NLCS: Brewers Relief Stymies Dodgers to Win Seesaw Game Two

Dustin May of the Brewers celebrating an out against the Dodgers in Game Two of the 2026 NLCS

Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images

October 12, 2026

Brewers 7, Dodgers 4 — NLCS Game Two

The Milwaukee Brewers cracked twelve hits en route to a 7–4 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game Two of the NLCS Monday night at American Family Field in Milwaukee. Nine of the eleven runs in the game were either the tying or go-ahead run. Shutdown relief pitching put an end to the Dodgers’ contributions to the scoring, as the quartet of Dustin May, JoJo Romero, Abner Uribe, and Aaron Ashby pitched five relief innings in which they did not allow so much as a single baserunner. This established a postseason record for most team relief innings in a single game without allowing a baserunner.

Brice Turang remained hot for the Brewers, going 2-for-3 with a walk, an RBI, and three runs scored. William Contreras also continued his stellar postseason hitting, going 3-for-4 with a walk, a homer, three RBI, and a run scored. David Hamilton also scored three runs for the Brewers after going 2-for-3 with a hit-by-pitch and two stolen bases. Additionally, Christian Yelich and Cooper Pratt contributed two hits apiece, with Yelich notching two RBI.

Brewers – Dodgers Game Summary

The Dodgers took a 1–0 lead off Brewers starter Logan Henderson in the top of the first after a Mookie Betts walk, a slow groundout, a wild pitch, and a Teoscar Hernandez sacrifice fly. In the bottom of the first, the Brewers tied the game off Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto after a Brice Turang double and William Contreras RBI single.

The top of the third saw the Dodgers retake the lead. Tommy Edman led off with a single to right and advanced to second on a hot grounder by Mookie Betts. The grounder got through shortstop Cooper Pratt. Though it was ruled a hit, it came on a play Pratt often makes. Freddie Freeman smashed a deep fly to right that Sal Frelick made a nice play to catch, but it was deep enough for Edman to tag and easily advance to third. An errant pickoff throw to first by Henderson allowed Edman to score as Betts advanced to second.

In the bottom of the third, a bases-loaded single by Yelich scored two runs and gave the Brewers their first lead of the game. But two innings later, the Dodgers retook the lead, aided in part by another throwing error by Henderson. A leadoff double by Kyle Tucker brought up Edman again. Edman tried to sacrifice Tucker to third, but Henderson fielded the bunt and threw the ball over Bauers’ head. This allowed Tucker to come around and score. Edman himself scored after advancing to third on a Betts groundout to second and a Freeman sacrifice fly.

Picking Up Their Starter

The Brewers tied the game in the bottom of the fifth on a home run by Contreras. They took the lead one inning later after Hamilton was hit by a pitch, advanced to second on a fielding error from Freeman on a pickoff attempt, advanced to third on a slow grounder to short, and scored on an RBI single by Contreras.

The Brewers added two insurance runs in the eighth, ending the scoring for the game. One run came after Hamilton singled, stole second, advanced to third on a groundout, and Brice Turang singled him home. Turang himself scored from second on a single to center by Bauers.

What Went Right for the Brewers

Significantly Shortened Yamamoto’s Outing

The Brewers forced Yamamoto out of the game with two outs in the third after forcing the 2025 World Series MVP to throw 75 pitches up to that point. In the first, they made him throw 25 pitches. And in the third, he threw 36 before being removed with two outs. Capping off the third was a 12-pitch walk by Bauers that included six straight foul balls. This immediately followed a seven-pitch at-bat by Contreras.

“You gotta give credit to Contreras, Bauers — those guys put together great at-bats,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal during an in-game manager interview in the top of the fourth. “They were spoiling really good pitches, took some pitches that were tough.“

After the marathon Bauers at-bat, Yelich stroked his two-run single. Yelich said of the Bauers at-bat after the game, “The deeper the at-bat got, I knew he was getting on, whether it be by hit or walk, whatever it may be. I was getting ready for my at-bat and being up there in whatever situation. You want to follow a great at-bat like that with a good at-bat. I wanted to make sure I was going to swing at a good pitch and put a good swing on something. Fortunately, I was able to do that.”

Answering Back

There were three separate half-innings that saw the Dodgers score. The Brewers scored in the bottom half of each of those innings. In two cases, they re-tied the game, and in the third case, they took the lead.

Hamilton on the Basepaths

Hamilton ran the bases four times. In three of them, he caused havoc, stealing second twice and advancing on a pickoff throw to first that got away from Freeman the third time.

What Went Wrong for the Brewers

Pitcher Defense

Henderson made two throwing errors that led to two Dodgers runs.

Murphy came to his rookie pitcher’s defense after the game. He also expressed confidence in Henderson’s ability to recover. “This kid’s been great for us all year long,” Murphy said. “He’s a rookie. Made a couple of mistakes. No reason to harp on it. He’ll make the adjustment. Because he — like I said before, he does not want to let this team down. He feels horribly about it. I don’t need to go in and paddle him or something.”

What Went Right for the Dodgers

Took Two Separate Leads

The Dodgers took leads in both the first and third innings.

Took Advantage of Errors

After both Henderson throwing errors, the Dodgers scored runs. This made the final score closer than the game actually was.

What Went Wrong for the Dodgers

No Answer for Brewers Relief Pitching

Once Henderson left the game, the Dodgers did not have so much as a single baserunner. Even though one of the runners May inherited came around to score, all runner advancement came on plays where the Dodgers hitters made outs.

Quotes

“I respect the Dodgers a great deal. That’s all there is to it. They’re one of the best teams ever put together. A great team. And I’m not going to think about anything but the next game. That’s it. Just one inning, one pitch at a time. Don’t look ahead, don’t plan, don’t complain, explain; just keep going. Hopefully the guys will get a break. Long flight tonight, get a break tomorrow and do a little workout, keep your body moving. Then ready to play the next game like it’s their last.” — Brewers manager Pat Murphy on how it feels going to Los Angeles with a 2–0 series lead

“It got to a certain point where it was straight compete mode. A little bit of blackout, kind of in the flow a little bit competing. It was fun. Was a fun at-bat. I knew that was a moment where the guys needed something, the team needed something. It was either ‘I’m going to get something to hit here’ or ‘I’m going to see enough pitches to take a walk.’” — Brewers first baseman Jake Bauers on his 12-pitch, seven-minute at-bat against Yamamoto

Looking Ahead

Romero earned the win for the Brewers as Brock Stewart took the loss for the Dodgers, both in relief. Ashby notched a five-out save.

The Brewers and Dodgers, after having Tuesday off for a travel-day, will meet Wednesday in Dodger Stadium for Game Three of the NLCS. Left-hander Robert Gasser will start for the Brewers, with the Dodgers having yet to announce a starter as of press time. First pitch will be at 5 pm Pacific/7 pm Central.