Coming into Sunday night's Game 1 of the National League Championship Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field in Milwaukee, a heavyweight pitching duel was on the docket.

Having Tarik Skubal get the ball for Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, while Jacob Misiorowski took the start for Brewers manager Pat Murphy, set things up for a must-see TV clash. 

In the end, though, Los Angeles was not really able to make a dent into the Brewers' pitching staff. Milwaukee, behind just five innings of work from Misiorowski, received some timely hitting and staved off the Dodgers 2-1.

The Brewers now have a one-game lead in the best-of-seven series going into Monday night's Game 2 in Milwaukee.

Skubal came over to the Dodgers in a celebrated trade from the Detroit Tigers, where he'd put up Cy Young Award numbers. There's no doubt that Skubal was looked upon to be a stellar part of the Dodgers' rotation in search of a third straight World Series title.

But Skubal took the loss, putting him at 1-1 for the 2026 postseason. He worked five innings, giving up five hits, two earned runs, walked two, and struck out seven. Skubal, though, also gave up a solo home run to Milwaukee's Brice Turang. Luis Lara's RBI single in the bottom of the fifth gave the Brewers their 2-1 advantage.

A dominant appearance in Game 1 was needed by Skubal. While he really didn't stink out there, it appeared that Skubal just didn't overpower too many hitters. That inability to get those Brewers hitters out on a consistent basis ended up coming back to bite him and Los Angeles.

It should be added, too, that the Dodgers didn't really do Skubal any favors when it came to getting runners home from scoring position. On Sunday night, Los Angeles was 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position and left nine total runners on base.

That's not good at all, especially in a tight postseason series with a team looking for revenge after being sent home in the NLCS last season.

Is it time to hit the proverbial panic button on Skubal? Heavens no. Again, the fire-balling left-hander did not overpower hitters. Yet the next time he gets on the mound, I'd fully expect Skubal to come out breathing fire.

That's the type of pitcher Roberts and the Dodgers want to see out there throughout this playoff run.

Yes, it is only Game 1 and the Dodgers lost, but it's not time to totally put away your Dodgers gear until next season. There's time. Los Angeles has experience in these types of situations. Let's see how Game 2 works out.