Brewers catcher William Contreras forces out Teoscar Hernandez at home plate after center fielder Sal Frelich robbed Max Muncy of an extra-base hit during the fourth inning of Game 1.

The Milwaukee Brewers host the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series on Monday, a best-of-seven showdown with a spot in the World Series on the line.

Milwaukee had Major League Baseball's best record in the regular season but come up against the defending World Series champions, seeking to become the first team to repeat since the New York Yankees from 1998-2000.

The Brewers won all six meetings between the two teams in the regular season.

Left-hander Blake Snell (5-4, 2.35 ERA) starts for the Dodgers, while Aaron Ashby (5-2, 2.16 ERA) opens the game for the Brewers at American Family Field in Milwaukee.

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Where to watch Dodgers vs Brewers game: TV channel, streaming

The NLCS opener will air on TBS and HBO Max and can be streamed with Sling TV.

Watch NLCS live on Sling TV

Freddie Freeman home run breaks the deadlock

Freddie Freeman hit a solo home run off Chad Patrick with one out in the top of the sixth, opening the scoring in Game 1 of this NLCS.

The World Series MVP last year, the homer was Freeman's first of the 2025 poseason.

Brewers escape on absolutely insane play

With the bases loaded and one out, Max Muncy hit a drive to the center field wall that bounced off center fielder Sal Frelick's glove, then the wall and was grabbed before hitting the ground – a live ball, not a catch for an out. The baserunners were confused and held up initially, with Teoscar Hernandez thrown out at home trying to score from third, a bizarre 8-6-2 forceout.

Still having no idea what happened, Will Smith, never advanced to third and he was then forced out to complete the double play.

Quinn Priester takes over for Brewers

Milwaukee right-hander Quinn Priester came on to replace opener Aaron Ashby to begin the second inning. He walked Max Muncy, but stranded the runner with a strikeout of Enrique Hernandez to end the second.

In the third, Priester set down Andy Pages, Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts in order to keep the game scoreless. The Dodgers are without a hit through three innings.

Priester was a revelation for the Brewers this year, going 13-3 with a 3.32 ERA in 157.1 innings.

Aaron Ashby puts up a zero in the first

Brewers opener Andy Ashby worked around a leadoff walk of Shohei Ohtani in a scoreless first, getting Mookie Betts and Teoscar Hernandez before striking out Freddie Freeman to strand Ohtani.

Ashby, the nephew of two-time All-Star Andy Ashby, made four appearances in the five-game NLDS against the Cubs.

When is Shohei Ohtani pitching? Dave Roberts won't say

MILWAUKEE — With Blake Snell starting Game 1 for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Yoshinobu Yamamoto getting the nod for Game 2, that means Shohei Ohtani and Tyler Glasnow won't take the mound until the series shifts to Los Angeles later this week. Asked if he's already decided which games they'll start, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said yes.

Would he care to share that information?

"No," Roberts said, smiling.

Aaron Ashby starts Brewers' pitching parade

MILWAUKEE — Brewers manager Pat Murphy is completely focused on Game 1 while already thinking ahead.

Huh?

With only two starters – 1 ½, really – the Brewers will be leaning heavily on their relievers to get them through the seven-game series that includes just two off days. Which means Murphy has to be smart in how he uses them. Let one go an extra inning, or two, in Games 1 or 2, and Milwaukee could pay for it down the road.

"It's win tonight, but when you get to about Game 4, you better be careful of what you've done to your pitching staff. It might show up in Game 4, Game 5," Murphy said ahead of Game 1.

"Especially the third game, OK, we just had a day off. How much do you want to use here? What do you think about?" Murphy continued. "That's where you can get exposed because now your thinking is, `We're not playing to win tonight,' we're playing, `Hey, we've got to pitch these guys because these (other) guys are gassed.' We've got to try to keep ourselves from that situation.

"Comes down to depth and quality of depth."

That helps explain Murphy's decision to add Tobias Myers to the roster for the NLCS and remove Nick Mears. Mears has been "unbelievable" for Milwaukee, Murphy said. But he's better in short spurts, and the Brewers will need someone who can go longer. — Nancy Armour

Dodgers lineup today

  1. Shohei Ohtani (L) DH
  2. Mookie Betts (R) SS
  3. Teoscar Hernández (R) RF
  4. Freddie Freeman (L) 1B
  5. Will Smith (R) C
  6. Tommy Edman (S) 2B
  7. Max Muncy (L) 3B
  8. Enrique Hernández (R) LF
  9. Andy Pages (R) CF

Brewers lineup

  1. Jackson Chourio (R) RF
  2. Christian Yelich (L) DH
  3. William Contreras (R) C
  4. Brice Turang (L) 2B
  5. Andrew Vaughn (R) 1B
  6. Sal Frelick (L) CF
  7. Caleb Durbin (R) 3B
  8. Isaac Collins (S) LF
  9. Joey Ortiz (R) SS

Dodgers NLCS roster

The Dodgers have added right-handed pitcher Ben Casparius to the mix in place of third catcher Dalton Rushing, apparently signaling Will Smith should be able to handle a greater share of the duties behind the plate in the NLCS. Smith was limited over much of September and early in the playoffs by a fracture in his right hand.

The Dodgers will also have veteran left-hander Clayton Kershaw on the roster, despite his rocky outing in Game 3 of the NLDS against the Phillies when he gave up five runs (four earned) in two innings of work.

What time is Dodgers vs Brewers today?

Game 1 of the 2025 National League Championship Serie starts at 8:08 p.m. ET .

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dodgers vs Brewers live: Wild affair early in Milwaukee, NLCS Game 1 score

Reporting by Jesse Yomtov and Nancy Armour, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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