Despite widespread perception that the Dodgers are the unbeatable superteam, it was Milwaukee, the team that finished with the best record in the league, that played essentially flawless baseball in a Game 1 win.
asserted
that → finish → win
While Jacob Misiorowski wasn't his typically dominant self, every time Los Angeles had an opportunity to break the game open, "The Miz" and his team's defense clamped down.
asserted
Miz → have → game
Already up a run in the second inning, the Dodgers had the bases loaded with postseason star Kike Hernandez at the plate.
asserted
bases → have → plate
Once again, the Brewers defense was perfectly positioned to turn the inning-ending double play.
asserted
defense → position → play
After Milwaukee's offense scratched across two runs against Tarik Skubal, their bullpen continued its remarkable run of success, going 4.2 scoreless innings to secure the win.
asserted
bullpen → scratch → win
Still, the Dodgers felt good about their chances with Yoshinobu Yamamoto, postseason hero from 2025, starting in Game 2 against Logan Henderson.
asserted
Yamamoto → feel → Henderson
Yet for all the hype about LA's remarkable rotation, the Milwaukee BABIP (batting average on balls in play) machine once again kicked into high gear to secure a massive 2-0 series lead and put the Dodgers' three-peat hopes on life support with a 7-4 win.
asserted
machine → kick → win
LA jumped out to an early lead thanks to some uncharacteristic sloppiness from the Brewers.
asserted
LA → jump → Brewers
Mookie Betts walked, Freddie Freeman moved him to second, and he took third on a wild pitch from starter Logan Henderson.
asserted
he → walk → Henderson
Teoscar Hernandez knocked him in with a sacrifice fly, and the Dodgers had a 1-0 lead without a hit.
asserted
Dodgers → knock → hit
Sure enough though, Milwaukee immediately tied it in the bottom of the first.
asserted
Milwaukee → tie → first
The Dodgers missed an opportunity to challenge an obvious missed strike three call on Brice Turang, who then doubled and scored on a patented Brewers bloop single.
asserted
who → miss → single
William Contreras stuck his bat out with one hand, somehow making contact with Yamamoto's pitch to dump it into left field.
asserted
Contreras → stick → field
LA mounted a quick rally on back-to-back singles from Tommy Edman and Mookie Betts.
asserted
LA → mount → Edman
Sal Frelick robbed Freddie Freeman of a double with a nice running catch in the right center field gap, but an error on a pickoff attempt at first base brought Edman in to score.
asserted
error → rob → Edman
But the Brewers, knowing that the Dodgers' greatest weakness is having an opportunity to score runs, had them right where they wanted them.
asserted
they → know → them
Easy outs from Teoscar Hernandez and Shohei Ohtani ended the "threat," and Milwaukee answered right back in the bottom of the inning.
asserted
Milwaukee → end → inning
David Hamilton poked another bloop single, stole second, and yet again, Brice Turang reached base on a missed strike three that went unchallenged by catcher Will Smith.
asserted
that → poke → Smith
Jake Bauers, one of the worst hitters in baseball before putting on a Milwaukee uniform, worked a walk after a lengthy at bat against Yamamoto, and Christian Yelich made him pay for it with a single to center.
asserted
him → put → center
After all this playoff heroics in 2025, Yamamoto went just 2.2 innings, allowing four hits and three runs.
asserted
Yamamoto → go → hits
Now trailing 3-2, the Dodgers "fought" back in the fifth.
asserted
Dodgers → trail → fifth
Kyle Tucker led off with a double, before a throwing error from Henderson on a Tommy Edman bunt let him score and sent Edman to second.
asserted
him → lead → second
A grounder and sac fly gave LA a 4-3 lead, once again without getting a hit with runners in scoring position.
asserted
grounder → give → position
Sure enough, William Contreras immediately tied it in the bottom of the inning with a mammoth homer to left-center.
asserted
Contreras → tie → center
The Brewers bullpen, which is apparently unhittable, put up another scoreless inning, before the Milwaukee superteam once again kicked into high gear in the bottom of the sixth.
asserted
superteam → put → sixth
Hamilton reached on a hit by pitch, advanced to second after a poor pickoff attempt, went to third on a Jackson Chourio grounder, and scored on yet another end of the bat blooper from Contreras.
asserted
Hamilton → reach → Contreras
Again, the Brewers' relief pitchers proved to be the single greatest pitching unit ever assembled, extending their streak to nearly 29 innings with just one run allowed.
asserted
pitchers → prove → run
Monday was the first time in playoff history that a team's bullpen went over five innings in a postseason game without giving up a baserunner.
asserted
bullpen → go → baserunner
JoJo Romero, Abner Uribe, Trevor Megill, Aaron Ashby, DL Hall...that's the real superteam, and it cost about $17 to build it.
asserted
it → cost → it
The BABIP continued into the eighth, as David Hamilton crushed a 73mph single to right field, stole second, and scored on yet another obliterated 71mph single from Brice Turang.
asserted
Hamilton → continue → Turang
That hit pushed the Brewers to 5-12 with RISP.
asserted
hit → push → RISP
Jake Bauers added on with yet another 73mph bloop single to make Milwaukee 6-13 with RISP.
asserted
Milwaukee → add → RISP
Somehow, Milwaukee has perfected the art of running into singles on poorly hit balls in play.
asserted
Milwaukee → perfect → play
Some might say it's a skill, but decades of data and information have told us it isn't.
uncertain
it → say → us
Players and teams with poor exit velocities don't outperform with batting average on balls in play, in fact, it's the opposite.
asserted
it → outperform → fact
The league leaders in hard hit percentage this season were, in order:
- James Wood
- Elly De La Cruz
- Pete Alonso
- Yordan Alvarez
- Shohei Ohtani
All five had BABIPs at or above league average, Wood and De La Cruz were .344 and .359, respectively.
asserted
Wood → have → average
Hitting the ball hard is a skill, soft contact isn't.
asserted
contact → hit → ball
Yet the Brewers have three hitters in the top seven in BABIP anyway.
asserted
Brewers → have → BABIP
Does it matter that Milwaukee has likely been lucky this season?
asserted
Milwaukee → matter → ?
A playoff series is the epitome of a small sample size, and reversion to the mean doesn't have to happen over five-to-seven games.
asserted
reversion → have → games
…and 9 more, not listed.
The Aporia
