Brewers Beat Skubal 2-1, and the Dodgers Are Still NLCS Game 2 Favorites

Brewers Beat Tarik Skubal and the Dodgers 2-1 in NLCS Game 1

Milwaukee beat the two-time defending champion Dodgers 2-1 on Sunday, ESPN reported, ending a seven-game postseason skid against Los Angeles. Last year the Brewers never scored more than one run in a four-game NLCS sweep by the Dodgers.

Brice Turang tied it in the fourth with an opposite-field homer off Tarik Skubal. According to TruMedia, cited by ESPN, it was the first opposite-field homer Turang has hit against a lefty in the majors and the first Skubal has allowed to a lefty hitter. Rookie Luis Lara then drove in the go-ahead run with an RBI single in the fifth.

Sometimes less is more.

Starter Jacob Misiorowski and four relievers held the Dodgers to Andy Pages' RBI single in the second. ESPN says the bullpens combined for 7 2/3 scoreless innings.

Dodgers at Brewers NLCS Game 2 Odds: What the Market Did

Los Angeles remains the favorite despite the loss. DraftKings lists the Dodgers at -137 for Game 2, per ESPN's scoreboard feed as of October 12 at 9:15 AM ET. First pitch is 5 PM ET.

The feed does not say why a line moved, so the next section is our reading and not a reported cause.

Our Read: One Win Moved the Series, Not the Favorite

• The price got longer on Milwaukee. Removing the vig, our arithmetic puts the Dodgers at 55.3% now versus 53.3% at the open. The market, if anything, trusts them more after a loss.
• Game 1 was thin. Two runs came from an unusual homer and a rookie's single. One-run games that turn on those details can say little about the next one.
• The bullpen is the shared story. Seven scoreless relief innings kept it close, so depth may matter more than starters in Game 2, with Logan Henderson for Milwaukee and Yoshinobu Yamamoto for Los Angeles, per ESPN.
• The total drifted up. The over price grew from -107 to -119 at 6.5, which could mean money on runs. It could also be routine, and the evidence points both ways.

What to Watch in Game 2

• Whether Lara and the lineup's bottom third keep producing.
• How early the Dodgers lean on their bullpen.
• Whether the Brewers can score more than two runs against Yamamoto.
• The price shift once the lineups post.

Read how sportsbook odds and the vig work

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