The NLCS between the Dodgers and Brewers kicked off with a Game 1 pitching matchup that was advantageous to the Dodgers, as Blake Snell has emerged as a playoff ace and the Brewers were going with Quinn Priester as their bulk guy.
Unfortunately, baseball did baseball stuff and while Snell absolutely dominated a combination of bad luck and missed chances kept the Brewers right in the thick of things throughout. Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts played hero on offense, but things looked bad late when Roki Sasaki finally faltered. However, Blake Treinen came to the rescue and bailed him out to secure a 2-1 victory.
A win is a win, man.
======
Much like back in the 2018 NLCS, the Brewers began the game with an Opener, this time in the form of lefty Aaron Ashby. Shohei Ohtani started his NLCS off right by not chasing everything and drawing a walk to start the game in the 1st, but Ashby responded by retiring the next three and nothing game of it.
While he did throw 19 pitches, it was somewhat surprising that was the end for him, and the bulk guy in Quinn Priester then entered in the 2nd. He took just five pitches to get his first two outs, but then Max Muncy worked a walk on a 3-2 count to at least make him work a bit before he got out of the inning. In the 3rd, Andy Pages worked another 3-2 count and saw 10 pitches, but grounded out on ball four to start the inning. Shohei added yet another 3-2 count but flew out on the eighth pitch, and Priester finished with a 1-2-3 inning.
There was promise in the 4th when Teoscar Hernandez began things with a four-pitch walk, and Freddie Freeman followed by hitting a ball hard the other way, but Isaac Collins made a leaping catch at the track to rob him of extra bases. That proved important, as Will Smith and Tommy Edman both followed with singles for the Dodgers’ first two hits of the game, and the bases were loaded with one out.
What followed was an absolutely bizarre play, as Muncy squared a deep flyball, and Sal Frelick in center leaped to attempt a catch. The ball bounced off his glove, then off the wall before he caught the deflection — meaning it was in play and not a catch — but all the baserunners were utterly confused and acted as if it was a flyout. Thus, they double backed to their bags and Frelick threw home where the relay forced out Teoscar at the plate, and then a throw to third doubled off Dills for an inning-ending double play on what should’ve been at least one run, if not two, with the rally still going.
THE MOST REMARKABLE DOUBLE PLAY YOU’LL SEE IN YOUR LIFE#MagicBrew pic.twitter.com/AYgXXQMwk8
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) October 14, 2025
One of the most remarkable double plays you will EVER see ?#NLCS pic.twitter.com/xokoLsH7Jj
— MLB (@MLB) October 14, 2025
A bird’s-eye view of that WILD play in Milwaukee!#NLCS pic.twitter.com/kfSVXK3N7e
— MLB (@MLB) October 14, 2025
Just a brutal sequence, and quite frankly how you lose games in the playoffs.
Just … fuck.
Fortunately, they got right back to it in the 5th, as Enrique Hernandez led things off with a double to left to give them another chance. However, Andy Pages followed by bouncing out, Shohei was intentionally walked with first base open, and Mookie Betts couldn’t make them pay as he hit a one-bouncer to second for an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play.
How about a much more routine double play to end the inning ?#MagicBrew pic.twitter.com/VzVstnRC56
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) October 14, 2025
The Dodgers had their chances to score off Priester but couldn’t do it, and so it was Chad Patrick in the 6th. He started with a quick out before Freddie skied a 3-2 pitch to right that got just over the wall for a homer and a 1-0 lead.
MAN I LOVE FREDDIE. pic.twitter.com/U0IpFAkX1G
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) October 14, 2025
Hello, Freddie Freeman! pic.twitter.com/ZEcla9dBFD
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) October 14, 2025
Smith followed that with a single to center and Edman walked on a 3-2 pitch as the Dodgers had another rally going. That was the end of Patrick, as lefty Jared Koenig entered for Max, getting him to flyout and then notching an Enrique strikeout to end the threat. He continued in the 7th and cruised through a 10-pitch frame.
The 8th belonged to Trevor Megill, but he gave up a one-out double off the wall from Freddie, and Will then flew out to the track in right to move him a base. He got Edman swinging to strand another runner as things frustratingly stayed at 1-0.
——
About that zero.
For the Dodgers, it was Blake Snell on the bump, and he has been stellar so far this postseason in his two starts. He started this one ideally, striking out a pair in a clean 1st on just 14 pitches.
Snell then rolled through a 12-pitch frame in the 2nd in 1-2-3 fashion, but had his streak of retiring hitters ended by a Caleb Durbin single. However, he responded with a three-pitch strikeout, picked off Durbin breaking for second, and got the next batter quickly, so he faced the minimum in another 12-pitch inning.
Despite the potential momentum-changing play in the top of the 4th, Snell got things back on track in the bottom with yet another quiet frame and another two strikeouts on 19 pitches. He notched another strikeout in a clean eight-pitch 5th inning that also included a strikeout, and then rolled through the 6th on 12 pitches with two strikeouts while now pitching with the lead.
Blake then took 14 pitches to get a strikeout and a pair of groundouts to get him through seven shutty.
Blake Snell is through seven DOMINANT innings!
He’s retired 14 straight ?? pic.twitter.com/X2ji7fsZV5
— MLB (@MLB) October 14, 2025
He came out in the 8th due to his manageable pitch count with defensive replacement Justin Dean in tow in center, shifting Andy to right. Well, he didn’t need the outfield, as he got two more groundouts and a strikeout on 12 pitches.
On a scale of 1-10 Ks, how good was Blake tonight? pic.twitter.com/AMzSOmoNHx
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) October 14, 2025
That was the end of the line for him, but what a stellar outing it was: 8 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 10 K, 103 Pitches.
Blake Snell is the first Dodger pitcher to complete at least eight innings and allow one hit or fewer in a postseason game.
— Dodger Insider (@DodgerInsider) October 14, 2025
——
With the Dodgers still clinging to a one-run lead in the 9th, the Brewers went to another high-leverage arm in Abner Uribe. Max Muncy started by working the count full and then drawing a walk, Tommy then singled to put a pair on, and Pages was asked to bunt for the first time in god knows how long for him but he executed the sacrifice and put a pair in scoring position.
Pat Murphy then elected to intentionally put Ohtani on yet again to load things up, and it backfired on a manager again when Mookie Betts got ahead 3-0, Uribe got back to 3-2, and then he uncorked a pitch inside for a walk to force a run in. 2-0.
The @Dodgers push across a big insurance run! #NLCS pic.twitter.com/KyNCfVA4JG
— MLB (@MLB) October 14, 2025
With Teoscar out of the game for defensive reasons, Alex Call then pinch-hit with the bags packed as they looked to add on, but he couldn’t add insurance as he popped out and Freddie then flew out.
Huge miss there.
——
That backfired in the 9th, as Roki Sasaki showed signs he’s human for the first time as a reliever. After he got a quick infield pop-out, he then issued a walk, fell behind Jake Bauers and then gave up a ground-rule double over Pages’ head in center (where Dean might’ve been playing) to put a pair in scoring position. Roki rebounded to get Jackson Chourio to hit a sac fly to center, but then issued a 3-2 walk to Yelich to corner things.
?#MagicBrew pic.twitter.com/djQ9LiV52x
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) October 14, 2025
Dave Roberts saw enough and went to Blake Treinen to get the final out, which I couldn’t disagree with.
He got ahead of William Contreras with a 1-2 count, but Contreras remained patient and took three balls in a row to walk and load things up. Brice Turang then stepped up and played hero … for the Dodgers. On a 1-2 count, Treinen uncorked a wild sweep inside that was headed for his knees, but he dodged out of the way to a ball instead of forcing the tying run in.
The Brewers were THIS close to tying that game on a HBP ? pic.twitter.com/Usee2Eb7BK
— MLB (@MLB) October 14, 2025
On the next pitch, Treinen uncorked a wild fastball high, which Turang chased at his eyes for strike three to end the game.
Blake Treinen strikes out Brice Turang, and the @Dodgers survive in the 9th! #NLCS pic.twitter.com/fU1mdh4Erk
— MLB (@MLB) October 14, 2025
And breathe.
======
NLCS is 1-0 to the Dodgers.
Game 2 will be tomorrow at 2:08 PM HT/5:08 PM PT/8:08 PM ET on TBS, truTV, and HBO Max. It’ll be Yoshinobu Yamamoto looking for a bounceback start after a rough outing last time against the Phillies, and he’ll be facing Brewers ace Freddy Peralta.
