William Contreras Lifts Brewers to 2-0 NLCS Lead

William Contreras is running this NLCS right now. The Milwaukee Brewers catcher hit a 436-foot game-tying homer in the fifth and then singled home the go-ahead run in the sixth as Milwaukee beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-4 on Monday at American Family Field for a 2-0 series lead.

Contreras finished 3-for-4 with three RBIs and a walk, per the ESPN box score. The Brewers are now 5-1 this postseason, and the two-time defending champs are heading home in a real hole.

Contreras answers every punch

The Dodgers took the lead three separate times in the first five innings, and Milwaukee answered every single time, per the AP. The last answer was the loudest. Contreras crushed a solo shot to center off Kris Bubic in the fifth to tie it at 4.

The go-ahead run was pure October chaos. David Hamilton got hit by a Brock Stewart pitch to lead off the sixth, then moved to second when Stewart's pickoff throw glanced off Freddie Freeman's glove and rolled into foul territory. After Jackson Chourio grounded out, Stewart walked Brice Turang to get to Contreras. Bad idea. Contreras lined a single to left and Hamilton came around to score.

Turang and Jake Bauers tacked on RBI singles in the eighth. Milwaukee finished with 12 hits, and 10 of them were singles, per ESPN.

Yamamoto gets chased early

This was supposed to be the Yoshinobu Yamamoto bounce-back game. He came in 8-1 with a 2.14 ERA in 11 career playoff appearances, per the AP. Instead he lasted just 2 2/3 innings, the shortest postseason start of his career.

Bauers set the tone in the third with a 12-pitch walk that loaded the bases, and Christian Yelich followed with a two-run single up the middle to give Milwaukee a 3-2 lead and knock Yamamoto out.

Brewers starter Logan Henderson did not have his best night either. He gave up four runs over four innings, but only two were earned after he made two errors of his own on wild throws to first.

The bullpen slammed the door

Once it became a bullpen game, it was all Milwaukee. Dustin May, JoJo Romero, Abner Uribe and Aaron Ashby combined to retire the last 15 Dodgers hitters in order. Los Angeles managed just three hits all night and went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position, and it is now 2-for-26 in those spots this postseason, per the AP.

The Dodgers are trying to become the first NL team to win three straight World Series. The last time they climbed out of a 2-0 hole was the 2020 NLCS against Atlanta, when they won in seven and went on to win it all.

Game 3 is Wednesday in Los Angeles, with Robert Gasser expected to start for Milwaukee. The Brewers have never won an NL pennant, and their only World Series trip came back in 1982 as an American League team. Two more wins and Brew Crew fans get to party like it is 1982 all over again.