MLB Playoffs: Brewers Pen Dodgers into Game 1 Win
By Bill Felber
Milwaukee’s middle relief leads the way to a cliff-hanger 6-5 Game 1 MLB playoffs victory over Los Angeles in the National League Championship Series
The diminishing ranks of Milwaukee Brewers skeptics probably shrunk by another battalion or two Friday night when the Brewers survived a late scare to defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-5 in the first game of their best-of-seven National League Championship Series at Miller Park in the MLB playoffs.
The outcome, Milwaukee’s 12th consecutive regular season or post-season win, was very much in suspense toward the finish. Trailing by five runs and looking helpless much of the night against the Brewer middle relief corps, Los Angeles rallied for three runs in the 8th on RBI singles by Manny Machado and Matt Kemp, the key hits coming off closer Jeremy Jeffress. The Dodgers collected four hits in that inning, one more than they had in the first seven.
In the ninth, Corey Knebel relieved Jeffress, got the first two hitters, then lapsed into crisis mode of his own. He walked Joc Pederson and surrendered a triple to Chris Taylor that Lorenzo Cain got a glove on before a collision with the wall pried it loose. Having sufficiently ratcheted up the drama quotient, Knebel fanned Justin Turner to end the game.
The Dodgers took their only lead when Machado put a 2-0 Gio Gonzalez changeup over the wall in left-center leading off the second.
But two Brewers relievers dismissed the Dodgers with extreme prejudice over the next five innings while Milwaukee’s lineup mixed 11 hits with 4 Dodger errors and two passed balls to build a winning margin.
The first sign that this was Milwaukee’s night came in the bottom of the second when pitcher Brandon Woodruff, who had relieved Gonzalez to start the top of that inning, slammed a 2-2 fastball for a game-tying home run … off Clayton Kershaw.
The tie didn’t last long. Lorenzo Cain followed Woodruff’s surprise with a base hit, and moved to second when Kershaw walked Christian Yelich. One out later, both runners advanced when Dodger catcher Yasmani Grandal failed to stop Kershaw’s low fastball. That was by no means the worst of it for Grandal, who moments later negated first baseman David Freese’s diving snare of Jesus Aguilar’s line drive when he was called for interference on Aguilar’s swing. The Brewers capitalized when Hernan Perez flied deeply enough to center to allow Cain to score.
One inning later, the Brewers put Kershaw out of his misery. Manny Pina walked on a 3-2 pitch, advanced to second on Orlando Arcia’s single to left, then continued to third when Chris Taylor misplayed the ball for another error, sending Arcia to second. Sensing a kill, Brewers manager Craig Counsell sent Domingo Santana up to pinch hit for Woodruff, and Santana kayoed Kershaw with a two-run producing base hit.
Two outs after that, Santana, who had stolen second, scored on Aguilar’s single off reliever Dylan Floro.
Milwaukee’s four-run lead became five when Aguilar homered off Julio Urias for what proved to be the winning run in the seventh.
Beyond his home run, Woodruff and Josh Hader handled the third through seventh innings, retiring 15 of the 17 batters they faced, 10 of them in succession. That stretch included eight strikeouts.
Perhaps the scariest part of the evening for Dodger fans was that the Brewers won despite their MVP-apparent, Yelich, going zero-for-four with three whiffs and a double play. The bottom of the order covered for him. Milwaukee’s seven, eight and nine hitters combined for four hits (one of them Woodruff’s homer), a walk, three RBIs and a steal.
It was a bad night for two-hole hitters on both sides. Justin Turner went zero-for-five with five strikeouts, including the game’s final out.
Next. Twins minor league awards. dark
The victory continued a Milwaukee string of invincibility that began Sept. 23 with a 13-6 victory in Pittsburgh. Their 8th consecutive regular season win, a 3-1 defeat of the Chicago Cubs in an Oct. 1 playoff game, gave them the NL Central title and the National League’s best record.
They dispatched Colorado Rockies in three straight in the division series.
Since Aug. 29, the Brewers are 27-7, a .794 winning percentage. During that streak, they are 9-0 against teams that played in the post-season.