It feels like it’s been two weeks since the Milwaukee Brewers (96-67 reg. season) last played (like waiting for the Super Bowl), but it’s only been two days. The Colorado Rockies (91-72) topped the Cubs Tuesday (2-1 in 13 innings), and their best two starters won’t go until later in the series. That kinda makes the first two in Milwaukee must win games for the Brewers. Of course, ALL games are must wins. It’s a bullpen day for the Crew, but Brandon Woodruff could very well be a more-than-one-inning guy for Milwaukee. Woody is 3-0 with a 3.61 ERA. While he hasn’t started for the Brewers since early in the season, he did have 17 starts at AAA Colorado Springs. The Rockies will start Antonio Senzatela (6-6, 4.38). Colorado Rockies 1. Charlie Blackmon (L) CF 2. DJ LeMahieu (R) 2B 3. Nolan Arenado (R) 3B 4. David Dahl (L) LF 5. Trevor Story (R) SS 6. Carlos Gonzalez (L) RF 7. Ian Desmond (R) 1B 8. Chris Iannetta (R) C 9. Antonio Senzatela (R) P Milwaukee Brewers<doc-sep>The Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Colorado Rockies 3-2 in 10 innings in Game 1 of the National League Divisional Series on Thursday. The Brewers now lead the best-of-five series 1-0, with Game 2 looming on Friday afternoon. Here are some things you should know about the series opener. Yelich keeps hitting, Moose walks it off Christian Yelich, the odds-on favorite to win the NL MVP award, received his first taste of postseason play. He seemed to like it. Yelich recorded two hits, including the two-run home run responsible for opening the game's scoring: Yelich later singled, but was forced out on an odd play. Ryan Braun hit a liner just over first baseman Ian Desmond's head. Desmond faked out Yelich, acting as if he caught it, and Yelich wasn't able to recover in time to reach second safely. For those who like their postseasons tinged with red-hot emotions, Braun was shown letting off a string of expletives afterward. It just goes to show, even MVPs can get yelled at at work. In the 10th inning, it was Yelich who led the frame off with a walk before coming around to score on a Mike Moustakas single. Bullpen play works out -- until it doesn't The Brewers defied convention by eschewing a starter in favor of a bullpen game. This was different than an "opener," because it didn't see a starter enter an inning or two into the game. Rather, manager Craig Counsell linked one reliever to another to build a nine-inning chain. Officially, Brandon Woodruff received credit for the start. He held the Rockies without a hit through three innings, walking one and fanning three. Counsell pinch-hit for Woodruff once the pitcher's spot came up, and handed the reins over to Corbin Burnes. Burnes then threw two shutout innings of his own before he too was pinch-hit for when the time arose. Corey Knebel then tossed 1 ⅔ shutout innings, permitting a single baserunner along the way. By then, the Brewers were close enough to the finish line to call upon Josh Hader, who pitched until the ninth inning. Milwaukee's line for the day through eight included one hit, two walks, no runs, and 10 strikeouts. Impressive. Jeremy Jeffress took over in the ninth and it seemed like the Brewers were on their way to victory. Except Jeffress couldn't get anyone out early on. He allowed three consecutive hits before Orlando Arcia made a costly error. Jeffress recovered in time to keep the game tied, but it was a high-leverage blemish on an otherwise pristine pitching day for Milwaukee's staff. Braun sets record before making mistake of own Speaking of Braun, he notched the first hit of the game when he singled with two outs in the bottom of the first. That hit made him the franchise's all-time postseason hits leader: Braun would later advance to second on a wild pitch, then would try to advance two bases on a subsequent wild pitch. He was tagged out. Give credit to him for creativity, if nothing else. Pina's arm pays off No one considers Manny Pina a pivotal player. Not in this series, not in any series. But he threw out two attempted basestealers on Thursday, and those plays loomed large in a close affair. Pina first zapped DJ LeMahieu to end the top of the first. He later helped Ryan McMahon find a seat on the bench earlier than was necessary. In each case, the top or middle of the Rockies lineup was due up with two outs in the frame. During the regular season, Pina threw out 41 percent of prospective thieves.. You can relive our live blog of the game below. If the live blog does not load properly, please click here.<doc-sep>MILWAUKEE — The Rockies begin the National League division series against the Brewers on Thursday afternoon. With the team’s official NLDS roster expected to be released Thursday morning, here’s a projection of who is on the list. Outfielders (5). Charlie Blackmon, Matt Holliday, David Dahl, Carlos Gonzalez, Gerardo Parra. Infielders (6). Nolan Arenado, Ian Desmond, Trevor Story, DJ LeMahieu, Ryan McMahon, Garrett Hampson. Catchers (2). Chris Iannetta, Tony Wolters. Starters (4). Kyle Freeland, German Marquez, Tyler Anderson, Antonio Senzatela. Relievers (8). Wade Davis, Scott Oberg, Seunghwan Oh, Adam Ottavino, Chris Rusin, DJ Johnson, Harrison Musgrave, Chad Bettis. Rockies Game 1 Projected Lineup CF Charlie Blackmon 2B DJ LeMahieu 3B Nolan Arenado SS Trevor Story RF David Dahl LF Matt Holliday 1B Ian Desmond C Chris Iannetta P Antonio Senzatela Brewers Game 1 Projected Lineup<doc-sep>
Photo : Dylan Buell ( Getty The Brewers got nine innings of excellent pitching in a 10- inning game, and won on a walk-off single in extras from Mike Moustakas, to grab Game 1 of their NLDS matchup with the Colorado Rockies. An obvious takeaway from Game 1 is this: Christian Yelich is really, really great. He slapped a comebacker to pitcher Antonio Senzatela in the first inning, and that was the last time he failed to reach base in the game. In his second at-bat, with Lorenzo Cain on first after a walk, Yelich pounced on a meaty first-pitch changeup and blasted it 413 feet to dead center for his first career postseason dinger: There wasn’t a lot of offense in this game. The Rockies never had more than one batter get on base in any inning prior to the top of the ninth; the Brewers were held to just six hits before the start of extras, and just three after the third inning. It looked incredibly unlikely that the game would end with anything other than a 2–0 final score until the Rockies woke up in the ninth, strung together three singles, and benefited from an error and a sacrifice fly to tie the game. It was Yelich, of course, who led off the bottom of the 10th with a walk, the third time he led off an inning by getting on base. A wild pitch put him at second, and a Curtis Granderson fielder’s choice moved him to third, setting up Moustakas’s game-winning knock: It’s satisfying that in a baseball season that has been partially defined by the shamelessness of teams tanking out of relevance, the three runs scored by the winning team in the first division series game in the books were scored by Lorenzo Cain, Christian Yelich, and Mike Moustakas, who were acquired in aggressive moves aimed at serious improvement by a small-market team. And it remains just astounding that the Marlins were willing to part ways with Yelich. Good move.