WILLIAM CONTRERAS SPARKS BREWERS’ GAME 2 RALLY AGAINST DODGERS
MILWAUKEE — The team with the best record in the major leagues continues to hand it to the best team money can buy as the Milwaukee Brewers moved two victories away from their first World Series appearance in more than 40 years.
The Brewers’ latest statement came in a 7-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series as their quest for revenge is halfway to completion.
The Dodgers swept last year’s NLCS by outscoring the Brewers 15-4 on the way to a second consecutive title.
William Contreras delivered a game-tying home run in the fifth inning and a go-ahead RBI single in the sixth as the Brewers took their 2-0 lead in this NLCS while piling on 12 hits.
Contreras drove in a run with each of his three hits while Christian Yelich drove in a pair of runs.
The series shifts to Los Angeles for Game 3 on Wednesday.
“Our mentality is to stay focused,” Contreras said through an interpreter on the FOX broadcast. “It doesn’t matter what the state of the game is, if we’re ahead, we’re behind. We’re going to stay on the aggression and stay focused. I think we have been able to do a really good job of that as a team.”
Four Milwaukee relievers retired all 15 batters they faced with JoJo Romero (1-1) earning the win with a 1-2-3 sixth and Aaron Ashby picking up his first save of the postseason with 1 2/3 scoreless innings. The bullpen recorded seven of the Brewers’ nine strikeouts.
Freddie Freeman and Teoscar Hernandez each had an RBI for the Dodgers, who did not score any runs with the aid of a base hit. They were limited to three hits for the game.
Freeman and Hernandez each had a sacrifice fly while Los Angeles scored a pair of runs on two Logan Henderson throwing errors.
Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto lasted just 2 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on four hits with two walks and a strikeout over 75 pitches. Henderson gave up four runs (two earned) on three hits with two walks in four innings for the Brewers.
Unable to catch the Brewers down the stretch of the regular season and secure home-field advantage over Milwaukee, Los Angeles now heads home for potentially three games with a chance to get back into the series.
“Yeah, it’s certainly a challenge,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, who will have Blake Snell on the mound Wednesday. “I think that, if you look at Game 3, I like where we’re at as far as in a vacuum, who’s pitching, where our bullpen is at, being at home. … But as far as can we do it? Absolutely. You want to get that first one.”
Hernandez gave Los Angeles a 1-0 lead in the first with a flyout to center that scored Mookie Betts. Contreras tied the game in the bottom of the first on an RBI single.
The Dodgers moved in front 2-1 in the third when Henderson’s wild pickoff throw to first base allowed Tommy Edman to score from third. The Brewers loaded the bases in their half of the third when Jake Bauers worked a 12-pitch walk against Yamamoto.
Two pitches later, Yelich lined a two-run single to center for a 3-2 lead, ending Yamamoto’s day.
“I was trying to work on the edge of the zone, and some pitches were really good, but he just stayed on it,” Yamamoto said through an interpreter of his pivotal two-out duel with Bauers. “He did a good job.”
The Dodgers tied the score 3-3 in the fifth when Henderson’s throw to first on an Edman bunt was wild, which allowed Kyle Tucker to score. Freeman added his sacrifice fly for a 4-3 lead later in the inning.
Contreras crushed a home run to center off Kris Bubic in the fifth to tie the score and added a single to left off Brock Stewart (0-1) in the sixth to score David Hamilton with what became the winning run. Brice Turang and Bauers each had RBI singles in the eighth for a 7-4 lead.
“You come into spring training expecting to be in this series and most likely playing these guys,” Yelich said. “So I don’t think it caught anybody by surprise. We’ve been a confident group all year. And know that if we play clean, we play our game, we can hang with anybody.
“We didn’t really play clean in a lot of our game today, but it’s a credit to the guys for overcoming that.”
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LATE OFFENSE SENDS GUARDIANS TO ALCS GAME 1 WIN OVER RAYS
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Cleveland Guardians made up for a slow start by racing to a strong finish in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series.
Nathaniel Lowe ripped a tiebreaking two-run single in the eighth inning, lifting the Guardians to a 7-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday.
The Guardians scored seven runs over the final four innings and finished with 14 hits in the opener of the best-of-seven series.
Cleveland has erupted for 25 runs in three postseason road contests heading into Game 2 on Tuesday in St. Petersburg.
With the game tied at 2-2, Jose Ramirez reached on an infield single to lead off the eighth against Tyler Wells (0-1). Ramirez advanced to third base on a double from rookie Chase DeLauter. One out later, Lowe plated both with a line-drive single to center field on an 0-2 pitch from Ian Seymour.
Ramirez drove in a run in the ninth inning, giving him four straight playoff games with an RBI — tied for the longest postseason streak in franchise history with Sandy Alomar (1997) and Jim Thome (1998-99).
“Cleveland is everything to me,” Ramirez told TNT Sports through an interpreter. “When nobody wanted to give me a chance, they gave me a chance. This is the place I love, and they love me back.”
Ramirez joined DeLauter in collecting three hits apiece. Both players scored on Jo Adell’s two-run double in the ninth, helping Cleveland hand Tampa Bay its first loss since a 7-3 setback against the Philadelphia Phillies on Sept. 27.
“It’s been awhile since we’ve lost,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “That’s a good thing. I know the guys will come back and respond tomorrow.”
The late uprising made a winner out of Hunter Gaddis (1-0), who allowed one hit over one scoreless inning. The Cleveland bullpen delivered five innings of one-run ball.
DeLauter homered to lead off the sixth inning and Patrick Bailey did the same in the seventh for the Guardians, who have won four in a row since facing an 0-2 deficit against the Chicago White Sox in the AL Division Series.
“I think we have a ton of momentum right now. I think we’re playing good baseball,” Cade Smith, who retired the side in order in the ninth inning on Monday, told SiriusXM. “I just hope we carry that into tomorrow.
Cedric Mullins belted a solo homer in the eighth inning and Junior Caminero and Jonny DeLuca each had an RBI single for Tampa Bay.
Wells permitted two runs on two hits in one-third of an inning while pitching in a game for the first time since Sept. 12.
Tampa Bay got off to a fast start against Guardians starter Foster Griffin, recording four hits in the first inning to take a 2-0 lead.
Yandy Diaz doubled to lead off the inning. He advanced to third base on a sacrifice bunt and scored on Caminero’s RBI single to left-center field.
Caminero moved to second base on a two-out single by Victor Mesa Jr. and scored on DeLuca’s single to center field.
In the sixth, DeLauter halved the deficit by depositing a first-pitch fastball from Drew Rasmussen over the wall in left-center field. The homer was the first of DeLauter’s postseason career.
Bailey forged a 2-2 tie after sending a first-pitch cutter from Rasmussen over the wall in center field. Bailey’s second homer in his last three games sent Rasmussen to the showers.
Rasmussen allowed two runs on eight hits and no walks in six-plus innings. He struck out seven.
Griffin yielded two runs on five hits in four innings. He fanned three without issuing a walk.
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