Game 1 started on Friday night, and I had a ton of hope in my eyes like most Brewers fans. Those eyes grew tired quickly. Jet lag hit like a motherfucker. I returned to Milwaukee after a seven hour flight and being back when my body clock told me it was 1 am. I fought my body though and worked through many mini naps. With Brewers up 6-1 in the eighth inning, my confidence went sky high and said that my jet-lagged body could be tucked into bed. Not so fast, my friend. Brewers bullpen struggled mightily in the eighth giving up three runs as Los Angeles chipped away. They were able to get a run in ninth as well and with a runner on third, Corey Knebel thankfully shut the door preserving a 6-5 victory.

Player of the Game: Brandon Woodruff – Manny Machado started the scoring in the second inning, and Brandon Woodruff answered with his own homerun. Woodruff does have big league power, and he took Clayton fucking Kershaw deep. Of all people to hit a home run off Kershaw, it was Woodruff. This led to the terrible defensive inning from Los Angeles and led to another additional run. Woodruff blazed through the Los Angeles order for his two innings and earned the victory. He set the tone in this game for Milwaukee.

Silver Star: Domingo Santana – Can’t say enough about Santana, the pinch hitter. He stepped up in a major moment in the fourth inning facing Kershaw with runners on second and third. Showmingo delivered with a huge two run single that chased Kershaw out of the game. Santana has been a clutch pinch-hitter in the month of September and October. He jumped on the first pitch and gave Milwaukee the three-run lead. Personally, I thought he might not make the NLCS roster, and that would have been a bad move.

.@JAguilarMKE turns up the volume in Miller Park! #OurCrewOurOctober pic.twitter.com/qkv1VYAhcC

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) October 13, 2018

Honorable Mention: Jesus Aguilar – To me, Aguilar’s home run is a huge moment in this game. Sure, Knebel shut the door. Yes, Josh Hader pitched three innings of amazing work. But Aguilar’s home run gave Milwaukee the one extra run they needed in this game. If Aguilar doesn’t add that homer, we might have been tied and this game could have ended up differently.

Next up
Milwaukee and Los Angeles get together again at 3:00 pm. Wade Miley grabs the ball for Milwaukee. He will try to go two or three innings. My guess is the Brewers would like him to go longer than Gio Gonzalez. Corbin Burnes is likely next man up for the Brewers. Hader will likely be shut down for this one though. Hyun-Jin Ryu goes for Los Angeles. He pitched pretty well in limited action this season. Brewers offense is virtually unknown against Ryu. Brewers will look for their 13th straight win.

Charlie.