Luis Lara

Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Luis Lara came through with the biggest hit of his team's 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series on Sunday, notching a go-ahead RBI single off Dodgers left-hander Tarik Skubal in the fifth inning. It was Lara's lone hit in his three at-bats, but it obviously came at a key time for Milwaukee. The 21-year-old Lara earned a promotion to the big leagues in early July and hit .246/.311/.325 with one home run, 26 RBI, 25 runs scored, and three stolen bases across 212 plate appearances to finish the year. While Lara's numbers don't leap off the page, he hit .321 with 24 stolen bases across 346 plate appearances at Triple-A before getting called up. The Brewers have deployed Lara as a short-side platoon starter in right field against left-handed starting pitchers so far this postseason. If he can gain some confidence from his key hit off Skubal on Sunday, Lara could emerge as a bottom-of-the-order contributor in the NLCS.