ST. PAUL, Minn. — You could hear a pin drop in Grand Casino Arena during the first period of Monday's game against the Vegas Golden Knights after another Minnesota Wild player was struck in the head by a hockey puck.
The first time it happened was in the Wild's final preseason game against the Dallas Stars when Brock Faber was hit in the head by Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen's shot.
On Monday, in the first period, Nico Sturm was struck in the head by Jared Spurgeon's point shot.
The veteran forward instantly went down holding his head while head athletic trainer John Worley rushed on the ice.
After being on the ice for a minute, Sturm was helped up by Michael McCarron and Worley and escorted off the ice into the locker room.
Nico Sturm had to leave the game after taking a puck to the head.
The Wild have already lost Brock Faber for an extended period after he took a puck to the head and fractured his skull. pic.twitter.com/epPbsEzJlK
Sturm, 31, was playing in his third game of the season for the Wild. The 6-foot-3 center has played in 383 career NHL games.
Obviously, a scary scene for Wild fans and the Wild, considering the status of Faber after he was hit in almost the same spot, just on the other side of the head.
*** This story will be updated when more news comes.
Update: Sturm ruled out for rest of the game with an upper-body injury.
Update 2: According to a source, Sturm was stable and on a stretcher in the back of the ambulance in Grand Casino Arena.
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The Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani strikes out in the first inning of Game 2 of the NLCS on Monday at American Family Field. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Dodgers leadoff hitter Mookie Betts slapped his bat with his free hand after tipping a slider from Brewers right-hander Abner Uribe back into catcher William Contreras’ mitt.
Betts had been setting the tone from the leadoff spot all postseason, taking good at-bats against some of MLB’s best starting pitchers. But there wasn’t much even he could do against a sinker-slider mix like Uribe’s.
Uribe shuffled off the mound, and the home crowd roared.
Then, with Dodgers left-handed hitter Freddie Freeman coming up to the plate, the Brewers had an answer for him, too. Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy signaled to the bullpen, and left-hander Aaron Ashby emerged, and he struck out Freeman on four pitches, only one of which touched the strike zone.
“They all throw 100 [mph] from different angles,” Freeman said after the Dodgers’ 7-4 loss to the Brewers in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series on Monday.
Those back-to-back strikeouts in the eighth inning were part of five perfect innings thrown by the Brewers bullpen — an MLB postseason record. And the Dodgers’ inability to rally against the Brewers’ relievers, paired with the shortest start in Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s career, sunk the Dodgers’ chances at evening the series.
The NLCS heads to Los Angeles with the Brewers leading 2-0 in the best-of-seven series.
The Dodgers’ performance against the Brewers bullpen on Monday magnified how much the star-powered lineup hasn’t been clicking with Shohei Ohtani struggling at the plate. He went 0-for-4 in the cleanup spot in Game 2, bringing his postseason total to three hits, all singles, in 20 at-bats.
Manager Dave Roberts told The Athletic after the game that he would “have a conversation” with Ohtani Tuesday to determine “what’s best for him, what’s best for [the team].”
Factoring into the decision of whether the situation has become dire enough to bench Ohtani is an understanding that the superstar designated hitter likely is not completely healthy, according to a person with knowledge of the situation who was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
Ohtani has dealt with left knee and right biceps issues for much of the year. But it’s been difficult since he returned from the injured list to determine whether health, bad swing habits caused by earlier injuries, or some combination of the two have been to blame for his poor performance.
Ohtani hasn’t addressed the media since the day before Game 1 of the NLDS.
MILWAUKEE (AP) — William Contreras hit a tying homer in the fifth and singled home the go-ahead run an inning later as the Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-4 on Monday in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series.
Four relievers combined to retire the last 15 Dodgers batters in order as the Brewers took a 2-0 lead over the two-time defending World Series champions in this best-of-seven series, which heads to Los Angeles for Game 3 on Wednesday.
The Brewers are chasing their second pennant and first in the NL. They made their lone World Series appearance in 1982, when they were in the American League.
Los Angeles is trying to become the first NL team to win three straight World Series. The Dodgers last rallied from a 2-0 deficit to win a series in 2020, when they beat the Atlanta Braves in a seven-game NLCS before going on to win the World Series.
The Dodgers will need more punch from their lineup to have a chance at getting back to the Fall Classic. They mustered just three hits Monday and went 0 for 4 with runners in scoring position to drop to 2 for 26 in those situations this postseason.
Los Angeles couldn’t even get a boost from Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who entered 8-1 with a 2.14 ERA in 11 career playoff appearances. Yamamoto lasted just 2 2/3 innings for his shortest postseason start.null
The Dodgers took the lead on three occasions in the first five innings. Milwaukee responded each time, the last coming when Contreras tied the game with a 436-foot homer to center off Kris Bubic in the fifth.
That turned the game into a battle of the bullpens, where the Brewers again had the edge.
Dustin May, JoJo Romero, Abner Uribe and Aaron Ashby combined to shut down the Dodgers after Logan Henderson’s early exit.
The score was tied 4-all when Milwaukee’s David Hamilton was hit by a pitch from Brock Stewart to lead off the sixth. Stewart attempted a pickoff throw that went off the glove of first baseman Freddie Freeman and into foul territory for an error, advancing Hamilton to second.
After Jackson Chourio grounded out, the right-handed Stewart walked the left-handed-hitting Brice Turang to face the right-handed Contreras, who had homered in his previous plate appearance.
Contreras singled to left this time to bring home Hamilton with the go-ahead run.
Turang and Jake Bauers added RBI singles in the eighth to extend Milwaukee’s lead.
Neither starter lasts long
The anticipated pitchers’ duel between Yamamoto and Henderson didn’t work out according to plan.
In three previous playoff starts following Dodgers losses, Yamamoto had gone 3-0 with a 1.23 ERA. When he faced the Brewers in last year’s NLCS, he threw the first playoff complete game since Justin Verlander did it in 2017.
This time, Yamamoto couldn’t even make it out of the third inning before leaving with the Dodgers behind 3-2.
Henderson entered Monday having not allowed more than three runs in any of his 24 career starts (including the postseason). That streak ended when he allowed four runs over four innings.
Because Henderson committed two errors — matching his previous career total — only two of the runs were earned.
Milwaukee trailed 2-1 in the third when Bauers capped a 12-pitch plate appearance by taking a 3-2 offering in the dirt to load the bases with a walk. Christian Yelich followed by lining a single up the middle that brought home two runs and knocked Yamamoto out of the game.
Los Angeles bailed out Yamamoto by scoring twice in the fifth.
After Kyle Tucker hit a leadoff double, Tommy Edman sacrificed him to third. Henderson fielded the bunt and made a wild throw to first, enabling Tucker to score and moving Edman to second.
Edman advanced to third when Mookie Betts grounded out, and scored on Freeman’s sacrifice fly.
Henderson also had made a wild throw to first on a pickoff attempt in the third inning that allowed Edman to score from third.
Up next
Robert Gasser (5-5, 3.87 ERA) is expected to start for Milwaukee in Game 3. Gasser allowed one run over five innings when the Brewers won 3-1 at San Diego to clinch their NL Division Series.
The Dodgers hadn’t announced their Game 3 starting pitcher.
Pittsburgh Penguins' general manager and president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas is well-known for targeting players who haven't been given a chance to blossom elsewhere and who could benefit from a change-of-scenery.
And he executed a trade Monday that fits that mold.
The Penguins acquired left defenseman Ryan Johnson from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for defensemen Caleb Jones and Daniel Laatsch. Jones, 29, had appeared in four games for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (WBS) Penguins of the AHL this season, totaling three assists, while Laatsch, 24, was previously assigned to the Florida Everblades of the ECHL, whose home opener is set for Oct. 17.
The departure of both opened up two NHL contract slots for the Penguins, one of which is now occupied by Johnson, who is signed for two more years at $875,000.
Johnson, 25, was selected 31st overall by the Sabres in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. The 6-foot-1, 195-pound blueliner has not yet seen a large NHL sample, appearing in just six NHL games in the past two seasons and 47 games total in his career, with seven assists that all came during his rookie season in 2023-24.
Aside from those three games last season, Johnson spent the season with the Rochester Americans of the AHL, recording five goals and 19 points to go along with a minus-12 in 56 games. In four games with Rochester this season, he had no points.
The trade helped to not only clear contract space - the Penguins now have 47 of 50 slots full, according to Puckpedia - it also helped clear a little bit of the left defensive logjam at the minor league level. The WBS Penguins had the recently waived Ilya Solovyov, Jake Livanavage, Owen Pickering, Maleek McGowan, and Jones on the roster, and Laatsch was blocked from the AHL roster as a result.
As of now, Johnson is not part of Pittsburgh's NHL active roster, and it's unclear where he will be assigned. Defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk was placed on injured reserve Monday, and he is not making the Penguins' four-game road trip that starts Tuesday against the Chicago Blackhawks. The team has not ruled out van Riemsdyk joining the team for the back part of the road trip.
They have also not ruled out calling on another defenseman to take van Riemsdyk's place, as his IR designation leaves the NHL club with just six active defensemen. Pittsburgh only has 21 players on its active roster, with one of those slots expected to be occupied by forward Andrei Kuzmenko, who currently has non-roster status but was a full participant in practice Monday.
Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani strikes out during the sixth inning of Game 2 of baseball’s National League Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, in Milwaukee. AP Photo/Abbie Parr
Held without a home run in the first two games of this National League Championship Series.
Shohei Ohtani?
Reduced to being blown away by mid-90s fastballs.
The Dodgers are behind by two games in this race to four wins, and in the wake of their 7-4 defeat in Game 2 at American Family Field, they have to be praying for the Brewers to run out of gas before they reach the finish line.
“It’s certainly a challenge,” manager Dave Roberts said.
Before the Dodgers can win this series, they will have to get back into it first. They will play at home over the next three games. They have Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow lined up to pitch in Games 3 and 4, respectively.
“Still a pretty good scenario we’re in,” first baseman Freddie Freeman said.
Sending Snell and Glasnow to the mound won’t mean anything, however, if the Dodgers don’t start hitting. An error or wild pitch by the Brewers played a role in every run scored by the Dodgers, who collected only three hits, all of them coming against starter Logan Henderson. The four relievers deployed by Brewers manager Pat Murphy combined to pitch five no-hit innings.
The Dodgers will have to jumpstart their offense with a version of Shohei Ohtani who remains physically diminished.
Ohtani was 0 for 4 in Game 2, failing to reach base in a game for the first time this postseason. Pitching as if they didn’t think that Ohtani couldn’t hurt them, the Brewers attacked the four-time Most Valuable Player, leading to a couple of strikeouts in which he looked completely overmatched.
Henderson struck him out with three fastballs in the first inning. Left-hander JoJo Romero tricked him into waving at a sweeper that ended up in the batter’s box on the other side of home plate in the sixth.
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto watches a single hit by Milwaukee Brewers third baseman David Hamilton during the third inning. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Ohtani is batting .150 in the playoffs without a single run batted in. He’s struck out seven times in 20 at-bats. His last home run was on Aug. 18.
“It’s hard to see,” Betts said. “We know he’s working and hopefully he gets out of it. We need him. We need him for sure.”
Ohtani alone couldn’t take down the Brewers, regardless how well he was playing. In addition to a relentless bullpen, they have an unspectacular but industrious offense. They have the kind of edge that makes it obvious they believe they can take down the two-time defending World Series champions.
Game 2 was a prime example of that. If there was a game the Brewers were expected to drop, it was this one. Yoshinobu Yamamoto was pitching for the Dodgers.
The Brewers didn’t just beat Yamamoto. They wore him down, pushed him out of the game after only 2 ⅔ innings and forced Roberts to empty his bullpen. Tarik Skubal lasted only five innings against them in Game 1.
Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman reacts after striking out during the eighth inning. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The result was an unmitigated disaster for the Dodgers, who have made it an annual tradition to have the Japanese right-hander bail them out of trouble at this time of the year.
The Dodgers were intimately familiar with the script from which the Brewers read.
Run up the pitch count of the starter.
Force him out of the game early.
Get into the other team’s bullpen.
Only this time, the Dodgers weren’t the team executing the game plan. They were the team against which the plan was being executed, and Yamamoto was the target of the attack.
Once the game morphed into a battle of the bullpens, the game was decided. The Brewers were able to play to their greatest strength. The Dodgers had to expose their greatest weakness.
To win the World Series last year, the Dodgers had to overcome a three-games-to-two deficit against the Toronto Blue Jays. Their title run the previous year started with them reversing a two-games-to-one deficit against the San Diego Padres.
The Dodgers have overcome deficits before.
But the Brewers are presenting them with the sort of problems they might not even be able to solve.
Milwaukee, WI - October 12, 2026: Milwaukee Brewers William Contreras celebrates his home run in the fifith inning. The LA Dodgers play the Milwaukee Brewers in game two of the National League Championship Series at American Family Field, Milwaukee, WI on Monday, Oct. 12, 2026. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Best laid plans went awry very early in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series, the sloppiest and wildest game of the Dodgers postseason to date. In a game with four lead changes and two ties, the Dodgers couldn’t get a big hit to save their life, while William Contreras had three different run-scoring hits in the Brewers’ 7-4 win at American Family Field on Monday afternoon in Milwaukee.
The Dodgers head home to Los Angeles down two games to none, with their largest series deficit since the 2023 NLDS.
Chaos to start
It took until the 23rd half-inning of the series for one of these teams to score more than once in a frame, but it wasn’t for lack of trying. Both Jacob Misiorowski and Tarik Skubal labored in big innings in Game 1, but limited the damage to just one run in the rallies.
After single runs for both teams in the first inning, Yoshinobu Yamamoto ran into trouble. David Hamilton singled and stole second base. Brice Turang, who battled back from an 0-2 count and an unchallenged potential third-strike ball call for a double to score in the first inning, worked his way back from an 0-2 count again to walk in the third.
With two outs and two on, first baseman Jake Bauers fouled off six full-count pitches before earning a walk to load the bases.
It took only two more pitches for Yamamoto to hang a curveball to Christian Yelich — in easily the worst of his 14 major league seasons — who singled home two to turn a Dodgers lead into a Dodgers deficit. It also ended Yamamoto’s day, stunningly after needing 75 pitches to get only eight outs, the shortest of his 11 postseason start with the Dodgers.
The dozen pitches to Bauers were the most in any single plate appearance in Yamamoto’s three years in the majors, the entire battle taking seven minutes, 15 seconds per the Fox broadcast.
Only way the Dodgers scored
Brewers starter Logan Henderson allowed only three hits, one of them a ball booted by shortstop Cooper Pratt. Henderson also walked two, but it was three errant throws that proved his undoing. His wild pitch in the first inning put Mookie Betts on third base directly before scoring on a sacrifice fly.
Henderson in the third inning with runners on the corners threw wildly on a pickoff attempt of Betts at first base, allowing Tommy Edman to score from third base. After Kyle Tucker doubled to lead off the fifth inning, Henderson had another throwing error when Edman tried to sacrifice, not only scoring Tucker but putting Edman on second base. He would later score on another sacrifice fly, on a play so close at the plate it required replay review to confirm.
Getting the big hits, or not
Contreras, the Brewers three-time All-Star catcher, singled home a run off Yamamoto in the first inning to tie the game, homered off left-hander Kris Bubic in the fifth inning to tie the game, then singled home a run off Brock Stewart in the sixth to give the Brewers the lead.
It was the third multi-hit game in these playoffs for Contreras, who has three home runs this October.
The Dodgers’ three-time All-Star catcher, Will Smith, was dropped to fifth in the batting order on Monday and was hitless in four at-bats. Smith has one single in 23 at-bats this postseason, with eight strikeouts.
Shohei Ohtani, still batting fourth, was hitless in four at-bats with two strikeouts in Game 2, and has three singles in 19 at-bats plus three walks this postseason.
The Brewers tacked on insurance runs in the eighth inning off Edgardo Henriquez and Justin Wrobleski with three singles and a walk. That put the Brewers up 7-4, the first time either team led by more than one run in this series.
Game 2 of the NLCS was just the second of 27 games this postseason in which both teams scored at least four runs.
Against Henderson the Dodgers were hitless in all of four total at-bats with runners in scoring position, dropping them to 2-for-26 with runners in scoring position this postseason. But once he left with no outs in the fifth inning, the Brewers bullpen completely shut things down the rest of the way.
Dustin May, JoJo Romero, Abner Uribe, and Aaron Ashby faced 15 batters and retired them all. Ashby pitched in multiple innings for a second straight day, this time earning the save.
The Dodgers now face a major uphill battle once they get back home.
The NLCS moves location to Los Angeles beginning with Game 3 on Wednesday evening (5 p.m., FS1). Blake Snell probably starts for the Dodgers, though Dave Roberts earlier Monday wasn’t willing to confirm their plans just yet. Left-hander Robert Gasser starts on the mound for the Brewers.
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Welcome to the Game Thread. Veterans of the Game Thread know how we do things around here, but for all you newbies we have a few rules. Our community guidelines apply and basically say be cool, no personal attacks, don’t troll and don’t swear too much. The rule against trolling also applies to members of this site that visit other fan sites.
It’s still preseason, isn’t it? Well, the regular season is here in a little over a week, and tonight’s game will be one of your last chances to see Jon Elmore in a Spurs uniform. You have to respect a guy who’s still chasing his dream of playing professional sports at 30, and I hope he gets at least a cup of coffee in the big leagues before he goes back to being a stockbroker or whatever his real career turns out to be.
The usual preseason disclaimers are in effect for tonight’s game. The starters are just in there for some early work and a bit of cardio before the bench squad and training camp bodies are subbed in and play of curious brand of summer league basketball in the fall. You just hope the starters can look good for a quarter or so and everyone stays healthy. Carter Bryant looks to have tweaked an ankle on Saturday night against the Suns, and probably won’t go tonight. It didn’t look all that serious, so hopefully he will be ready to go for the season opener against the Thunder on the 20th.
This game is on DAZN, so hook up your apps, or log in on your Smart TV. Let’s GO Spurs!!! For at least most of the first half.
Game Prediction:
John Elmore scores a career first double-double tonight, although it won’t be recorded as an official stat because preseason stats do not count.
San Antonio Spurs at Utah Jazz (Preseason) October 12, 2026 | 8:00 PM CT Streaming: DAZN, League Pass TV: DAZN Reminder: It is against site policy to post links to illegal streams in the comments.
Do you believe that there was no fluke that the Brewers won 103 games this season, the most in the major leagues?
Now, do you believe the Brewers are on their way to reaching the World Series for the first time since 1982, and trying to win their first in franchise history?
Well, the entire state of Wisconsin sure does, watching their beloved Brewers rolling out the barrel over the powerful Los Angeles Dodgers, 7-4 Monday afternoon, taking a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven National League Championship Series in front of a frenzied sellout crowd at American Family Field.
This is the first time in the Brewers 58-year history that they have ever taken a 2-0 lead in a best-of-seven series.
The last time the Dodgers won a postseason series when trailing 2 games to 0 was in the COVID postseason of 2020 when they came back to beat Atlanta, and ultimately won their first World Series since 1988.
But in a full season, the Dodgers haven’t managed to pull off the feat since the 1981 World Series against the New York Yankees.
Losing Game 1 of this National League Championship Series rematch against the Milwaukee Brewers was one thing. Dropping Game 2 on Monday, however, threatened to put their season in suddenly dire straits.
Milwaukee Brewers catcher William Contreras celebrates after hitting a home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the fifth inning. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters ConnectLos Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani strikes out during the sixth inning. AP Photo/Abbie Parr
This time, after all, they weren’t facing a presumptive Cy Young Award winner like Jacob Misiorowski. This time, more importantly, they had their own postseason stalwart, reigning World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto, on the hill to calm the waters.
But in a 7-4 defeat at American Family Field, an unexpected thing happened.
Yamamoto, despite entering with a five-game playoff win streak and the second-lowest postseason ERA in the last 100 years, couldn’t steady the two-time defending champions.
The Brewers, who allowed Yamamoto to throw a complete game against them on the very same mound in Game 2 of last year’s NLCS sweep, turned the tables decisively with long, relentless, unforgiving offensive rallies.
“They had much better at-bats than we did across the board, top to bottom, and then they put the ball in play, created havoc,” manager Dave Roberts said. “That’s what they do, and we didn’t do that. That’s the difference in the game … They did what needed to do tonight.”
Indeed, Yamamoto would last only 2 ⅔ innings in a 75-pitch grind against Milwaukee’s pesky, opportunistic offense. Despite being handed a pair of early one-run leads, he would depart the mound with the Dodgers behind.
It was a demoralizing turn of events –– keyed by a couple missed ABS challenge opportunities for Will Smith, an epic 12-pitch battle by Brewers slugger Jake Bauers, and a go-ahead two-run single from former MVP Christian Yelich that ultimately chased Yamamoto from the game.
While the contest would go back-and-forth from there, Yamamoto’s early exit gave the Dodgers’ bullpen too tall a task to withstand, sending the team back to Los Angeles for Game 3 on Wednesday desperately needing a response to a stunning two-games-to-none deficit.
“We got a lot of experience, we’ve been through everything before,” first baseman Freddie Freeman said. “So we’ll regroup tomorrow and go get ’em on Wednesday.”
Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith meets with pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the mound during the third inning against the Milwaukee Brewers. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The Dodgers did open the scoring Monday, manufacturing a first-inning run after Mookie Betts drew a leadoff walk, took second on a grounder, advanced to third on a wild pitch, then scored on a Teoscar Hernández sacrifice fly.
However, the Brewers responded with a rally of their own in the bottom of the first –– one that set the tone for their plan of attack against Yamamoto on Sunday.
With one out in the inning, Yamamoto seemed to freeze Brice Turang for a called third strike. But, home plate umpire Chris Segal inaccurately ruled it a ball, and Smith declined to use an ABS challenge behind the plate. Three pitches later, it would prove costly, with Turang getting a full-count fastball in the zone and slicing into left for a double. In the next at-bat, William Contreras came up and somehow stayed on a 2-2 slider less than a foot off the dirt, lofting a line drive just over Max Muncy’s head at third for an RBI single.
“It was kind of early in the game,” Smith said of the ABS decision. “We kind of had him on the ropes where we could just [try to] get him out there [even without the challenge].”
Milwaukee Brewers catcher William Contreras hits an RBI single against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the sixth inning. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
A similar story would play out in the third, as the Brewers erased a 2-1 lead the Dodgers took on an errant pickoff throw from Brewers starter Logan Henderson in the top half of the frame.
That inning began with a David Hamilton single. Then, after he stole second, Turang would again benefit from a missed ABS challenge opportunity –– with Smith declining to appeal another potential third strike in a full count, even as Yamamoto seemingly suggested he do so by pointing at his head himself on the mound.
“In that spot, Will didn’t feel like it was a strike,” Roberts said, trying not to secong-guess his catcher. “But obviously if you look back, [if] that’s a called third strike … that changes the outing.”
Once again, it set a disaster in motion. With an extra out to get, Yamamoto failed to complete the inning.
Instead, Bauers stepped up with two outs and forced Yamamoto into the longest plate appearance of his MLB career, drawing a walk from a grueling dozen-pitch battle.
After working a full-count, Bauers fouled off the next seven pitches he saw, chopping balls off the plate, to the backstop, into the seats, and –– twice –– just out of the reach of Dodgers fielders in foul territory.
The seven-minute duel went on so long, the battery in Yamamoto’s PitchCom device died after his 11th pitch, causing a delay while he was brought a replacement from the dugout.
“It just got to a certain point where it was straight compete mode,” Bauers said. “A little bit of a blackout, just kind of in the flow a little bit competing.”
Finally, on pitch No. 12, Bauers took a curveball in the dirt, loading the bases.
In the next at-bat, a clearly fatigued Yamamoto hung a curveball to Yelich, who lined his two-run single to center to give the Brewers a 3-2 lead.
Milwaukee Brewers catcher William Contreras celebrates his home run with teammate Jake Bauers during the fifth inning of Game 2. AP Photo/Abbie Parr
That would be the end of Yamamoto’s day, marking the shortest outing of his playoff career. It would also leave too many innings for the Dodgers’ bullpen to cover –– even after the team retook the lead with a two-run rally in the fifth that was keyed by another throwing error from Henderson.
In the bottom of the fifth, Contreras greeted left-hander Kris Bubic with a towering game-tying home run that clanged off the bottom of the center-field scoreboard.
In the sixth, it would be Contreras again to push the Brewers back in front, lining a first-pitch single to left against Brock Stewart –– who had made his own mess by hitting a batter and firing an errant pickoff throw to first –– that gave the Brewers’ star catcher his third RBI of the day.
This time, the Dodgers wouldn’t have an answer, nor be gifted another pathway back into the game.
Rather, for a second-straight night, they were completely shut down by the Brewers’ bullpen, going 15 up, 15 down without a single baserunner after Henderson’s exit to finish the game with just three hits.
The Brewers, meanwhile, tacked on two insurance runs in the eighth, removing any pretense of late-game drama before a jubilant sell-out crowd.
Now, the Dodgers face a two-game hole they would have never imagined. Alarm bells are ringing. Their season, and World Series three-peat hopes, are dangerously close to being dashed.
“For me, I felt we had to stop the damage right there,” Roberts told Ken Rosenthal during a live interview on the Fox broadcast.
Yamamoto had the shortest postseason outing of his career on Monday night, after he threw 75 pitches in 2 ⅔ innings while giving up three runs, four hits, two walks, and having only one strikeout.
Los Angeles Dodgers manager reveals why he pulled Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the third inning. AP Photo/Abbie Parr
The decision to pull him came after Christian Yelich put the Brewers ahead 3-2 on a two-RBI single.
In the at-bat before Yelich, Yamamoto faced the longest at-bat of his career, where he threw 12 pitches and had six of them fouled off in a 3-2 count against Jake Bauers.
Before Bauers, Yamamoto threw 22 pitches to David Hamilton, Jackson Churio, Brice Turang, and William Contreras.
“Obviously they’re at home, they feel the momentum, Hamilton leads off, steals a base, and they kind of feed off of that,” Roberts said. “We just gotta reset, regroup. We’ve got six innings of baseball to play.”
Dave Roberts reveals why he pulled Yoshinobu Yamamoto after throwing 2 ⅔ innings against the Brewers in Game 2 of the NLCS. AP Photo/Ashley LandisYoshinobu Yamamoto pulled after 2 ⅔ innings in Game 2 of the NLCS on Monday night. AP Photo/Ashley Landis
After Yamamoto exited, Alex Vesia came in the game and got Garrett Mitchell down swinging.
The Dodgers regained the lead in the fifth when Logan Henderson committed a throwing error in the fifth that allowed Kyle Tucker to score. Freddie Freeman brought home Tommy Edman two at-bats later on a sacrifice fly.
Milwaukee tied the game at 4 after Contreras hit a no-doubt, solo home run over the center field fence.
With the NBA season tip-off just eight days away — starting with a must-see triple-header on NBC and Peacock— the league's focus is shifting back to the court. However, the NBA rumor mill never stops, especially with rookie contract extensions coming up in the next week. Here are some of the latest reports.
Brandon Miller a $200 million man?
It was clear how much the Charlotte Hornets believe in Brandon Miller (and Kon Knueppel) when they traded LaMelo Ball this summer. They see Miller as the face of the franchise (or at least one of the faces). Now the Hornets are about to put big money on that bet, reportedly nearing a rookie contract extension offer for Miller at or above the five-year, $208 million deal Houston just gave Amen Thompson, Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of the Stein Line report.
"Miller is still projected by various league observers to ultimately come to terms with the Hornets on an extension that could exceed Amen Thompson's new five-year, $200 million deal with the Rockets. In conversations with front office executives around the NBA this week, there seemed to be a growing consensus among rival decision-makers that Miller's deal has the potential to be richer in a nod to his higher offensive ceiling."
Miller can get buckets at all three levels, and he averaged 20.2 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game, shooting 38.3% from 3-point range. He's an improved and respectable defender. The knocks on his game are turnovers — a 12.5% turnover rate each of the past two seasons, or 2.5 a game last season — and a lack of physicality and pressure on the rim. But those are things he can improve upon. And Charlotte needs to keep the guy they want to build around happy.
Cason Wallace, OKC talking extension
Keeping the Thunder core together as everyone approaches new contracts will require high-level puzzle-solving by Sam Presti (and the owners going into the second apron for a couple of years), but one guy they want to keep is Cason Wallace.
The Thunder and Wallace, OKC's starting two guard and a key defender, are talking about an extension in the $25 million-a-year range, Stein reports at the Stein Line. While Alex Caruso is a critical two-way two guard for the Thunder, especially in the playoffs, his minutes have to be limited during the regular season so he's ready for the postseason. Wallace absorbs those minutes and plays at or near Caruso's level.
It's going to be tough for the Thunder to keep everyone — this summer they already had to move on from Lu Dort, Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins — but Wallace seems to be a priority to keep.
Other NBA Rumors
• Anthony Black extension on hold. The Magic are in a make-or-break season with the NBA's third-highest payroll, and one way or the other they will have a lot of decisions to make going forward. With that, they are not going to reach an extension with point guard Anthony Black, Stein reports. Black took a step forward last season, averaging 15 points a game, but the Magic face tough decisions, and one of them may be Black or Jalen Suggs.
• The Nuggets have waived Lonnie Walker IV, who is now a free agent. He played the past two seasons in Europe and could return there.
• The Nuggets, Spurs, Pacers and Nets unveiled ABA throwback uniforms. These are fun, but the Spurs video showing them off is the best.
• Maybe Zaccharie Risacher just needed a change of venue (and to get out from under the No. 1 pick cloud), as he has looked pretty good this preseason for Dallas. On Sunday, he finished with 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting. It's just preseason, but Risacher is only 21 and was a smart roll of the dice by Dallas. Just something to watch this preseason.
Discarded England opener Zak Crawley has received another setback in his bid to turn his international career around, missing out on a central contract as the ECB unveiled an unprecedentedly long list.
The NBA Store is seen on Fifth Avenue in New York City, United States, on August 6, 2026. This official National Basketball Association shop sells merchandise, including jerseys, clothing and accessories representing NBA teams. (Photo by Marcin Golba/NurPhoto via Getty Images) | NurPhoto via Getty Images
Have you had a business idea that you haven’t gotten off the ground yet? Or need some inspiration? Well, the NBA and the Phoenix Suns are here to give your business some major upgrades and assistance.
With the 2027 All-Star game heading to the Mortgage Matchup Center, the league is partnering with the Suns for the 2027 All-Star pitch competition. Starting in 2022, the pitch competition provides companies and startups a chance to network with industry leaders in the sports, AI, hospitality, retail, media, technology, live events and entertainment worlds that can help your business grow. According to the NBA Foundation website, which is helping facilitate the pitch competition, participants will receive: Hands-on Coaching, Technical Assistance, Custom Contestant assets and $200,000 in Prizes.
Started in 2020, the NBA foundation has sought to give back to local economies and with the All-Star game in Phoenix, they’re looking to help out Arizonians.
Since it’s beginning, it’s given people lucrative opportunities to help jumpstart their businesses, including back in 2023 when they hosted a live pitch competition that gave 8 Black entrepreneurs an opportunity to win $50,000.
With the All-Star game in Phoenix, this year’s theme is highlighting Arizona entrepreneurs and to get a chance to participate, you must apply by Friday, October 23rd.
William Contreras made up for the Brewers' defensive mishaps in the top of the fifth inning on Monday with one swing of the bat. Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Kris Bubic left a 94.8 mph fastball down the middle on the second pitch of the at bat, and Contreras put his barrel on it, driving the ball so deep to center field that all Andy Pages could do was turn and watch as it bounced off the bottom of the scoreboard.
It was Contreras' third home run of the postseason, and arguably his most important one so far as the Brewers try to take a 2-0 lead in the National League Championship Series before it shifts to Los Angeles.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are the defending champions and are one of the winningest franchises in all of baseball with nine World Series titles.
The Dodgers are taking on the Milwaukee Brewers, a mid-size market team that doesn't have quite a storied history. The Brewers' biggest claim to fame is baseball trail blazer and former home run king Hank Aaron. Other star players like CC Sabathia, Rollie Fingers, Don Sutton, Robin Yount and Paul Molitor have helped bring the club success and accolades.
After winning the first game of the NLCS, the Brewers are three victories away from reaching the World Series. They got here as the No. 1 seed in the National League with a 103-59 record. Milwaukee earned a bye in the wild card round and then beat the San Diego Padres 3-1 in the National League Division Series.
Have the Brewers won the World Series?
No, the Brewers have not won the World Series in their 57-year history. The club was established in 1969 as the Seattle Pilots, but moved to Milwaukee and rebranded as the Brewers the following year after the Milwaukee Braves relocated to Atlanta.
The Brewers have reached the postseason 12 times, including this year. Their first playoff appearance was in 1981 when they made it to the American League Division Series. They had a postseason drought from 1983 to 2008 when they reached the National League Division Series.
They switched from the American League to National League in 1998.
Baseball icon Hank Aaron played for the club in 1975 and 1976 before they reached the postseason.
How many times have the Brewers reached the World Series?
Milwaukee has played in the World Series one time. The Brewers faced the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1982 World Series, which went to seven games.
That 1982 Brewers team featured x players who would eventually be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame: Rollie Fingers, Don Sutton, Robin Yount, Paul Molitor and Ted Simmons.
With Simmons batting cleanup and five hits from Molitor, the Brewers started the series strong and won the first game 10-0. The Cardinals responded by winning the next two games to go up in the series. The Brewers took the next two matchups, but the Cardinals won the sixth game 13-1 before winning the championship 6-3 in the final game.
Catcher Darrell Porter was named the World Series MVP in his second season with the Cardinals after he replaced Simmons as the backstop in St. Louis.
The Brewers reached the World Series by beating the then-California Angels in the American League Championship Series 3-2.
