1 of 5 | Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Blake Snell prepares to throw in the fourth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers during Game 1 of the National League Championship Series on Monday at American Family Field in Milwaukee. Photo by Tannen Maury/UPI | License Photo
Blake Snell allowed one hit over eight innings before the Los Angeles Dodgers fended off a late rally to beat the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 1 of the NLCS.
The Dodgers took the lead with a 362-foot Freddie Freeman home run in the sixth inning of the 2-1 triumph Monday in Milwaukee. They added another run on a bases-loaded walk in the ninth, but needed to survive several Brewers threats in the final half inning to steal the road victory.
“I feel like the whole postseason I’ve been pretty locked in and pretty consistent,” Snell told reporters.
The two-time Cy Young Award winner was dominant for the start of Game 1, retiring the first six Brewers batters in order. He allowed his lone hit to Brewers third baseman Caleb Durbin in the third, but did not allow another baserunner. Snell also issued 10 strikeouts in his eight-inning gem.
“Sometimes it’ll take an inning or two for someone to settle in, but it was from the get-go. … It was a masterpiece,” Freeman said, when asked about Snell’s performance.
Game 2 of the best-of-seven game series will be Tuesday in Milwaukee. The series will shift to Los Angeles on Thursday for Game 3 at Dodger Stadium.
Dodgers bats also started slow Monday, with no hits until catcher Will Smith and second baseman Tommy Edman hit back-to-back singles in the fourth. But Brewers relief pitcher Quinn Priester managed to escape the inning unscathed. The Dodgers got two men on base again in the fifth, but they also ended up stranded.
Freeman finally activated the scoreboard when he crushed a 3-2 baseball from relief pitcher Chad Patrick to right field for a 1-0 Dodgers lead in the sixth.
The Dodgers continued to put runners on base, but didn’t score again until relief pitcher Abner Uribe walked shortstop Mookie Betts with the bases loaded in the final frame.
The Brewers cut the deficit in half on an RBI sacrifice fly from right fielder Jackson Chourio in the bottom of the inning. They proceeded to load the bases for Brice Turang with two outs later in the inning, but Dodgers reliever Blake Treinen struck out the second baseman to end the game and secure his first save of the postseason.
Freeman, Smith and left fielder Enrique Hernandez recorded two hits apiece in the victory. Designated hitter Shohei Ohtani went 0 for 2, but reached base three times via walks. Edman and third baseman Max Muncy also reached base twice for the Dodgers.
First pitch for Game 2 is scheduled for 8:08 p.m. EDT Tuesday at American Family Field. That matchup is set to feature Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Dodgers against fellow right-handed pitcher Freddy Peralta of the Brewers.
