The Brewers won’t get swept this time. Milwaukee took Game 1 of the National League Championship Series with a narrow 2-1 victory over the Dodgers. While they didn’t light up the scoreboard, the Brewers scored more runs than in any game during last year’s National League Championship Series. 1. Turang takes Skubal deep The biggest twist of Game 1 was Brice Turang’s solo home run to tie the score in the fourth inning. The second baseman pushed a Tarik Skubal sinker over the left-center wall to put Milwaukee on the board. Turang joined the rare home run company. It was just the third time in the Statcast era that a left-handed sinker on the inside corner went for an opposite-field home run (h/t Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel). It is the first case that happens in a field above 95 mph. 2. The Miz fights for a short start The Dodgers had a clear game plan against Jacob Misiorowski: get him out of there as soon as possible. The approach worked, with the NL Cy Young favorite throwing 94 pitches in just 4 1/3 innings. “I thought we did a great job against Misiorowski to get him out when we did, to get the pitch count up,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said (h/t Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register). “I think the approach, the way we did it, was fantastic.” The big right-hander dealt with traffic on the bases in multiple innings, but two double plays helped him escape harm. Another double play ended the fifth inning after DL Hall relieved Misiorowski. 3. Griffin gets the ball for Cleveland The Guardians rallied from a 2-0 deficit to beat the White Sox and advance to the American League Championship Series. Cleveland relied heavily on ace Gavin Williams and the bullpen to survive the series. Manager Stephen Vogt will turn to Foster Griffin in Game 1 against the Rays, according to Tim Stebbins of MLB.com. Griffin covered 2 2/3 innings of relief in Game 3. He is on regular rest for this start. Photo courtesy of Jovanny Hernandez of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel via Imagn Images
