NLCS Game 1: Takeaways, updates, analysis from Brewers' win

Oct 11, 2026, 11:12 PM ET

On Sunday night, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers took the field for a National League Championship Series rematch a year in the making — and this time, Milwaukee came out on top with a thrilling 2-1 win.

Who was the star of the Brewers’ series-opening win? What was the moment that defined the game? And what does losing the opener mean for the Dodgers?

We’ve got you covered with the top moments and takeaways — and a look at where this series is headed next.

Key links: Passan: An epic matchup | LCS predictions | Ranking final four

Takeaways

It was over when … Rookie Luis Lara stung a first-pitch Pull Skubal changeup up the gut to score Garrett Mitchellwho had drawn a leadoff walk and advanced to second on a Cooper Pratt sacrifice bunt. Milwaukee can score any number of ways, though to take a fifth-inning lead on a manufactured run and hold onto it for the remainder of the game perfectly personified its march to the NLCS — and served as an early reminder that these are not the same Brewers who got swept by the Dodgers last year.

Game 1 star(s): Milwaukee’s bullpen. From DL Hall to Abner Uribe to Aaron Ashby to Trevor Megillthey threw 4⅔ scoreless innings and worked out of hairy situations with aplomb. Special credit to Ashby, who covered two innings and induced a pair of eighth-inning infield popups, from Freddie Freeman and Shohei Ohtani.

The stat that defined the game: Three double plays. For all the issues Jacob Misiorowski had early, Milwaukee’s defense helped bail him out with 6-4-3 double plays to end the first and second innings. Upon Misiorowski’s exit in the fifth, Hall immediately induced an inning-ending twin killing to stamp out another potential rally.

What it means for the rest of the series: Since the Dodgers’ championship-winning run started in 2024, this is only the second time they have lost an opening game of a playoff series. The other was in the World Series last year — and they came back to thump the Blue Jays in Game 2 with Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the mound. He’ll start Game 2 on Monday at 5 p.m. ET, knowing that a 2-0 deficit against a team as good as the Brewers could spell real trouble. –Jeff Passan