A pair of bases-loaded walks in the first inning got the offense started and Corey Seager hit a home run late as the Los Angeles Dodgers earned a 4-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday in Game 1 of their National League wild-card series at Dodger Stadium.
The Dodgers drew four walks in the opening inning against Brewers left-hander Brent Suter, who got the call to start with right-hander Corbin Burnes (oblique) and left-hander Brett Anderson (blister) out of action.
Will Smith and AJ Pollock each received free passes with the bases jammed.
Dodgers starter Walker Buehler went four innings and struck out eight in just his second outing since spending two separate stints on the injured list in September with a blister on his right index finger. Buehler has recorded at least seven strikeouts in all seven career playoff starts.
The Dodgers can advance to the NL Division Series with a victory Thursday. Los Angeles is slated to send left-hander Clayton Kershaw to the mound against Brewers right-hander Brandon Woodruff.
Suter (0-1) wasn't even named the Brewers' starter until Tuesday evening as Milwaukee opened with a bullpen game. He gave up three runs on three hits with three walks in 1 2/3 innings.
Outside of Suter's rough opening to the game, Brewers pitching kept the team in the game. Mookie Betts had an RBI double for the Dodgers off Suter in the second inning for a 3-0 lead.
Buehler managed to pile up strikeouts, but he gave up a two-run home run to Orlando Arcia in the fourth inning as the Brewers pulled within 3-2.
Seager gave the Dodgers a bit of breathing room with his home run to center field in the seventh off Freddy Peralta. He hit 15 in the regular season, one off the team lead shared by Betts and Pollock.
Left-hander Julio Urias (1-0) followed Buehler and allowed just three hits over three scoreless innings. Blake Treinen pitched a scoreless eighth and Kenley Jansen tossed a scoreless ninth to earn the save, striking out Christian Yelich to end the game.
The Brewers lost right fielder Ryan Braun after he came away with back discomfort while chasing a fly ball in the second inning. Tyrone Taylor pinch-hit for him in the fifth.
The Dodgers entered the playoffs after amassing the best record in baseball during the shortened regular season at 43-17. They were also an NL-best 21-9 at home and will have two chances to close out the best-of-three series at Dodger Stadium and advance to the neutral-site NLDS in Arlington, Texas.
--Field Level Media
Milwaukee | LA Dodgers | |
Brent Suter | Player | Walker Buehler |
Loss | W/L | No Decision |
1.2 | IP | 4.0 |
0 | Strikeouts | 8 |
3 | Hits | 3 |
16.20 | ERA | 4.50 |
Milwaukee | LA Dodgers | |
Avisail Garcia | Player | Mookie Betts |
3 | Hits | 2 |
0 | RBI | 1 |
0 | HR | 0 |
3 | TB | 4 |
.750 | Avg | .500 |
Team | Hits | HR | TB | Avg | LOB | K | RBI | BB | SB | Errors |
Milwaukee | 7 | 1 | 12 | .206 | 14 | 15 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
LA Dodgers | 6 | 1 | 13 | .207 | 15 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 1 |