MILWAUKEE — The Dodgers had fought back from a deficit and taken the lead. Then William Contreras rounded the bases, and the confidence drained out of the dugout while the crowd roared. His fifth-inning home run tied Game 2 of the NLCS at 4-4, and Los Angeles never had another hit. The Brewers won 7-4 on Monday and took a 2-0 series lead.
The Dodgers’ bullpen game was already running on borrowed energy after Yoshinobu Yamamoto exited in the third. That one swing took the rest of it.
Betts Starts It, Milwaukee Answers Right Back
Mookie Betts walked to open the game and would take third on a Logan Henderson wild pitch. The perfect opportunity to strike first had presented itself for LA. Teoscar Hernández got ahold of a pitch and sent it to right for a sacrifice fly that brought Mookie in. It was 1-0 early for the Dodgers.
The lead lasted half an inning. Brice Turang doubled, Contreras singled him home, and the place was already shaking.
A Throwing Error Hands LA the Lead, Then Yamamoto Unravels
Tommy Edman and Betts singled in the third, and a Henderson throwing error on a pickoff attempt let Edman score. The Dodgers had the lead once again, 2-1.
Much like in the first inning, it wouldn’t last. David Hamilton singled and stole second, Turang walked, and Jake Bauers walked to load the bases. Christian Yelich lined a two-run single to center, and Milwaukee took the lead right back, 3-2. No matter what the Dodgers did to try and pull away, the Brewers were not far behind.
Yamamoto left with 2⅔ innings, four hits, three runs and two walks. A rough outing for the Dodger ace, who was lights out in Game 3 of the NLDS against Atlanta, striking out a postseason career-high 10 over seven innings. Doc had seen enough. The bullpen would have to take the reins the rest of the way. Alex Vesia got the final out, but the damage was already done.
The Dodgers Take It Back, For About Ten Minutes
Kyle Tucker doubled in the fifth. Edman bunted, Henderson threw it away, and Tucker scored to tie it at 3-3. Freddie Freeman then hit a sacrifice fly that scored Edman, and the Brewers’ challenge on the tag play was upheld. It was 4-3 Dodgers.
Chaos in the Stands, Silence in the Dugout
Los Angeles had clawed its way from behind. Tucker doubled, Edman’s bunt drew a throwing error, and Freeman’s sacrifice fly put the Dodgers up 4-3. For the first time all afternoon, the momentum was theirs.
Then Kris Bubic threw one to Contreras with one out in the fifth. The ball carried to center and over the wall. Tie game, 4-4.
American Family Field came unglued. Contreras rounded the bases through the noise, and in the Dodgers’ dugout the look was the opposite of the crowd: deflated confidence, the air gone out of a team that had just taken the lead back. They had built the comeback with their own hands, and one swing took it away.
Stewart Can’t Escape Twice
The sixth did the real damage. Hamilton was hit by a pitch, and Stewart’s own throwing error on the pickoff attempt put him in trouble. After a Jackson Chourio groundout, Stewart intentionally walked Turang to get to Contreras. It backfired. Contreras lined a single to left, and Milwaukee led 5-4.
Twelve Up, Twelve Down
The Brewers’ bullpen retired the final 12 Dodgers batters in order. No Dodger had a hit after Contreras. Ohtani finished 0-for-4 with two strikeouts, and Will Smith went 0-for-4.
Milwaukee added two more in the eighth. Hamilton singled, stole second and moved to third, then scored on a Turang single. Contreras walked, and Bauers singled in another run, with an Andy Pages error adding to the sting. It was 7-4, and the noise only got louder.
No Hits, No Help
Three hits, and not one after the home run. None of the three drove in a run, either. Los Angeles scored its four runs on two sacrifice flies and two Henderson throwing errors. The Dodgers struck out nine times, while Milwaukee piled up 12 hits, including three from Contreras with three RBI.
The Dodgers had traffic and chances all day. They just didn’t have the swings to cash them in, and Milwaukee did.
Up Next
The series now shifts to Dodger Stadium for Game 3 on Wednesday at 5 p.m. PT. Blake Snell will take the ball for Los Angeles against Brewers starter Robert Gasser. Down 0-2, the Dodgers have to win their way home.
