It took some luck, but good things finally happened for the Dodgers’ Blake Treinen

milwaukee — Blake Treinen’s first save of the postseason wasn’t a memorable performance.

He threw more balls than strikes. He walked the first batter he faced and nearly struck out the second. He got the final out on a pitch that was outside the strike zone.

But it is an act Get the bottom line, keeping the Dodgers Winning 2-1 The Milwaukee Brewers are in the opening game of the National League Championship Series on Monday.

For Trenin and the bull base where he is supposed to anchor, this represents major progress.

“We put a lot of work into trying to improve some things myself,” Trinen said. “Today, I thought I sold out almost every show.”

He said the repairs were simple mechanical tweaks that helped set up his shows.

“Sometimes, just by picking up and touching the hill a little bit, things start to change. And you’re kind of shocked when you see how a subtle adjustment can change everything,” he said.

In last season’s Dodgers World Series, Trenin He was evil As a bad-tempered Doberman, he went 2-0 with three saves, a 2.19 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 12 1/3 innings.

This year, not so much. In his first four playoff games, more batters had a hit than hits, and five of the 12 guys he faced reached base. This came on the heels of a disastrous September in which he went 1-5 with a 9.64 ERA.

He wasn’t putting out fires as much as he was starting them. Weak performances began to build on each other.

“Sometimes this year, when things aren’t going well,[ings] “Your mind can speed up a little bit,” he said. “That’s the hard part, to hold the ideas and focus on what you’re good at.”

But head coach Dave Roberts, who had Trenin the past five seasons, kept giving him opportunities to turn things around.

“I think the best way for me to see it is if you’re a down position player or maybe a pitcher can’t get the clip you want, we all know what our capabilities are,” Treinen said. “Dave has seen me at my best and my worst, so when he calls my name, I’m grateful he has confidence in me.

“And I’m confident that it puts me in a position to win for the team. So there’s a lot of peace in that.”

Treinen may have been at peace but he didn’t have much room to maneuver when he replaced Rocky Sasaki on the mound Monday with two out in the ninth and the Dodgers held on to the lead by one run.

Sasaki, the team’s surprise playoff runner-up, was extinguished in the postseason, with only one of the 17 batters he faced reaching base. Against the Brewers, he gave up two walks, a ground-rule double, and a sacrifice fly that scored within two runs. When Treinen came in, Milwaukee had the tying run on first and the winner on third — and the right-hander immediately made matters worse by walking William Contreras on six pitches to load the bases.

Treinen quickly got ahead of Brice Turang, the Brewers’ left-handed cleanup hitter, but was again in trouble when he sailed a 1-2 sweeper that nearly hit Turang. It would have been a draw had Tourang not instinctively danced out of the way, eliciting a groan from the sold-out crowd.

“It’s a natural reaction,” Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy said. “When the ball comes at you, it’s a breaking ball, your natural reaction is to go for it.

“It happens. He will learn from this situation. But it is difficult.”

For Trinen, whose only luck lately has been bad luck, he took advantage of the break quickly by having Turang chase down the next pitch, which was headed high, to end the game.

That swing brought equal amounts of joy and relief to Trainen, who has offered little of either for the Dodgers in the postseason. This time it’s good to finally be able to contribute, he said.

“Our guys were playing great baseball,” he said. “Our bats are doing a great job. Our starts have been amazing. So [I’m] “Just doing my job to finish the game.”

He also did his job in picking up Sasaki, the NL Division Series champion Phillies, who would have been the GOAT if the Dodgers lost on Monday.

“Any time as a professional, when you have the ability to pick up your teammates, there’s a lot of pride in that,” Trinen said. “You just want to do your part because it’s a team game.

“I’ve definitely had guys pick me up this year. To have the opportunity to pick someone else up, it’s good.”

It had been a long time since Trenin had felt this way.