Brewers grab 2-0 lead on Dodgers, NL Central roundup

Playoff action dominates the NL Central landscape, and the Milwaukee Brewers are making the most of their chance. After a 103-win season, the division champions have seized control of the National League Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Milwaukee Brewers: 2-0 stranglehold on the NLCS

On Monday, the Brewers beat the Dodgers 7-4 (official score: 7-4) in Game 2 to take a 2-0 lead in the series, as reported by La Presse. That win moves Milwaukee within two victories of its first National League pennant in 44 years, a milestone noted by MLB Trade Rumors.

According to La Presse, William Contreras first pulled Milwaukee even with a home run in the fifth inning, then pushed the Brewers in front an inning later with a run-scoring single. The catcher’s bat was central to the game’s turning point and to the broader swing of the series.

MLB Trade Rumors also points out that the Brewers opened the series with a 2-1 win in Game 1. The outlet notes that even in that low-scoring contest, Milwaukee still scored more runs than it did in any single game of last year’s NLCS appearance.

In the same lookahead, MLB Trade Rumors highlighted Brice Turang, Jacob Misiorowski and a pitcher named Griffin as key figures in the series opener, underlining how many different contributors Milwaukee is leaning on to avoid the kind of quick playoff exit that ended its run last fall.

On the other side, CBS Sports framed Yoshinobu Yamamoto as already belonging in the conversation for greatest postseason pitcher ever as he took the ball for Game 2. Despite that billing, the Dodgers return home trailing 0-2 and, according to MLB Trade Rumors, are even considering benching Shohei Ohtani for Game 3 as they search for answers on offense.

Cincinnati Reds: off-season three-team trade revisited

Even with the Cincinnati Reds long eliminated (they finished 75-87), their winter maneuvering is still under review. MLB Trade Rumors revisits a three-team trade involving the Reds, the Los Angeles Angels and the Tampa Bay Rays, a deal that sent Josh Lowe to the Angels and Gavin Lux to the Rays. The outlet notes that the Angels landed an everyday outfielder to replace Taylor Ward, who was traded to the Baltimore Orioles, while the Rays secured a replacement for Brandon Lowe.

Elsewhere in the NL Central, there were no major developments over the last 24 hours. The Chicago Cubs (89-73), Pittsburgh Pirates (82-80) and St. Louis Cardinals (77-85) are left watching from afar as the Brewers carry the division’s final hopes in October.