Turang homers and Milwaukee's
bullpen stars as the Brewers beat the Dodgers 2-1 in NLCS opener
[October 12, 2026]
By JAY COHEN
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Brice Turang had one sweet swing, Luis Lara
delivered and Milwaukee's bullpen was terrific once again.
Looking for a breakthrough, the Brewers are off to a flying start in
the NL Championship Series.
Turang homered off Tarik Skubal and four Milwaukee relievers shut
down the Los Angeles Dodgers after Jacob Misiorowski’s taxing
outing, sending the Brewers to a 2-1 victory in Game 1 on Sunday
night.
Lara hit a tiebreaking single off Skubal in the fifth inning as
Milwaukee jumped ahead in the first NLCS matchup of 100-win teams
since the Cincinnati Reds eliminated the Philadelphia Phillies in
1976. Milwaukee had dropped seven consecutive postseason games
against Los Angeles, including a sweep in last year's NLCS.
The Brewers are among five current teams that have never won it all.
“The dream for me is to win the World Series,” Lara said through an
interpreter. “That will be the dream moment, is we’re able to
complete that. Obviously very happy that I was able to come through
and come through for my teammates.”
Game 2 is on Monday in Milwaukee. Yoshinobu Yamamoto starts for the
Dodgers, and Logan Henderson takes the mound for the Brewers.
Los Angeles, looking to become the first team to win three straight
championships since the 1998-2000 New York Yankees, grounded into
three double plays, stranded nine runners and went 1 for 6 with
runners in scoring position, dropping to 2 for 22 in the playoffs.
“You can’t go into a long series against a team that has the best
record in baseball and expect to just win four,” Dodgers manager
Dave Roberts said. “It’s going to be a long series. We knew it
coming in.”
Los Angeles chased Misiorowski, the favorite for the NL Cy Young
Award, in the fifth inning, but managed just two hits against a
Milwaukee bullpen that has allowed one earned run in 23 2/3
postseason innings.
“Those guys are grinding out there,” Misiorowski said. “Every day
being able to put up zeros, that’s the game. That’s the goal. It’s
amazing what they’re doing and the work they’re putting in.”
DL Hall replaced Misiorowski with a runner aboard and got Freddie
Freeman to ground into a double play, sending a charge through the
rollicking crowd of 42,617. Abner Uribe allowed two hits in the
sixth, then struck out Andy Pages with runners at the corners for
the final out of the inning.
Aaron Ashby pitched two innings, and Trevor Megill got three outs
for the save. Kyle Tucker and pinch-hitter Josue De Paula walked
with two down in the ninth before Mookie Betts flied to the warning
track in center.
“Miz and their ’pen are about the same," Freeman said. "That’s a
great pitching staff. That’s two great pitching staffs. Two great
teams going at it. It’s kind of what we envisioned.”
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Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Brice Turang and Los Angeles
Dodgers catcher Will Smith watch his solo home run take flight
during the fourth inning of Game 1 of baseball's National League
Championship Series between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Los
Angeles Dodgers, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP
Photo/Ashley Landis)
Los Angeles made Misiorowski throw 35 pitches in
the second. Pages drove in Shohei Ohtani on a grounded single into
right field, and Tucker loaded the bases when he reached on a
10-pitch walk that included four foul balls.
But Misiorowski limited the damage when he got Kiké
Hernández to bounce into an inning-ending double play.
“You didn’t see 105 (mph), whatever, but whenever he got in a jam,
he got better,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “His stuff wasn’t
great, no, it wasn’t, but it’s still pretty darn good.”
Turang responded with a leadoff drive into the home bullpen in
left-center in the fourth, going the other way on a 95.5 mph sinker
inside. It was the second career postseason homer for Turang, who
went 1 for 15 with six strikeouts in last year's NLCS.
“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,” Turang said. "Not try to do too
much, just drive back up the middle and get inside of it.
Sticking with the same brand of baseball that resulted in the
majors' best record this year, Milwaukee went ahead to stay in the
fifth. The Brewers have come from behind in three of their four
postseason wins.
Garrett Mitchell reached on a leadoff walk and advanced on rookie
Cooper Pratt's sacrifice bunt. Lara, another rookie, then grounded
an RBI single into center field. The Brewers loaded the bases with
two down, but Skubal escaped the jam when William Contreras flied to
right.
“A leadoff walk just can’t happen," Skubal said. “A leadoff walk in
that inning, then you give them the ability to bunt the ball over
and then all they need is a base hit, and they got it.”
Up next
Yamamoto is 8-1 with a 2.14 ERA in 11 postseason appearances. The
Japanese right-hander pitched a three-hitter in a 5-1 victory at
Milwaukee in Game 2 of last year's NLCS.
Henderson is making his second career postseason start. The
right-hander tossed five-plus innings of two-run ball in Milwaukee's
4-3 win over San Diego in Game 2 of their NL Division Series. He
went 2-0 with a 0.75 ERA in two starts against Los Angeles this
season.
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