MILWAUKEE — While the Dodgers and Phillies trade blows on one side of the bracket, the other half opened with a loud statement from Milwaukee. The Brewers hammered the Cubs 9–3 at American Family Field, taking a 1–0 series lead and planting a flag as the potential NLCS opponent if the Dodgers handle their business against Philadelphia. It was power, pressure and a whole lot of traffic. It was also a reminder that October is rarely gentle to a shaky first inning.
Milwaukee scored six times in the opening frame and never looked back. Jackson Chourio lit the place up with three hits and three RBI, including a ringing double. Brice Turang and William Contreras followed with back-to-back doubles to flip the early 1–0 Cubs lead into a 2–1 Brewers edge before the inning really took shape. Blake Perkins added an RBI single and the carousel kept moving. By the time the third out landed, Chicago starter Mitch Boyd had recorded only two outs, given up four hits and watched six runs cross. An error didn’t help, but the Brewers didn’t need much help.
They piled on three more in the second against Mike Soroka. Rookie third baseman Tyler Durbin delivered a two-run single, Chourio tacked on another run, and the cushion swelled to 9–1. Milwaukee finished 7-for-17 with runners in scoring position. That is how you win a postseason game without a single three-run homer.
Freddy Peralta did the rest. The right-hander struck out nine over 5.2 innings, leaning on a high-ride fastball and a bitey slider to mute the middle of Chicago’s order. He did allow a pair of solo shots, one to former Dodger Michael Busch in the first and another to Ian Happ in the sixth, but the swings came with the bases empty. Aaron Ashby bridged to the late innings, while Jared Koenig and Jacob Mears closed it down.
Chicago’s solo power kept the score respectable. Busch set the tone with a leadoff blast. Happ went deep to center in the sixth. Nico Hoerner added one in the eighth. But the Cubs finished 0-for-2 with runners in scoring position and struck out 12 times. After the first two innings, their bullpen stopped the bleeding, especially Aaron Civale, who gave them 4.1 scoreless frames. The problem was already on the board.
Why does this matter for Los Angeles? Because this series looks built to test a staff’s depth and a lineup’s patience. Milwaukee can throw waves of velocity and sinkers from the pen and has contact speed up and down the order. Chicago has thump at the top with Busch, Happ and Seiya Suzuki, and an elite center fielder in Pete Crow-Armstrong who can turn doubles into outs. Either club is a real challenge if the Dodgers advance.
That is the blueprint for October. The Brewers won because the traffic never stopped early and Peralta kept control. The Cubs stayed close because their stars kept swinging and the pen stabilized a mess. The Dodgers took Game 1 because they absorbed a bad inning, trusted their starter, and let the lineup breathe until the big swings landed.
If Los Angeles beats Philadelphia, they will see one of these two. Milwaukee’s contact and run-game pressure are very real. Chicago’s punch can flip a scoreboard in a hurry. Either way, the path runs through run prevention and timely shots. The Dodgers showed both in Game 1. Now they watch the other half of the bracket trade haymakers and get ready for whatever’s next.
Have you subscribed to the Bleed Los Podcast YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows & promotions, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
