Brewers 6, Dodgers 5: Surviving some unneeded anxious moments in the end to take Game 1 of the NLCS
The Milwaukee Brewers machine kept on chugging Friday night, but with some anxious moments along the way.
Revitalized by a four-day break and more than up to the task against ace Clayton Kershaw, the Brewers remained undefeated in the postseason and ran their overall winning streak to 12 games by holding on to defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 6-5, in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series at Miller Park.
The offense chased Kershaw after just three innings, with an improbable home run by reliever Brandon Woodruff getting Milwaukee on the board. Four more runs spanning the third and fourth provided some breathing room, and the Brewers once again utilized an all-hands-on-deck pitching performance to finish it off.
"It’s always good to get that first one out of the way, get the nerves out of there," said reliever Jeremy Jeffress, whose shaky eighth inning provided some jittery moments late. "To get away with the 'W' is definitely a lot more calming."
The NLCS victory was Milwaukee's first since Oct. 13, 2011 and ran the Brewers' 2018 postseason record to 4-0. A victory in Game 2 on Saturday afternoon would tie the Brewers' franchise record of 13 straight, accomplished in 1987.
What had been a fairly comfortable 6-1 Brewers lead was whittled down quickly in the game's final two innings.
The Dodgers scored three times in the eighth off Jeffress, and then things became even more nerve-wracking in the ninth when Corey Knebel took the mound.
Nursing a 6-4 lead, Milwaukee used a second successful challenge to overturn a Cody Bellinger infield single that opened the inning. Knebel struck out Yasmani Grandal before walking Joc Pederson to turn the lineup over for Los Angeles.
Leadoff man Chris Taylor responded by tripling to the gap in right-center to score Pederson and pull the Dodgers within a run. That brought up the dangerous Justin Turner, who worked a six-pitch at-bat from Knebel before striking out on a 97 mph fastball up and out of the strike zone.
Lefties Gio Gonzalez and Kershaw exchanged scoreless first innings, with Kershaw needing to throw 23 pitches to eventually strand Lorenzo Cain at second base.
Manny Machado then touched Gonzalez up with a laser-beam homer over the wall in left-center to lead off the second and leave the Brewers trailing for the first time in the postseason at 1-0.
It was also the first homer surrendered in the postseason by Milwaukee.
Gonzalez finished the frame with no further damage and then was lifted in the third for Woodruff, who retired Los Angeles in order.
Woodruff's spot was due up to open the Brewers' third, and wanting multiple innings from the right-hander, manager Craig Counsell let him hit.
What a decision that turned out to be. Six pitches into the at-bat, Kershaw threw a belt-high fastball that Woodruff crushed off the corner of the scoreboard in right-center to knot things up.
It was the 22nd homer hit by a pitcher in the postseason and just the third by a reliever, as Woodruff joined Rosy Ryan (1924 World Series, Game 3) and Travis Wood (2016 NLDS, Game 2).
It was also the fourth homer hit by a pitcher off Kershaw.
Woodruff, who'd homered once previously – July 13 in Pittsburgh – let out a huge roar as he rounded first, and then he briefly turned and looked into the Brewers' dugout before completing his trot around the bases while the sellout crowd of 43,615 went wild.
"I was hoping he was the guy that was going to get the (pitcher's) at-bat today," said Counsell. "Just kind of depended how it worked out, and it ended up being him.
"But still, two strikes and you're really not expecting much, and he laid off the curveball and got a pitch to hit. So it definitely changed the vibe, for sure."
The Brewers continued the inning with a mini-rally, taking the lead after taking advantage of some defensive malfeasance by Dodgers catcher Grandal.
Cain followed with a single and Christian Yelich walked, then after Ryan Braun fouled out, Jesús Aguilar reached on catcher's interference when his bat ticked Grandal's glove on his swing.
That loaded the bases for Hernán Pérez, whose sacrifice fly to center plated Cain and gave the Brewers their first lead at 2-1.
Woodruff (1-0) capped his night by striking out the side in the fourth, then the offense chased Kershaw in the bottom of the frame.
Manny Piña drew a leadoff walk and Orlando Arcia followed with a single to left that Taylor let get past him. His error left runners on second and third, and Domingo Santana, batting in Woodruff's spot, sent another single to left to score both Piña and Arcia.
That hit ended Kershaw's night, and he exited having allowed six hits, five runs (four earned) and two walks with two strikeouts over 74 pitches. He was replaced by hard-throwing righty Ryan Madson.
"We just try to be aggressive," Aguilar said. "He’s been throwing a lot of strikes. He’s been throwing a lot of pitches in the zone. So that was the plan for tonight – try to be aggressive in the strike zone. We scored a few runs on him.
"We’re hitting good, and we saw their relievers."
After a Cain flyout, Santana was called out stealing second with Yelich up. But Counsell's challenge got Gerry Davis' call overturned – a huge break, as it turned out.
After Yelich struck out, Braun rifled a single to right – his sixth hit of the postseason – and Milwaukee's lead was upped to 5-1.
Up by four runs, Counsell went for the knockout blow by bringing in left-hander Josh Hader.
He responded with a herculean effort, throwing a season-high 46 pitches in three shutout innings. Hader allowed a pair of singles and struck out four to keep it a 5-1 game, even getting an at-bat along the way (he struck out).
Aguilar broke a two-inning scoring drought for the Brewers by homering to right off Julio Urías to lead off the bottom of the seventh. And little did anyone know at the time, but it turned out to be the decisive run in the game.
"You never know what’s going to happen with those guys. They’ve got a great lineup. They’ve already shown it tonight," said Aguilar. "That was a really important run."
In the eighth, the Dodgers started creeping back into it when they loaded the bases with two outs against Joakim Soria.
Counsell responded with Jeffress, who surrendered a two-run single to Machado and an RBI single to Matt Kemp in consecutive at-bats as Los Angeles inched back to within 6-4.
With two runners still aboard, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts inserted pinch-hitter Yasiel Puig. Having predicted a four-game sweep of Milwaukee in the midst of the Dodgers' NLDS clinch celebration in Atlanta, the burly outfielder was lustily booed as he strode to the plate.
Jeffress responded with a five-pitch strikeout of Puig, putting him away with a nasty breaking ball out of the strike zone and punctuating the play with a throat-slash gesture as he walked off the mound.
"You can’t beat yourself up about pitches that you made that were good and they still got a hit," Jeffress said. "They’re professionals as well, so that just comes with it."
FIVE TAKEAWAYS
STREAKING: Mike Moustakas singled in the fifth to extend his postseason hitting streak to 10 games, dating to Game 6 of the ALCS against Toronto while he was still with the Kansas City Royals. It is the longest active postseason hitting streak in the majors.
LOTS OF SUCCESS: Yelich came into the night a .529 career hitter against Kershaw, including .667 with two homers this season. His .529 average was tied with Arizona's Chris Stewart for the highest of any player in the major leagues against Kershaw (minimum of 15 at-bats). He struck out and walked in two plate appearances against Kershaw on Friday.
BEEN A WHILE: Lorenzo Cain went 3 for 4 and reached on an error. His three hits made him the third Brewers player to record a three-hit game in the LCS, joining Mark Brouhard (three hits in Game 4 of the 1982 ALCS against California) and Corey Hart (three hits in Game 5 of the 2011 NLCS against St. Louis).
MOVING UP THE RANKS: Braun became the Brewers' franchise leader by playing in his 18th postseason game in Game 3 of the NLDS at Colorado. Braun also is the club's all-time leader in postseason hit with 28 (including six this year), and he tied Cecil Cooper for first all-time with his 13th RBI. His two career postseason homers are tied for fourth behind Prince Fielder (four) and Paul Molitor and Ted Simmons (three apiece).
A GRAND ADDITION: A year ago at this time, Curtis Granderson was a member of a Dodgers team that would advance to the World Series. Now he's playing against Los Angeles after a late-season trade that brought him to Milwaukee from Toronto.
"We've added good players, and we've added really quality people that have really added just to the clubhouse and our team element, and Curtis is at the top of the list," Counsell said. "When we traded for him the first thing I said was, 'Man, it's an honor to have you on our team.'
"We tried last year. I was hopeful last year. We tried to get him. We were unable. But the fact that we were able to add him this year, and he made a big impact in the month of September. So when you add guys like that, I think they're able to lift everybody else up, and he's done just that, as some other guys have as well."
COMING UP
Saturday: Brewers vs. Dodgers in Game 2 of the NLCS, 3:09 p.m. at Miller Park. Milwaukee LHP Wade Miley (5-2, 2.57) vs. Los Angeles LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu (7-3, 1.97). TV: Fox. Radio: AM-620.
NLCS SCHEDULE
Game 3: Monday, Oct. 15, 6:39 p.m. at Los Angeles
Game 4: Tuesday, Oct. 16, 8:09 p.m. at Los Angeles
Game 5: Wednesday, Oct. 17, 4:05 p.m. at Los Angeles
Game 6: Friday, Oct. 19, 7:39 p.m. at Milwaukee
Game 7: Saturday, Oct. 20, 8:09 p.m. at Milwaukee