William Contreras launched a tie‑breaking home run in the fifth inning and later drove in the go‑ahead run with a single, powering the Milwaukee Brewers to a 7‑4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 2 of the NLCS on Monday.
Milwaukee’s bullpen shut down Los Angeles, retiring the final 15 batters in succession, giving the Brewers a 2‑0 series edge over the defending champions. The series shifts to Los Angeles for Game 3 on Wednesday.
Milwaukee is pursuing its second league pennant and its first National League title. The franchise’s only World Series appearance came in 1982 while it was still in the American League. Meanwhile, Los Angeles aims to become the first NL club to capture three consecutive World Series championships.
Los Angeles last overcame a 0‑2 series deficit in 2020, defeating the Atlanta Braves in a seven‑game NLCS en route to a World Series title. To repeat that feat, the Dodgers need greater offensive production; they managed only three hits on Monday and were 0‑for‑4 with runners in scoring position, leaving them at 2‑for‑26 in such situations this postseason.
Even Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who entered the game with an 8‑1 record and a 2.14 ERA over 11 playoff outings, failed to provide a lift, lasting just 2.2 innings for his shortest postseason start.
Los Angeles grabbed the lead three times in the opening five innings, but Milwaukee answered each rally. The final response came when Contreras launched a 436‑foot center‑field homer off Kris Bubic to knot the score in the fifth.
The game shifted to a bullpen duel, where Milwaukee again held the advantage. Dustin May, JoJo Romero, Abner Uribe and Aaron Ashby combined to retire the Dodgers after Logan Henderson departed early.
With the game knotted at 4‑4, Milwaukee’s David Hamilton was hit by a pitch from Brock Stewart to lead off the sixth. Stewart’s pickoff attempt ricocheted off Freddie Freeman’s glove and rolled foul, resulting in an error that moved Hamilton to second base.
After Jackson Chourio grounded out, Stewart issued a walk to left‑handed batter Brice Turang, setting up a showdown with right‑handed slugger William Contreras, who had homered in his prior at‑bat.
Contreras responded with a left‑field single that scored Hamilton, giving Milwaukee the lead.
Turang and Jake Bauers each contributed RBI singles in the eighth inning, stretching Milwaukee’s advantage.
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