Kyle Tucker reached a full count against Trevor Megill with two outs in the ninth, fouled off an 88.4 mph knuckle curve, then took another at 88.7 mph in the dirt for a walk. Josue De Paula followed with a five-pitch walk, putting the tying run at second and bringing Mookie Betts to the plate.
Betts hit Megill’s second pitch at 97.5 mph for a flyout to Garrett Mitchell. Megill completed a 19-pitch save in Milwaukee’s 2–1 NLCS Game 1 win over the Dodgers at American Family Field on October 11, with no hits and two walks. He recorded no strikeouts or missed swings.
The finish was successful run prevention with qualifications that matter. Megill acquired outs on contact, increased his knuckle-curve share and allowed late traffic. Two hard-hit balls became outs, so the save cannot be treated as evidence that the Dodgers made no threatening contact.
Season repertoire and Game 1
Scale: 0–100%. Gray: regular season. Blue: Game 1.
Knuckle curve
Change: +22.5 percentage points.
Four-seam fastball
Change: -22.5 percentage points.
The knuckle curve became the larger share
Megill threw 11 knuckle curves and eight four-seamers. The breaking-ball share was 57.9%, compared with 35.4% across 874 pitches in 63 regular-season Milwaukee relief appearances from March 29 through September 25. It was an increase of 22.5 percentage points, accompanied by a corresponding reduction in four-seam share.
His four-seamer averaged 98.6 mph, compared with 97.9 in the baseline. Knuckle curves averaged 87.8 mph, close to the season’s 88.0. Tucker’s plate appearance included five knuckle curves and two fastballs, mixing taken low pitches with a foul and a called strike before the walk.
An ABS challenge changed the fourth pitch of that confrontation to a called strike. The complete ledger preserves the final count and call rather than the initial description shown during the broadcast. Plate-boundary coordinates and the final umpiring result are distinct records; the rectangle used for chase calculations does not replace the official decision.
Kyle Tucker: inning 9
Three contact outs carried the save
The Dodgers attempted to hit five pitches and missed none, compared with a 30.5% missed-swing rate in Megill’s season relief sample. He had three called strikes. Thirteen pitches fell outside the defined ball-center rectangle and one drew an attempt, a small opportunity sample that coincided with the two walks.
Max Muncy opened with a 64.1 mph popup on a knuckle curve. Andy Pages then hit the first pitch of his plate appearance, a 98.8 mph fastball, at 98.8 mph for a lineout to Jackson Chourio. That hard-hit out preceded the two walks, rather than eliminating the possibility of a later threat.
Betts’ 97.5 mph flyout supplied the final out with two runners aboard. Two of the three contacts reached the 95 mph threshold. Their outcomes were favorable to Milwaukee, but three balls and five swing attempts cannot establish a durable change in contact quality or strikeout ability.
Megill finished the assigned inning and earned the save, while the pitch record shows a less comfortable route than a clean box-score line might suggest. The larger knuckle-curve share and late walks are observations to compare with his next outing, not proof of a new plan or a guaranteed repeatable way to finish games.
Inning samples in context
| Inning | Pitches | Cumulative | Knuckle curve mph | Measured n | Outs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 19 | 19 | 87.8 | 11 | 3 |
Every pitch: 19 of 19
Search a hitter, select an inning or pitch type, then inspect a pitch number. Pitch result and completed plate-appearance outcome are separate columns. The table scrolls within its border.
19 of 19 pitches
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| Pitch | Inning | Hitter | Count before | Type | mph | Pitch result | Completed PA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Max Muncy | 0–0 | KC | 86.5 | Ball | Pop Out | |
| 9 | Max Muncy | 1–0 | KC | 86.4 | Ball | Pop Out | |
| 9 | Max Muncy | 2–0 | KC | 87.7 | Called Strike | Pop Out | |
| 9 | Max Muncy | 2–1 | KC | 86.4 | In play, out(s) | Pop Out | |
| 9 | Andy Pages | 0–0 | FF | 98.8 | In play, out(s) | Lineout | |
| 9 | Kyle Tucker | 0–0 | KC | 87.9 | Ball | Walk | |
| 9 | Kyle Tucker | 1–0 | FF | 98.4 | Foul | Walk | |
| 9 | Kyle Tucker | 1–1 | KC | 88.1 | Ball | Walk | |
| 9 | Kyle Tucker | 2–1 | FF | 97.7 | Called Strike | Walk | |
| 9 | Kyle Tucker | 2–2 | KC | 88.4 | Ball | Walk | |
| 9 | Kyle Tucker | 3–2 | KC | 88.4 | Foul | Walk | |
| 9 | Kyle Tucker | 3–2 | KC | 88.7 | Ball In Dirt | Walk | |
| 9 | Josue De Paula | 0–0 | FF | 98.3 | Called Strike | Walk | |
| 9 | Josue De Paula | 0–1 | FF | 99.3 | Ball In Dirt | Walk | |
| 9 | Josue De Paula | 1–1 | KC | 88.2 | Ball | Walk | |
| 9 | Josue De Paula | 2–1 | FF | 99.4 | Ball | Walk | |
| 9 | Josue De Paula | 3–1 | FF | 98.5 | Ball | Walk | |
| 9 | Mookie Betts | 0–0 | KC | 89.6 | Ball In Dirt | Flyout | |
| 9 | Mookie Betts | 1–0 | FF | 98.2 | In play, out(s) | Flyout |
Sources, definitions and limitations
The official final MLB record supplies events, final calls and the line. Baseball Savant’s complete Game 1 feed supplies all 19 physical pitches. Pitch ID, order, classification and pre-pitch count reconcile, including final ABS decisions. These records contain 5 batters, 3 integer outs and 0 strikeouts. In baseball notation, .1 means one out and .2 two outs. Source records current as of October 12, 2026.
The Statcast Search baseline is 874 physical pitches in 63 regular-season relief appearances for Milwaukee Brewers, 2026-03-29 through 2026-09-25. Each game total reconciles with the official appearance log. Target game, postseason work, other clubs and other roles are excluded. 1 baseline pitches lack spin rate; excluded from that measure.
Whiff rate means misses divided by physical swing attempts. Swinging strikes, blocked swinging strikes, caught foul tips and missed bunts count as misses. Fouls, bunt attempts and balls put into play enter the attempt denominator. Both outing and baseline use the same definitions. Called strikes and completed strikeout plate appearances are separate. Chase uses ball-center coordinates outside a 17-inch-wide rectangle and each pitch’s recorded vertical boundaries. Only complete coordinates enter the zone denominator. Savant’s separate zone flag remains in the CSV and detail rather than replacing that geometric definition.
Speed is mph, spin rpm, extension feet and movement inches. Induced vertical break describes movement relative to a gravity-only path. Location and zone boundaries are feet in catcher view. Numbered markers preserve exact coordinates and are not ball size. Release, location, spin, extension and movement measurements are complete for all outing pitches. Contact and expected-outcome measurements can be unavailable and remain missing in the detail and CSV. 3 of 3 balls put into play have measured exit speed. Hard-hit means at least 95 mph; the baseline has 156 measured contacts among 157. Expected outcomes are Savant model estimates, not actual results. The comparisons are descriptive and do not establish intention, fatigue, injury or a durable trend.
