Brewers Beat Dodgers to Take 2-0 NLCS Lead, Box Score Stats, Highlights, Updated MLB Playoff Bracket

It was a back-and-forth battle at American Family Field before the Milwaukee Brewers pulled away in the eighth inning to defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-4, powered by three RBIs from William Contreras.

The win gave the Brewers a 2-0 lead over the Dodgers in the National League Championship Series before the series shifts to Los Angeles.

The defending champions entered Monday's matchup as 1.5-point road favorites over the Brewers, according to FanDuel Sportsbook , but costly pitching and fielding errors by the Dodgers along with Milwaukee's stellar bullpen performance led to the Brewers victory.

Breaking down why Brewers can stop Dodgers 3-peat

No. 6 Chicago White Sox def. No. 3 Houston Astros, 2-0

No. 4 New York Yankees def. No. 5 Boston Red Sox, 2-0

No. 3 Atlanta Braves def. No. 6 Philadelphia Phillies, 2-1

No. 4 San Diego Padres def. No. 5 Chicago Cubs, 2-0

No. 2 Cleveland Guardians def. No. 6 Chicago White Sox, 3-2

No. 1 Tampa Bay Rays def. No. 4 New York Yankees, 3-0

No. 2 Los Angeles Dodgers def. No. 3 Atlanta Braves tied, 3-1

No. 1 Milwaukee Brewers def. No. 4 San Diego Padres, 3-1

No. 1 Tampa Bay Rays vs. No. 2 Cleveland Guardians

No. 1 Milwaukee Brewers lead. No. 2 Los Angeles Dodgers, 2-0

With Mookie Betts at second, Teoscar Hernández hit a sacrifice fly to center field with one out to bring home the shortstop, giving the Dodgers a 1-0 lead after the top of the first.

Contreras and the Brewers answered in the bottom of the inning with a single to left field, bringing home Brice Turang after he doubled and evening the score after the opening inning.

The top of the third was chaos for Milwaukee, as Tommy Edman scored the go-ahead run after a Logan Henderson pickoff attempt went sideways. Despite the blunder, Henderson closed the inning with minimal damage, stranding a runner as L.A. took a 2-1 lead.

An incredible third inning for Milwaukee against ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto ended with Christian Yelich singling to bring home both Hamilton and Turang, putting Milwaukee ahead 3-2. Yamamoto was relieved after 2.2 innings, allowing three earned runs.

The excitement temporarily wore off until the top of the fifth, when the Dodgers scored two runs.

Edman brought home Kyle Tucker, who opened the inning with a double to right field. Edman advanced to second on Henderson's second throwing error of the game before scoring on a Freddie Freeman sacrifice fly after a close play at home, giving the Dodgers a 4-3 lead.

Brewers catcher Contreras added another postseason home run, launching a 436-foot bomb to tie the game in the bottom of the fifth.

Dodgers reliever Brock Stewart prevented further damage after replacing Kris Bubic, striking out Sal Frelick with the bases loaded to end the threat.

Contreras stepped up again for the Brewers in the bottom of the sixth, notching his third RBI with a single to left field that brought home David Hamilton and gave Milwaukee a 5-4 lead.

Milwaukee continued to add to its lead, with Hamilton scoring on a Turang single and another run coming home on a Jake Bauers single.

Contreras reached base again and advanced to third on a fielding error by center fielder Andy Pages, but he was left stranded after Yelich and Garrett Mitchell went down to close out the eighth inning, with Milwaukee leading 7-4.

The Dodgers had one last chance on the road, with Shohei Ohtani, Will Smith and Miguel Rojas due up as Aaron Ashby looked to close things out for Milwaukee and send his team to Los Angeles with a 2-0 lead in the NLCS.

Ashby retired the side in order, sealing the three-run win and securing Game 2 for Milwaukee at home.

Game 3 will shift to the West Coast as both teams head to Dodger Stadium for the next games of the series, beginning Wednesday with first pitch scheduled for 8 p.m. ET.