Shohei Ohtani and Max Muncy were both on base. The score was 2-1 Milwaukee. The Dodgers — defending World Series champions — had Game 1 of the NLCS right where they wanted it. Then Abner Uribe walked out of the bullpen, fired a 99 mph fastball, and struck out Andy Pages to end the threat. The Brewers held on to win 2-1 and take the series opener on their home field.
The Inning Milwaukee Could Not Afford to Lose
Jacob Misiorowski had cruised through five innings, but the sixth got away from him quickly. Back-to-back singles — Ohtani first, then Muncy — put runners on the corners with nobody out. American Family Field went quiet for a moment. These are the Dodgers. They eat jams like this for breakfast.
Milwaukee’s manager didn’t hesitate. Uribe came on with one job: get out of it. He did it the only way he knows how — with heat and ground balls. The strikeout of Pages slammed the door and sent the Los Angeles dugout back empty-handed. The Dodgers finished the night 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base.
The Bullpen Built a Wall
Uribe wasn’t alone. DL Hall, Aaron Ashby, and Trevor Megill combined with Uribe for 4⅔ scoreless innings, allowing just 2 hits and 3 walks. A collective effort — but Uribe absorbed the heaviest pressure of the night.
The offense did just enough. Brice Turang hit a home run in the fourth to break the ice, and Luis Lara drove in the second run with a single in the fifth. Two modest runs, but the bullpen made them stand up.
Payback Tastes Better in Wisconsin
To understand why this win means a little extra in Milwaukee, you have to go back to 2025. The Dodgers swept the Brewers in four games in last year’s NLCS. Milwaukee batted .118 as a team — the lowest average by any team in a postseason series of at least three games. An elimination that stung more because of how it happened than the result itself.
This time was different from the fourth inning on.
Uribe by the Numbers in 2026
CBS Sports called Uribe «possibly the best reliever in that bullpen.» The Statcast data backs it up:
- 61 games, 59.1 innings pitched
- ERA: 1.97 · WHIP: 1.03
- 62 strikeouts vs. 19 walks (26.5% strikeout rate)
- 6 saves
- xERA: 2.81
- Average fastball: 98.8 mph with 2,301 rpm spin rate
- Whiff rate: 26.8%
- Batting average against: .199
- Average exit velocity allowed: 87.7 mph
- Barrel rate allowed: 2%
How that stacks up across MLB:
- xERA: 94th percentile (elite)
- Strikeout rate: 78th percentile
- Fastball velocity: 97th percentile (elite)
- xwOBA against: 94th percentile (elite)
- Barrels avoided: 99th percentile (elite)
- Hard contact avoided: 76th percentile
The Dominican righty is showing up all over Statcast’s leaderboards — and in the biggest moment of Game 1, he showed exactly why those numbers are real.
Game 2 is Monday, with Yoshinobu Yamamoto taking the mound for Los Angeles. The Dodgers need an answer.
