battle of aces in Game 1 of the National League Championship, but the overall adage that runs would be hard to come by still proved true. Both teams scratched across a single run in their big innings, but the Brewers added a solo home run which was the difference in a 2-1 win over the Dodgers on Sunday night at American Family Field in Milwaukee.

Tarik Skubal struck out six batters his first time through Milwaukee’s batting order, stranding Jake Bauers after a one-out double in the second inning, the only batter to reach base in the first three innings against the left-hander.

Brewers second baseman Brice Turang made his mark in the field with a tremendous stop and throw well behind the bag to get Mookie Betts in the first inning, then made a lightning-fast turn on a double play which ended a big Dodgers rally in the second.

Then Turang got Milwaukee on the board with a leadoff home run in the fourth inning, going other way to left center field off Skubal to tie the game at 1-1.

BRICE TURANG!

WE ARE TIED! pic.twitter.com/DnvfcRjLd2

— MLB (@MLB) October 12, 2026

The fifth inning was the stressful one for Skubal, with his only two walks of the game. The first one — Garrett Mitchell — was sacrificed to second base then driven home on a single by No. 9-hitter Luis Lara, giving the Brewers their first lead. A single and walk loaded the bases with two outs but William Contreras flew out to strand three.

Skubal escaped the big inning but needed 26 pitches in the fifth alone, and that was his final frame. After his first time through the order, Skubal allowed four hits and two walks to his next 12 batters, with one strikeout.

The Dodgers knew they were in for a battle against likely National League Cy Young Award-winner Jacob Misiorowski, who throws in triple digits more than anyone else and is usually a nightmare to face. They tried a deliberate approach.

“It’s more a little bit conceding the slug, hitting the ball out front, to then seeing the ball a little bit longer to spoil pitches, to shoot the ball the other way. That’s how you’ve got to beat this guy,” manager Dave Roberts told reporters in Milwaukee before Sunday’s game. “To think you’re going to catch him out front and pull it in the air is bananas.”

This was a plan similar to what the Dodgers used against Chris Sale in Game 3 of the Division Series last Tuesday, and got him out of the game after five innings, with three runs in the bank.

The Dodgers made Misiorowski work, fouling off 21 pitches and running six different three-ball counts, three of the latter in the second inning alone. The Dodgers scored a run in that inning and had the bases loaded but couldn’t get more in a 35-pitch frame by the big right-hander.

Misiorowski needed 94 pitches to get his 13 outs, none of the five innings in which he appeared a clean one, with five singles and three walks allowed. But the Dodgers were only able to plate one run against the Brewers, thanks in part to grounding into three double plays in the first five innings alone.

The Dodgers led the National League this season with 128 double plays, third-most in the majors.

In relief

Two Dodgers singled in the sixth inning against Abner Uribe but did not score, and Will Smith walked against Aaron Ashby in the eighth against the Brewers bullpen, with four pitchers combining for 13 outs to close out the game.

Closer Trevor Megill walked Kyle Tucker with two outs in the ninth to keep the game going, then 21-year-old pinch-hitter Josue De Paula did the same to keep the game going. But Mookie Betts flew out to end the game.

Alex Vesia, Evan Phillips, and Tanner Scott combined for three scoreless innings of their own, with six strikeouts, with only a single and one unintentional walk allowed (plus two intentional free passes, who were stranded). Scoring against these bullpens should be difficult. Now it’s just a matter of seeing if relative early access to relievers in Game 1 bears fruit later in the NLCS.

But the Brewers got the win in front of them on Sunday, and lead the NLCS, one game to none.

NLCS Game 1 particulars

Home run: Bruce Turang (1)

WP — DL Hall (2-0): 1 batter, 2 outs

LP — Tarik Skubal (1-1): 5 IP, 5 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, 7 strikeouts

Sv — Trevor Megill (3): 1 IP, 2 walks

Up next

Game 2 has an earlier start time on Monday (2 p.m. PT, Fox), with Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the mound against Brewers right-hander Logan Henderson. The NLCS will be two games into their series just before the American League Championship Series begins on Monday night.

Both Yamamoto and Henderson have allowed 18 earned runs since the All-Star break — in 84 1/3 innings over 12 starts with 86 strikeouts for Yamamoto, and in 75 innings over 13 starts with 80 strikeouts for Henderson.

MILWAUKEE — It was Milwaukee Brewer baseball on full display Sunday evening, showing the baseball world why they’ve won more games than any team in baseball the past two seasons.

They also showed the Los Angeles Dodgers that this edition of the Brewers won’t be the pushover that embarrassed themselves in the National League Championship Series a year ago.

The Brewers, playing the style of baseball that earned them 103 victories this season, stunned the Dodgers with a 2-1 victory in Game 1 of the NLCS in front of a sellout crowd of 42,617 at American Family Field.

They pitched, with ace Jacob Misiorowski permitting one run in 4 ⅓ innings while their bullpen came in and pitched 4 ⅔ shutout innings.

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The Brewers produced only six hits, but they worked their pesky magic.

They bunted.

They executed the hit-and-run.

They attempted stolen bases.

They even showed they could homer, with second baseman Brice Turang hitting his first postseason longball.

And now, for the first time in five years, the Dodgers are facing a deficit in the NLCS in their bid to become the first National League team to win three consecutive pennants since the 1942-1944 St. Louis Cardinals. And no National League has ever won three consecutive World Series titles.

“I think the organization is fantastic …,’’ Dodgers manager Dave Roberts gushed about the Brewers. “They play baseball. They play baseball the way it was intended. They value 90 feet. They take extra bases. They defend well. They're athletic. They prevent runs with really good pitching and then with the defense layered in. They don't give pitches away. They hit to all fields.

“And with that, they're in every game."

The Brewers became the first team to keep two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal from completing six innings in his eight career postseason games. Skubal still showed just why he was the most wanted man at the trade deadline, and why he’ll become the richest pitcher in baseball history this winter when he hits free agency, but the Brewers forced him to throw 81 pitches and beat him playing small ball in the fifth inning.

The Brewers showed off their playbook going ahead in the fifth with Garrett Mitchell drawing a leadoff walk. Rookie Cooper Pratt laid down a sacrifice bunt. And fellow rookie Luis Lara drove in Mitchell by slapping a single up the middle, giving the Brewers a 2-1 lead. They threatened to blow the game open when they loaded the bases, but Skubal escaped the jam when William Contreras flied out to right field.

It was certainly a relief for the Brewers, who badly wanted Skubal, too, at the trade deadline. The Brewers put in what they thought was an aggressive bid, but it just wasn’t as good as the Dodgers’ offer.

“I thought that if they wanted to outbid us, they could," Brewers owner Mark Attanasio told USA TODAY Sports, “”but because of the team they have and the depth of the team they have. It would be easier for them to add that extra prospect.

“The Dodgers run an exceptional organization. Yes, it's not easy to be that exceptional, and they're exceptional in everything. That's not easy. Yeah, they're getting showered with money. Well, why do you think they have all this money? Because they've been so smart in their business."

Certainly, Skubal could still change the fate of this series, with Skubal scheduled to go in Game 5, but Andrew Friedman, Dodgers president of baseball operations, dreaded the idea of having to face Skubal and Cy Young favorite Jacob Misiorowski, too.

“I’m very happy it’s Skubal vs. Miz,’’ Friedman before the game, “and not Miz and Skubal in the next two.’’

Just as the San Diego Padres did in the NL Division Series, the Dodgers copied the same blueprint and also wore down Misiorowski early.

Misiorowski threw 69 pitches just to get through the first three innings – including 35 pitches in the second inning when the Dodgers scored their lone run. They could have blown it open but Enrique Hernandez grounded into a bases-loaded double play to end the inning.

While the Padres fouled off 29 of Misiorowski’s 88 pitches in their game, the Dodgers fouled off 16 of Misiorowski’s first 69 pitches and 21 in the game. Misiorowski, who allowed eight baserunners, threw 94 pitches and lasted just 4 innings.

No problem.

The Brewers turned to their vaunted bullpen, and the firm of DL Hall, Abner Uribe, Aaron Ashby and Trevor Megill closed it out.

“I think the success they've had over the last handful of years, the deepness of their roster,’’ Friedman said, “really stands out. It's hard over 162 to do what they've done. .. I think there's really not a glaring weakness. So 1 through 26, they can beat you in a lot of different ways. Those are the kind of things that I feel like you need in October.

“If you're just reliant on hitting a homer, tough way to live life. They just have so many different ways to do it."

The Dodgers certainly aren’t panicking, not with World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the mound for Game 2. They also are accustomed to comebacks, down 3 games to 2 to the Toronto Blue Jays in last year’s World Series, only to cross the border going home with a World Series trophy.

“Once you get through the marathon and you get to the sprint of the postseason,’’ Roberts said, “advantage goes to us in the sense of the experience.’’

Then again, now that the Brewers are back in the NLCS, they’re starting to get that experience, too.

“They’re playing with confidence," Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts said, “so that may have been all they needed. To get real experience, and a real taste of it, and now they know what they have to do.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Milwaukee plays Brewer Ball to land uppercut on Dodgers, grab control of NLCS

Tarik Skubal was tasked with being the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Game 1 starter for the National League Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday, Oct. 11.

Skubal’s outing was successful for the Dodgers at American Family Field in Milwaukee.

The two-time Cy Young Award winner was brought to Los Angeles with the intention of having him strengthen the pitching depth and rotation for the postseason.

He was acquired by the Dodgers in a blockbuster trade with the Detroit Tigers in early August, sending outfielder Zyhir Hope and right-handed pitchers River Ryan and Brady Smith to Detroit.

Skubal allowed his first hit in Game 1 to right-handed hitter Andrew Vaughn in the bottom of the second inning. Vaughn was eventually left stranded at third base after Skubal struck out Cooper Pratt.

Skubal was dominant to start, striking out six batters through the first three innings. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts replaced Skubal with Alex Vesia to start the bottom of the sixth inning.

Brewers manager Pat Murphy chose to insert Vaughn into the lineup as the designated hitter instead of Christian Yelich, a left-handed batter for the Brewers. The decision was influenced by Vaughn's success against left-handed pitchers such as Skubal.

Here's how Skubal fared in NLCS Game 1 win over the Brewers:

Tarik Skubal stats vs. Brewers

• Innings pitched: 5
• Hits allowed: 5
• Runs allowed: 2
• Earned runs allowed: 2
• Walks: 2
• Strikeouts: 7
• Pitches thrown: 81
• Strikes thrown: 53

Tarik Skubal highlights

Tarik Skubal has 6 Ks through the first 3 innings! pic.twitter.com/CFmXrwG2kM

— MLB (@MLB) October 12, 2026

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How did Tarik Skubal pitch in Game 1? Dodgers vs. Brewers stats