The Milwaukee Brewers took Game 1 of the National League Championship Series in a tight 2-1 affair on Sunday night, and with another star studded matchup on Monday, they looked to take a 2-0 lead on the back-to-back World Series Champions.
Despite the pitching matchup of Yoshinobu Yamamoto vs. Logan Henderson, both offense's got things going in the first inning, with the Dodgers moving Mookie Betts around the bases on the back of a Henderson wild pitch, allowing Teoscar Hernandez to step up and deliver the games first run.
As they've done all year however, the Brewers didn't allow an early run to get them down, as the team came back immediately in the bottom of the first inning, with a Brice Turang double turning into the tying run on the back of another clutch hit from star catcher William Contreras.
From there, things settled down a little, and after a combined three runs were scored on Sunday night in the 2-1 victory for Milwaukee, the second inning was quick, with many believing we'd settle in for another star studded pitching battle.
That wasn't to be the case however, as the Dodgers got back on the board in the third inning, and this time, it was another poor play from Henderson that got the run home, as it was a poor throw on a pickoff attempt that allowed Tommy Edman to come home and give Los Angeles the 2-1 lead. Not to be outdone, the Brewers hit back immediately for the second time in the game, and this time, it was one of their longest tenured stars in captain Christian Yelich, who delivered a clutch two-out, two-run single, giving the Brewers the lead for the first time in the game.
Not only this, but the team chased Yamamoto from the game, and despite dominating in recent post-season appearances, the Japanese ace left the game with a stat line of 2.2 innings, 4 hits, 2 walks and 3 earned runs.
Continuing the pattern, the fourth inning was a clean one for both teams, but given the talent in both lineups, it was a matter of when, not if the scoring started again, and in the top of the fifth, it was once again a poor play from Henderson that brought in a run, as an errant throw to first on a bunt from Edman led to the tying run.
Not content, the Dodgers would then bring Edman home on a sacrifice fly from Freddie Freeman, with the back-and-forth affair leading LA to a 4-3 lead with Dustin May on the mound.
Not once, not twice, but now three times, the Brewers hit back immediately, showing the resilience and the offensive firepower that led them to 103 wins on the season, and with the home crowd in Milwaukee behind them, the Brewers are fighting hard.
This time, it was Contreras again, but in the 5th he did it all by himself, launching a ball 436 feet beyond the center field wall with a mammoth solo shot that saw the Brewers tie the game after 5 innings, with the NLCS certainly living up to the hype thus far.
William was certainly not done for the day however, as the very next inning, the star catcher did it again, and this time, it was a single to left field to score David Hamilton, with the crowd in Milwaukee once again whipped into a frenzy as Contreras moved to 3-4 on the day with 3 RBI, with the Brewers now up 5-4.
From there, it was all Brewers, as the bullpen continued their dominance, and in the 8th inning, Milwaukee tacked onto their lead on the back of RBI's to both Jake Bauers and Turang, giving the team a 7-4 lead heading into the top of the 9th inning with the opportunity to go up 2-0 in the series.
Given what we'd seen from the Brewers bullpen not only throughout the year but in their first six playoff games this season, it's going to be tough to score on them, and with that three run cushion heading into the last inning, the team put the game away, with Aaron Ashby locking down the 1.2 inning save.
With the win, the Brewers have preserved home field advantage, going up 2-0 in their crucial NLCS matchup with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and while it's not easy to take down LA across a full seven game series, the Brewers are off to a fantastic start.