Ranger Suarez pulled after long third inning

Contreras delivered an RBI single in the opening frame before connecting on a center-cut fastball from Dodgers lefty reliever Kris Bubic, sending a majestic 436-foot blast to left-center field to tie the ballgame in the fifth inning. It was his third round-tripper of the playoffs and fifth career postseason homer, which ties him with teammate Jackson Chourio for Milwaukee’s franchise record. He put the Brewers ahead with a sixth-inning single to left field off hard-throwing righty Brock Stewart before being walked on four pitches his next time up. The power-hitting 28-year-old backstop reached base safely in four of his five plate appearances to help give Milwaukee a commanding 2-0 advantage in the best-of-seven NLCS. The series heads to Los Angeles with Game 3 on Wednesday evening.

There’s no sugarcoating Ohtani’s struggles at the plate, where he has looked uncomfortable and, at times, completely lost. The 32-year-old generational talent is hitting just .150 (3-for-20) with seven strikeouts this postseason. His power outage has extended well beyond October, as he went 11-for-70 (.157) with 29 strikeouts over his final 18 regular-season games since his last home run on August 18. At this point, it’s fair to wonder whether top prospect Josue De Paula deserves a look in hopes of providing an unexpected spark, particularly with Los Angeles struggling to generate any over-the-fence pop this postseason. The Dodgers are facing a 2-0 deficit as the best-of-seven series heads to California for Game 4 on Wednesday.

Turang, who homered during Sunday’s series-opening win, extended Milwaukee’s lead with an RBI single to right-center field off hard-throwing reliever Edgardo Henriquez in the eighth inning. He reached base safely in four of his five plate appearances to help set the table for middle-of-the-order force William Contreras.

Ashby was summoned to record the final two outs of the eighth inning before coming back out to protect a three-run advantage in the ninth. He got Shohei Ohtani and Will Smith to fly out before punching out pinch-hitter Miguel Rojas to end it. Milwaukee’s bullpen has been absolutely sensational through the first two games of the NLCS, reeling off 9 2/3 consecutive scoreless frames during that span.

Henderson was lifted from the contest after committing a costly throwing error on a sacrifice bunt from Tommy Edman that allowed Kyle Tucker to cross the plate with the game-tying run in the fifth inning. He committed an additional mistake on an errant pickoff throw in the third inning that allowed another run to score. He struck out two and issued a pair of walks in the brief 64-pitch outing. The 24-year-old righty figures to start a potential Game 6 matchup, but could also come out of the bullpen earlier in the series, if needed.

The Brewers made Yamamoto work, running up his pitch count before chasing him from the contest in the third inning when Christian Yelich delivered a go-ahead two-run single after Jake Bauers drew a surreal 12-pitch walk to load the bases. He struck out one batter and issued a pair of walks in the abbreviated 75-pitch outing. It was an uncharacteristic postseason stumble for Yamamoto, who has emerged as the Dodgers’ most reliable stopper over the last two Octobers. The 28-year-old right-hander is in line to start a potential Game 6 showdown and should be available out of the bullpen for the remainder of the series, if needed.

Law compiled a respectable 1.00 ERA across nine innings for Arizona from late August through mid-September. The 36-year-old journeyman reliever has made 329 career appearances since 2016. He should be able to latch on somewhere as organizational depth this offseason.

Messick, who hails from nearby Plant City, Florida, allowed four runs over 6 2/3 innings in a pair of ALDS starts against the White Sox to kick off his postseason career. The 25-year-old southpaw was the best rookie pitcher in baseball this past season, posting a stellar 2.56 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 193/49 K/BB ratio across 186 1/3 innings over 32 starts.

Rays manager Kevin Cash told reporters that they’ll go game-by-game with their entire pitching staff for the remainder of the series following Peralta’s outing. The 30-year-old former Brewers ace limited the Yankees to one run over 4 2/3 innings during his Tampa Bay playoff debut last week.

Vilade posted an .818 OPS against southpaws during the regular season and will get a chance to face Guardians starter Foster Griffin at Tropicana Field to kick off the best-of-seven showdown. The 27-year-old lefty-masher blasted a solo homer off Yankees ace Max Fried during Tampa Bay’s series-clinching victory last week. Here’s the full lineup: Yandy Díaz (DH), Jonathan Aranda (1B), Junior Caminero (3B), Vilade (LF), Victor Mesa Jr. (RF), Jonny DeLuca (CF), Ben Williamson (2B), Taylor Walls (SS) and Nick Fortes (C).