MILWAUKEE — Regular-season dominance over an opponent usually means little, if anything, for a rematch in the playoffs.
Just ask the 2015 Mets, who went winless in seven games against the Cubs during the regular season before sweeping four games from them in the NLCS to gain a World Series berth.
The Dodgers this year lost all six regular-season games against the Brewers, but on Monday night, the payback tour began for the defending World Series champions.
Blake Snell’s left arm delivered it. Reaffirming the decision by the Dodgers to sign him last offseason, Snell faced the minimum 24 batters over eight innings in his team’s 2-1 victory in Game 1 of the NLCS at American Family Field.
The Brewers rallied in the ninth against the Dodgers bullpen, but ultimately left the bases loaded after scoring once against Roki Sasaki.
Caleb Durbin’s single leading off the third accounted for the only Brewers base runner against Snell. But Durbin was picked off first — officially a caught stealing — and the Brewers went quietly until Snell departed. Snell set a career postseason high with 10 strikeouts over his 103-pitch night.
The twirling yellow rally towels and enthusiastic crowd — excited about the first NLCS appearance by the Brewers in seven years — could provide only so much energy for the home team.
Max Muncy was within inches of a grand slam in the fourth but instead saw his deep fly to center field turn into an inning-ending double play.
Sal Frelick juggled Muncy’s shot near the top of the fence, with the ball hitting the padding before settling into Frelick’s glove. Teoscar Hernández, who retreated to third base to tag up and then hesitated, was thrown out at the plate on a force play before catcher William Contreras walked to third base and forced out Will Smith, who had stayed close to second, to conclude the inning.
The Dodgers wasted another opportunity in the fifth, when Quinn Priester got Mookie Betts to ground into an inning-ending double play after Enrique Hernández had doubled leading off the frame.
Freddie Freeman homered in the sixth for the game’s first run. It was the first blast this postseason for Freeman, who dominated last year’s World Series with four homers against the Yankees.
Freeman doubled in the eighth against Trevor Megill but was left stranded at third base. Betts drew a bases-loaded walk in the ninth that extended the Dodgers lead.
Sasaki, who has transitioned into the closer’s role after spending the regular season in the Dodgers starting rotation, could get just two outs in the ninth, allowing a run before he was removed with runners on the corners. Blake Treinen walked Contreras to load the bases before Brice Turang struck out to end the drama.