The Brewers defeated the Dodgers 2-1 in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series, played on Sunday, October 11, at American Family Field in Milwaukee. It was the culmination of a packed weekend: Oklahoma upset No. 1 Texas in college football, and the Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries secured their tickets to the WNBA Finals.
Brice Turang hit a home run off Tarik Skubal, and the Milwaukee bullpen shut down Los Angeles after a demanding start by Jacob Misiorowski. With the win, the Brewers (103-59) took a 1-0 lead in the series against the Dodgers (100-62), who had won seven consecutive postseason games against Milwaukee, including a sweep in last year's NLCS. This is also the first league championship duel between 100-win teams since 1976, when the Cincinnati Reds eliminated the Philadelphia Phillies.
The Dodgers had scored in the second when Pages drove in Shohei Ohtani with a ground ball to the right. Misiorowski threw 35 pitches in that episode but escaped with a double play from Kiké Hernández. The crowd in Milwaukee was 42,617 fans.
In the American League, the Cleveland Guardians eliminated the Chicago White Sox on Saturday, October 10, with a 2-0 win in Game 5 of the Division Series.
The Oklahoma Sooners defeated No. 1 Texas 27-24 at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas with a 47-yard field goal by Tate Sandell on the last play. Oklahoma (3-2) reached that outcome with touchdowns in special teams and defense: Dakoda Fields fell on a blocked punt in the end zone, and Peyton Bowen returned an interception 42 yards to Arch Manning. Manning threw for 260 yards and three touchdowns, with two interceptions; Cam Coleman had 110 yards and a touchdown. The Longhorns (4-1) missed a 53-yard field goal with 1:55 to play, and Courtland Guillory intercepted Manning with 19 seconds on the clock.
In other games on Saturday, October 10:
The Atlanta Dream, fourth-seeded, completed a 3-0 sweep over the New York Liberty with an 85-83 win at the Barclays Center and reached the Finals for the first time since 2013. Angel Reese scored 22 points, Jordin Canada had 11 assists, and DeWanna Bonner grabbed 13 rebounds and made two free throws with 6.2 seconds to play. Breanna Stewart missed a layup with nine seconds left. Jonquel Jones and Stewart each scored 26 points; Jones added 14 rebounds. Atlanta won without its top scorer, Allisha Gray, who suffered a finger injury in Game 1 and has not lost in these playoffs.
In Las Vegas, the Golden State Valkyries defeated the Aces 87-77 and swept the defending champions 3-0. Kayla Thornton led with 18 points, and Kiah Stokes added 10 rebounds. A'ja Wilson scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Las Vegas.
