Brice Turang delivered a crucial home run as the Milwaukee Brewers edged the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-1 in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series (NLCS) on Sunday, with Milwaukee’s bullpen doing an outstanding job of containing the defending champions’ powerful lineup.

Having been swept by the Dodgers in last year’s NLCS, the Brewers made a strong statement in front of their home fans, taking the opening game of the best-of-seven series. The winner will advance to the World Series, where Los Angeles are aiming to become the first team in decades to capture three consecutive championships.

Milwaukee, which finished the regular season with a Major League Baseball-leading 103 wins, demonstrated its determination to go one step further this year. The franchise is seeking its second World Series appearance, having last reached baseball’s championship series in 1982, when it lost to the St. Louis Cardinals.

The matchup was expected to feature a pitching battle between Jacob Misiorowski, Milwaukee’s hard-throwing ace, and the Dodgers’ Tarik Skubal, a two-time Cy Young Award winner. However, neither starter managed to complete six innings.

The Dodgers put pressure on Misiorowski early but managed just one run against him in the second inning. Shohei Ohtani opened the frame with a four-pitch walk before Teoscar Hernández singled to move him into scoring position. Ohtani eventually crossed home plate on a one-out single from Andy Pages.

Kyle Tucker then drew a walk after a lengthy 10-pitch at-bat to load the bases. However, Enrique Hernández grounded into a double play, allowing Misiorowski to escape the inning with minimal damage.

“I didn’t think I had my best stuff,” Misiorowski admitted. “Obviously, it was good enough to make it work. Props to my defence behind me and all the support they gave me.”

The Brewers responded in the fifth inning, with Garrett Mitchell scoring the go-ahead run. Mitchell drew a walk to begin the inning and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Cooper Pratt before Lara delivered a clutch single up the middle.

Milwaukee’s bullpen then took control, shutting down the Dodgers’ offence and protecting the narrow lead.

“That bullpen really showed up today and did amazing,” Misiorowski said. “And then just the guys laying down a sac bunt to get a guy over and a clutch base hit by Lara — just, you know, our way.”

Turang also played a decisive role, hitting his second career postseason home run despite having fouled a pitch off his knee during his previous at-bat.

“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,” Turang explained. “I just got it… sometimes less is more.”

The Dodgers threatened in the ninth inning when Milwaukee closer Trevor Megill walked Kyle Tucker and Josue De Paula with two outs. However, Mookie Betts hit a high fly ball that was caught to end the game and secure the Brewers’ victory.

Milwaukee will look to extend its advantage to 2-0 when the teams meet again for Game 2 on Monday.

Despite the defeat, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts remained confident, confirming that Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the 2025 World Series Most Valuable Player, would start the next game.

Roberts acknowledged that his team had missed opportunities but insisted the series was far from over.

“It’s going to be a long series,” he said.

“We knew it coming in. We had our chances, but they made plays, pitches when they needed to.”

He added: “We’ve just got to reset. We’ve got our guy (Yamamoto) going tomorrow, who we trust undoubtedly, and we’ve got to win a baseball game.”