(Photo credit: Brett Davis)

MILWAUKEE -- The defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers will turn to postseason ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto against the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday as they look to even the National League Championship Series at a game apiece.

Right-hander Logan Henderson will start for Milwaukee, which is out to avenge a sweep to the Dodgers in the 2025 NLCS.

The Brewers won the 2026 opener 2-1 on Sunday behind 4 2/3 scoreless innings from their bullpen after a gritty start by ace Jacob Misiorowski, who allowed one run on five hits but needed 94 pitches to get through his 4 1/3 innings.

Brice Turang homered to open the fourth off Tarik Skubal to bring Milwaukee even at 1-all. Rookie Luis Lara singled in the go-ahead run in the fifth. Right-hander Trevor Megill recorded his third save in the team's four postseason victories.

Yamamoto has been dominant in the postseason, posting an 8-1 record with a 2.14 ERA in 11 appearances, including 10 starts. The right-hander earned the win in Game 3 of the NLDS against Atlanta, allowing one run on four hits in seven innings for a 3-1 win.

'In terms of postseason, I don't think how deep I can go in the game is as important as the regular season,' Yamamoto said before Sunday's series opener, 'but postseason I just want to limit the damage, not giving up many runs and just like focusing on my job, and it ended up getting me deep into the game.'

Yamamoto helped the Dodgers sweep Milwaukee in the postseason last year, allowing one run on three hits in a 5-1 complete-game win in Game 2 that put the Brewers in a two-game hole they never recovered from.

Yamamoto is 2-1 with a 3.29 ERA in three career regular-season starts against Milwaukee. He beat the Brewers twice this season, allowing two earned runs in 13 innings.

'It's a great lineup obviously, very strong lineup,' Yamamoto said. 'I want to be careful not to make a mistake, a first mistake before they do.'

Henderson started Game 2 of the NLDS against the San Diego Padres, allowing two runs on two hits in five innings, but did not get the decision. The Brewers rallied for a 4-3 walk-off victory in the ninth.

Henderson, a rookie who made his major league debut last season but was not on the 2025 playoff roster, said the NLDS start against the Padres on Oct. 4 provided valuable experience.

'A little bit more just knowing about what to expect, like you said. There's going to be a lot of adrenaline there,' Henderson said Sunday. 'I feel like learning how to control the emotions last week is going to help coming into this start.'

Henderson was 5-1 with a 1.93 ERA over his last seven regular-season starts.

Henderson defeated the Dodgers in both his starts against them this season, allowing just one run in 12 innings for a 0.75 ERA, with 13 strikeouts and four walks.

'Ultimately it comes down to execution,' Henderson said. 'Those two games I was executing well and attacked the game plan the way we needed to, and that's the same mindset going into this outing.

'There's definitely some familiarity there on both sides,' he added. 'So go back, watch those outings, and see what we had success with and come up with a game plan for them.'

The Milwaukee bullpen continued its postseason dominance after allowing three runs (one earned) over 19 innings in the NLDS against San Diego. Neither team led by more than two runs at any point in the four-game series.

'It's been amazing. It's everything we can ask for,' Misiorowski said Sunday following the opener. 'Those guys are grinding out there. Every day being able to put up zeros, that's the game. That's the goal. It's amazing what they're doing and the work they're putting in.'

--Jim Hoehn, Field Level Media