The Opener: Contreras, Bailey, Peralta

The Brewers, for the first time ever, are up 2-0 in a seven-game series. The NLCS heads to Los Angeles on Wednesday. 1. Contreras powers Brewers Catcher William Contreras paced Milwaukee’s relentless offense on Monday. He tied the game in the first inning with an RBI single. Contreras knotted the game again in the fifth inning, launching a solo homer off Kris Bubic. He put the Brewers ahead for good in the next frame with another RBI single. It was Contreras’ second three-hit game this postseason. “He’s the fire of our team,” Christian Yelich said (h/t Tyler Kepner of The Athletic). “He likes the moments, likes the big moments. We’ve got all the confidence in the world in him, whether that’s at the plate or behind it.” 2. Bailey does it again Cleveland’s offense was also boosted by its catcher. Patrick Bailey certainly doesn’t have Contreras’ track record at the plate, but he’s been excellent in the playoffs. Bailey drilled a solo homer off Tyler Wells in the seventh inning of Game 1 against the Rays. The Guardians tacked on two more in the eighth and three in the ninth to steal the series opener at Tropicana Field. Bailey is hitting .368 with a pair of homers in the postseason. The glove-first backstop had a .607 OPS in the regular season. 3. Peralta vs. Messick on Tuesday Tampa Bay will hand the ball to Freddy Peralta to try to even the series. Peralta allowed one earned run over 4 2/3 innings against the Yankees in Game 2 of the ALDS. He went 4-0 with a 0.96 ERA in September, earning AL Pitching of the Month honors. Cleveland will counter with Parker Messick. The rookie racked up 11 strikeouts in his two ALDS appearances, but also had six walks. He was unable to get out of the third inning in Game 4 against the White Sox. Photo courtesy of Michael McLoone, Imagn Images View Comments (4)