[Monday’s MLB schedule | Live blog]

The Los Angeles Dodgers put the Philadelphia Phillies on the brink of elimination with a 4-3 win in the early game Monday, taking a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five NLDS.

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The Milwaukee Brewers then did the same to the Cubs in the nightcap, with a 7-3 victory in Game 2 of their NLDS.

Both Game 3s are on Wednesday.

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The Milwaukee Brewers are one win away from their first trip to the NLCS in seven years. The Brewers, after an early scare Monday at American Family Field, rolled to a commanding 7-3 win over the Chicago Cubs in Game 2 of their NLDS. That gives them a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series as it heads to Wrigley Field later this week.

The Cubs, who lost 9-3 in Game 1, erupted right away Monday and seemed ready to bounce back in the series. Seiya Suzuki drilled a three-run homer in the first inning after Nico Hoerner singled and Justin Turner walked ahead of him.

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But Chicago’s lead lasted a matter of minutes. The Brewers responded with Shota Imanaga on the mound, as Andrew Vaughn hit a three-run blast of his own in the bottom of the inning to tie the game. William Contreras then gave the Brewers their first lead of the night with a solo homer in the third, ending Imanaga’s night.

In the next inning, Jackson Chourio broke the game open for Milwaukee. He hit the deepest shot of the night straight out to center field for a three-run home run off reliever Drew Pomeranz. That put the Brewers up by four. All seven of their runs came on home runs with two outs.

Rookie pitcher Jacob Misiorowski came in to pitch three scoreless innings midway through the bullpen game for the Brewers. That marked his postseason debut, and 31 of his pitches topped 100 mph — which is the most by a pitcher in a postseason game in the pitch-tracking era. Misiorowski earned his first playoff win with the final.

The Cubs will attempt to rally to force a Game 5 beginning Wednesday with Game 3 at Wrigley Field (5:08 p.m. ET/TBS, TruTV). In that one, Milwaukee will be going for a sweep and some extra rest before the NLCS. — Ryan Young

Blake Snell was brilliant. The Dodgers’ bats woke up in time. And the beleaguered Los Angeles bullpen survived as the Dodgers secured a 4-3 win over the Phillies in Game 2 and took a 2-0 lead in the NLDS.

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For six innings, Monday’s game was locked in a pitchers’ duel, as Snell and Phillies starter Jesús Luzardo traded blows from the mound. Snell didn’t allow a hit until one out remained in the fifth inning. Luzardo retired 17 consecutive Dodgers batters to go into the top of the seventh knotted in a scoreless tie.

But then Luzardo cracked. Teoscar Hernández led off with a single. Freddie Freeman followed with a double to put runners on second and third with no outs. With that, the Philly starter’s night was done.

With reliever Orion Kerkering on the mound, Kiké Hernández delivered again in the postseason, like he has so many times before. He sent Teoscar Hernández home on a fielder’s choice and made it safely to first as the play at the plate failed. The Dodgers then loaded and cleared the bases with a two-run single by Will Smith and an RBI knock from Shohei Ohtani, his first hit of the series.

But no lead is truly safe with the Dodgers bullpen, and things got tense late. The Phillies plated a run in the eighth, then two more off Blake Treinen in the ninth, as Nick Castellanos reached second with no outs via a two-run double that cut the Dodgers lead to 4-3. Then Alex Vesia and Roki Sasaki combined to put out the fire and secure the last three outs of the game without further damage.

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The series now shifts to Los Angeles, where the Dodgers will have two chances to close out the best-of-five series at home. Game 3 is scheduled for Wednesday (9:08 p.m. ET/TBS, TruTV). — Jason Owens

MLB division series live blog

Follow along with Yahoo Sports for live updates, highlights and more from Game 2 of the NLDS: