Brewers top Dodgers 2-1 in NLCS Game 1 behind Turang homer, Megill save

The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-1 in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series on Sunday night at American Family Field, taking the opening game of a rematch between the two best teams in baseball this season. Brice Turang's solo home run tied the score in the fourth inning, and Luis Lara's go-ahead single in the fifth held up as closer Trevor Megill navigated a tense ninth to secure the win.

It was a result few saw coming given how last October ended for Milwaukee. The marquee pitching matchup between Brewers right-hander Jacob Misiorowski and Dodgers left-hander Tarik Skubal lived up to its billing for stretches, but it was Milwaukee's bullpen, not either starter, that decided the opener.

A taxing night for two aces, then a long relief shift

Misiorowski, who led the major leagues this season in ERA, strikeouts and opponents' batting average, lasted only 4 1/3 innings, allowing five hits and a run while walking three and striking out five. The Dodgers drove his pitch count up early, and Brewers manager Pat Murphy turned to Aaron Ashby, who threw two scoreless, hitless innings in relief. Three more Milwaukee relievers combined to hold Los Angeles scoreless over the final innings, according to a box score breakdown of the game.

Skubal, acquired by Los Angeles at this year's trade deadline and the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner, was removed after five innings and 81 pitches, having allowed five hits and two runs, well short of his typical workload. Andy Pages had driven in the Dodgers' only run with an early RBI single that scored Shohei Ohtani, but Los Angeles managed just one hit in five at-bats with runners in scoring position and left as many as eight runners on base over the course of the game, according to a recap of the Dodgers' offensive struggles. The game's final jeopardy came in the ninth, when Megill walked Kyle Tucker and pinch-hitter Josue De Paula with two outs before retiring Mookie Betts on a fly ball to end it.

A measure of payback for Milwaukee

The outcome carries extra weight because of how last year's meeting between these teams went. The Dodgers swept the Brewers in four games in the 2025 NLCS en route to a second straight World Series title, and Milwaukee entered this rematch looking to avoid a repeat. The Brewers finished the 2026 regular season 103-59, the best record in the majors and three games better than the Dodgers, who went 100-62 while chasing an unprecedented third consecutive championship.

Milwaukee has reached the World Series only once in its history, losing to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1982, a drought that has shadowed the franchise even as it has built one of the sport's most consistent rosters over the past decade. The two clubs also played a closely contested regular-season series this year; a recap of their head-to-head meetings found the Dodgers winning three of seven games despite being outscored 27-25 overall, an early hint that the margins between these two rosters would stay thin into October.

Misiorowski's season was central to that record. According to the Brewers' own preview of the pitching matchup, he posted a 1.80 ERA with 252 strikeouts and a .157 opponents' batting average, each the best figure in the league, with a fastball that has reached 104.8 mph this year. He had pitched once previously in this postseason, allowing two runs over four innings in the Brewers' National League Division Series win over the San Diego Padres. Skubal, for his part, carried a 2.72 ERA across 26 starts split between Detroit and Los Angeles, and missed 44 days of the season recovering from elbow surgery before returning to form. Megill, Milwaukee's closer, entered Game 1 having already picked up his first career postseason save against San Diego days earlier. Los Angeles, for its part, had acquired Skubal from Detroit at the trade deadline specifically to deepen a rotation for another long postseason run, a move that will draw scrutiny no matter how the series ultimately unfolds.

What Murphy said, and what happens next

Murphy had signaled before the series that he expected a different outcome than last year's sweep. In remarks published ahead of the rematch, he said he believed his team would be better prepared this time.

"We're gonna be more ready than we were last time, I believe," Murphy said, adding that the Brewers intended to "stay with them and beat them in seven games."

The win gives Milwaukee a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series and, statistically, a meaningful edge: home teams that take Game 1 of a League Championship Series have historically gone on to win the series roughly two-thirds of the time, a trend Milwaukee's front office and fan base will be watching closely as the series continues. Jackson Chourio also contributed for the Brewers, going 2-for-4, while Ohtani reached base for Los Angeles but continued a quiet postseason at the plate. For the home crowd at American Family Field, the win offered validation of a regular season in which Milwaukee's homegrown core outlasted a deep National League field, a contrast frequently drawn against the Dodgers' free-agent-driven approach to roster building.

Game 2 was scheduled for Monday night, also at American Family Field, with Yoshinobu Yamamoto expected to start for Los Angeles after sitting out Game 1 because of short rest from his National League Division Series outing against Atlanta. The series then shifts to Dodger Stadium for Games 3 and 4 later in the week, with Games 6 and 7, if necessary, returning to Milwaukee. The winner advances to the World Series, which is set to open October 23, against the winner of the American League Championship Series between the Tampa Bay Rays and Cleveland Guardians, who were opening their own series Monday in St. Petersburg.

For a Brewers franchise that has never won a World Series and was swept out of last year's NLCS, the Game 1 win is a small but concrete step. For the Dodgers, it is an early reminder that a third consecutive title, something no franchise has managed since the Yankees of the late 1990s and early 2000s, will not come easily against the team with the best record in baseball this season.