MILWAUKEE — Brice Turang homered and the Milwaukee Brewers bullpen put up zeroes after a gritty start by ace Jacob Misiorowski to preserve a 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday in the opener of the National League Championship Series.
The Brewers, whose only World Series appearance was in 1982 when they were in the American League, were swept last season in the NLCS by the Dodgers, who went on to win their second consecutive World Series.
The Dodgers threatened in the ninth inning after a pair of two-out walks off closer Trevor Megill, but Mookie Betts flied to center for the final out.
Dodgers starter Tarik Skubal cruised through the first three innings, allowing one hit and striking out six, before Turang homered to open the fourth, sending a 2-0 pitch 384 feet to left-center to tie it 1-all.
The Brewers, last in the National League in homers during the regular season, pushed across a run in more typical fashion in the fifth to go up 2-1. Garrett Mitchell walked to open, advanced on Cooper Pratt’s sacrifice bunt and scored on Luis Lara’s single to center.
Los Angeles had acquired Skubal (1-1), a two-time American League Cy Young winner, from the Detroit Tigers at the trade deadline, while the Brewers were also pursuing him. The left-hander allowed two runs on five hits over five innings, striking out seven and walking two.
The Dodgers had runners on the corners with two outs in the sixth after a pair of singles, but Abner Uribe fanned Andy Pages to end the right-hander’s one scoreless inning.
Left-hander Aaron Ashby followed with two scoreless innings before giving way to Megill, who recorded two saves against the San Diego Padres in the NL Division Series after collecting 30 during the regular season.
Misiorowski escaped a bases-loaded jam, allowing just one run in a 35-pitch second inning.
Shohei Ohtani walked to open and Teoscar Hernandez singled. Pages’ one-out single to right scored Ohtani from second base. Kyle Tucker walked to load the bases, but Enrique Hernandez bounced into an inning-ending double play.
Misiorowski, considered the favorite for the NL Cy Young Award after leading the majors with a 1.80 ERA and 252 strikeouts, struggled through 4 1/3 innings but allowed just one run on five hits. He struck out five and walked three in a 94-pitch outing.
Misiorowski exited after a one-out walk to Betts in the fifth, but lefty DL Hall (2-0) relieved and Freddie Freeman grounded into the Dodgers’ third double play.
–Jim Hoehn, Field Level Media
