Dodgers vs. Brewers score, takeaways: Blake Snell, Freddie Freeman give Los Angeles an NLCS Game 1 win

In a game that featured one of the wackiest double plays in baseball history, Dodgers ace Blake Snell was the story. Snell struck out a postseason career high 10 Brewers in eight shutouts innings in Game 1 of the NLCS (LAD 2, MIL 1), and did not walk a batter. He was excellent and efficient, and retired the final 17 batters he faced.

When Snell is on, he's as good as anyone in the sport, and he was on his A+ game Monday. The Brewers missed with roughly half their swings against him and his average exit velocity allowed was 78.4 mph. Snell didn't give up much contact, and the contact he did allow was weak. The one baserunner he surrendered -- Chad Durbin's third-inning single -- was erased on a pickoff. Snell face the minimum 24 batters in his eight innings.

Snell is the first Dodgers starter other than Clayton Kershaw to pitch into the eighth inning of a postseason game since Zack Greinke way back in 2013. It's only the sixth time in his career that Snell pitched into the eighth inning of any game, regular season or postseason. It was one of the best performances of his career, truly.

The Dodgers scored the game's first run on Freddie Freeman's sixth-inning solo home run off righty Chad Patrick. That came one inning after LA hit into a chaotic 8-6-2 double play. Here is Freeman's home run:

Mookie Betts drove in L.A.'s second run with an eighth-inning bases loaded walk after Shohei Ohtani was intentionally walked. Ohtani has one hit and three intentional walks this postseason. He hasn't done much at the plate, but clearly, teams still fear him, and Mookie keeps making them pay for those intentional walks.

Roki Sasaki, the closer who Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has hesitated to officially name his closer, wobbled in the ninth inning and allowed a run on a walk, a double, and a sac fly. Blake Treinen had to come in and clean up the ninth. He stranded the bases loaded by getting Brice Turang to chase a fastball above the zone for strike zone. Mookie's bases loaded walk was the difference in the game.

Freddy Peralta and Yoshinobu Yamamoto will be the Game 2 starters Tuesday. Historically, the team that wins Game 1 of a best-of-seven has gone on to win the series 65% of the time. The Dodgers have earned at least a split of the first two games on the road. Now they can get greedy and try to take a 2-0 series lead before going home for Games 3 and 4, and, if necessary, 5.

William Contreras walks. Here comes Brice Turang.

The third walk of the inning loads the bases for Brice Turang with two outs. It's 2-1 Dodgers. High drama!

Now Yelich walks. The Brewers have the winning run at first base. Blake Treinen (!) is coming in to face William Contreras. The Dodgers are up 2-1, but Milwaukee has runners on the corners with two outs.

Christian Yelich walks so it'll be William Contreras with the tying run on third and winning run on first.

Jackson Chourio gets one home on a sac fly and the other runner advances to third, but there are two outs.

Jackson Chourio rips a sac fly to center. It's 2-1 Dodgers with the tying run on third and two outs. That tack on run in the ninth has turned out to be pretty important. It's down to Yelich.

Jake Bauers just doubled after a walk and the Brewers have the tying run at second base with no out. 

Bauers doubles over Andy Pages' head in center field. The Brewers have the tying run at second base with one out, and Jackson Chourio coming up.

A one-out walk brings pinch-hitter Jake Bauers to the plate as the tying run. He has the power to tie this game with one swing.

The Dodgers are handing a 2-0 lead to Roki Sasaki in Game 1 of the NLCS.

Ohtani has one hit and three intentional walks this postseason. He's had a rough postseason overall, but clearly, teams are still scared of him.

Just like he did against Jhoan Duran in Game 4 of the NLDS, Mookie Betts drew a walk to force in a run after Shohei Ohtani was intentionally walked to load the bases. The Dodgers still have the bases loaded with one out, and a chance to really bust the game open.

With one out after Ohtani was intentionally walked. Mookie Betts can deliver the knockout punch here.

More on Snell's night:

Enrique Hernández tried twice to bunt Muncy to second, failed both times, then he poked a two-strike single to right. the Dodgers have two on with no outs.

Snell's getting handshakes in the dugout and Sasaki is warming with intent. Looks like he'll get the ninth inning with at least a 1-0 lead. Max Muncy just drew a walk to start the ninth inning as the Dodgers look to add insurance.

He's retired 17 straight. The only baserunner the Brewers have had is Caleb Durbin's leadoff single in the third inning, and he was almost immediately picked off. Snell's at 103 pitches. Does he come out for the ninth? My guess is no, and we'll see Roki Sasaki.

Two quick outs in the eighth. Snell's retired 16 in a row. Roki Sasaki's starting to loosen up in the bullpen.

Freeman is stranded at second and Snell is back out to start the eighth. The last Dodger to pitch into the eighth inning of a postseason game was Clayton Kershaw in 2020. The last Dodger to do it other than Kershaw was Zack Greinke way back in 2013.

No one is warming in L.A.'s bullpen. Blake Snell will go back out for the eighth. Meanwhile, Freddie Freeman just doubled with one out. That one nearly left the park. He's scalded the ball three times tonight.

That's 14 straight retired by Snell, eight via strikeouts. He has not walked a batter. It's 1-0 Dodgers going to the eighth.

He's been absolutely dominant. Only twice in his last 10 starts has he allowed more than two runs, postseason included. Third time in three postseason starts he's completed six innings too. It's 1-0 Dodgers through six. Snell's thrown 77 pitches. I would think he has at least one more inning in him, and you have to figure Roki Sasaki will factor into the late innings somehow.

Just following up: It officially goes into the books as an 8-6-2 grounded into double play. Yes, grounded. Baseball official scoring is weird sometimes. Here's more on that play:

Explaining that wild Brewers double play vs. Dodgers in NLCS Game 1 and what the rules say

Mike Axisa

Snell doesn't usually get overly deep into games. His longest career playoff outing is seven innings and that happened in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series. He's only at 65 pitches through five innings, though, so if he stays this efficient he could go seven innings in this one. The Dodgers are able to use some starters in relief, such as Emmet Sheehan and Roki Sasaki, but the underbelly of their bullpen needs to be avoided. The way Snell is throwing, that'll happen here. 

Freddie Freeman has hit a home run in the playoffs. You've heard that plenty of times before. This one breaks a 0-0 tie in the top of the sixth. 

You might recall that Freeman hit four home runs and had 12 RBI in the World Series last season. This one is his 15th career playoff home run.

We've only seen four total hits, the Dodgers with three of them, and no runs. That odd bases-loaded double play looms very large right now.

Since the ball wasn't caught and resulted into two force outs, it goes down in the official game log as a "grounded into double play." Per Statcast, Muncy's ball went 404 feet in the air. It would have been a home run in nine of the 30 MLB ballparks. And it goes down as grounded into a double play. That's rough.

Well here's something you don't see every day. With the bases loaded and one out in the top of the fourth, Max Muncy hit a rocket to center field that Sal Frelick nearly caught. The ball clanked off his glove, hit the wall, then Frelick caught it on the way down. The out on the catch goes away once the ball hits the wall. It was a base hit and a live ball.

In the confusion, all three runners held up after Frelick reeled the ball in, which gave the Brewers enough time to force Teoscar Hernández out at the plate. William Contreras then jogged down to third to get the force out there, ending the inning. Will Smith stayed at second base on the play. Here's the video:

Because the ball hit the wall before Frelick secured it, it's a base hit, and the runners had to advance. Muncy was on first base. Hernández made a mistake not running home right away. Even in the confusion, as soon as Frelick had the ball in his glove, Hernández has to break for home. He waited long enough that he got forced out at the plate.

Lost in the craziness: L.A. hit Quinn Priester well that inning. Hernández walked, Freddie Freeman hit a rocket to left field that Isaac Collins had to jump to catch, Will Smith and Tommy Edman singled, then Muncy hit a ball to the top of the wall in center. Priester and the Brewers are fortunate to escape that inning without a run scoring.

The bases are full of Dodgers with one out.