Brice Turang lifts Brewers to tone-setting victory over Tarik Skubal, Dodgers in Game 1 of NLCS

Entering their NLCS rematch against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Milwaukee Brewers were hoping to quickly put to bed any assumptions that this year's series would be a repeat of last year's. Sporting a more complete roster that produced 103 wins during the regular season and no longer claiming to be the "underdogs" in their matchup with Los Angeles' assembly of All-Stars, the Brewers were hoping for a victory in Sunday night's series opener that proved to their doubters that this year is different.

That tone-setting victory is exactly what the Brewers collected in Game 1 last night. It wasn't a blowout, or a game that capitalized on a series of errors from Dave Roberts' squad. Rather, strength on strength, Jacob Misiorowski vs. Tarik Skubal, the Brewers won with strong defense, excellent pitching, a big swing from one of their star players, and a manufactured run from the bottom of their order. It's a formula that the Brewers often rely on, and therefore feels rather repeatable, which should give Pat Murphy's club the confidence that they can continue to win games like this through the end of the month.

Adding to the feeling that this win was nothing out of the ordinary for the Brewers was the fact that Misiorowski was by no means his dominant self. His start was incredibly similar to the outing he had against the San Diego Padres in Game 1 of the NLDS -- his fastball didn't have quite the same ride it normally has, he therefore didn't miss as many bats, and the Dodgers, like the Padres, were able to execute their game plan of fouling many pitches off to chase Miz out of the game early.

As a result, the Brewers' ace lasted just 4.1 innings on Sunday night despite throwing 94 pitches, and exited with the game tied 1-1. That run, which ended up being Los Angeles' lone run of the series opener, was the result of a leadoff walk in the second inning to Shohei Ohtani. Miz walked the former MVP on four pitches, saw him advance to third base on a single from Teoscar Hernández, and score on a seeing-eye single through the right side by Andy Pages.

On the other side, Skubal was dealing through the first three innings of the game, allowing just a one-out single to Andrew Vaughn in the second inning that didn't amount to anything. However, with the Brewers trailing 1-0 in the top of the fourth, Brice Turang threw Skubal off of his rhythm with the biggest swing of the night and one of the more impressive swings of the star second baseman's career.

Brice Turang's left-on-left, game-tying homer off Tarik Skubal in Game 1 of the NLCS was one of the most impressive swings of his career

In his first at-bat of last night's game, Turang bounced out to second baseman Kiké Hernández after a seven-pitch battle with Skubal. On the fifth pitch of that at-bat, Turang fouled an inside sinker off his right knee, as seen below.

That pitch, and Turang's swing, would prove to be pivotal in his second at-bat, which led off the fourth inning. After working a 2-0 count thanks to two impressive takes on four-seam fastballs that missed the outside edge of the zone, Skubal tried to come back inside with a sinker. However, Turang, remembering his first-inning swing when he swung around the sinker and fouled it off his front knee, vowed to stay inside the pitch and drive it to the opposite field, which is by no means an easy task, especially against Skubal. However, Turang pulled his hands in and sent the well-located pitch into the Brewers' bullpen past the left-center field wall, tying the game at 1-1.

“I didn't want to foul a ball off my knee again," said Turang after the game before adding that he told himself, "I’m going to stay inside of this one. Not try to do too much, just drive back up the middle and get inside of it...I just got it." The swing, which was truly one of the most impressive of Turang's career given the location of the pitch, the opposing pitcher, and the situation, completely changed the mood in American Family Field, but there was still work to be done.

Thankfully, Turang's homer didn't just change the mood, it also threw Skubal off his rhythm, and the Cy Young southpaw walked the leadoff hitter in the fifth inning, Garrett Mitchell, as a result. Mitchell advanced to second base after a perfectly executed sacrifice bunt by rookie shortstop Cooper Pratt, before rookie right fielder Luis Lara drove him in with a single up the middle. Not only was it Lara's first postseason RBI, but it was the 21-year-old's first postseason hit, and it's safe to say it was a big one.

However, despite his heroics on Sunday night, Lara's focus remains locked in on far bigger goals. When asked after the game if his go-ahead RBI was a "dream moment," the rookie outfielder responded, "The dream for me is to win the World Series...Obviously very happy that I was able to come through for my teammates and that we were able to get the win."

Thanks to a dominant performance from DL Hall, Abner Uribe, Aaron Ashby, and Trevor Megill, the one-run lead that Lara delivered was all the Brewers needed to take Game 1 and set the tone for the series. Even after adding 4.2 innings to their impressive playoff total, which now sits at 23.2 innings, the Brewers' bullpen has still allowed just one earned run during this year's postseason.

Milwaukee now holds the early advantage, and in earning the win in Game 1 proved what Brewers fans already know: this team is different. This is by no means the same team that was swept in last year's NLCS. Rather, this is a team that without the benefit of a fluke play or an uncharacteristically poor performance from Skubal and the Dodgers, just proved they absolutely have what it takes to take down the reigning back-to-back World Series champions.

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