Devin Williams beats Ohtani, Betts and Freeman with 7 shots
Milwaukee Brewers closer Devin Williams needed just 7 pitches to take out Ohtani, Betts and Freeman of the Dodgers and secure a 5-4 victory.
The Milwaukee Brewers picked up three runs in the eighth inning to defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-4 at American Family Field on Thursday, sending the National League leaders home with a 2-2 tie in the four-game series.
Willy Adames tied the game 3-3 with a bases-loaded single, and RBI groundouts by Tyler Black and Rhys Hoskins scored the winning runs against reliever Daniel Hudson to give the Brewers an uplifting victory after letting their early 3-0 lead evaporate.
Devin Williams, who had worked through the Dodgers’ best hitters the night before and earned a save by taking out Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, this time struck out Betts and Ohtani for the final outs, securing his second save in less than 24 hours.
RESULT: Brewers 6, Dodgers 4
Jackson Chourio hit a two-run homer in the first inning and William Contreras hit a solo home run that gave the Brewers a 3-0 lead off Dodgers starter Jack Flaherty, but LA fought back. That included two unearned runs in the second inning, thanks largely to a throwing error by Willy Adames, an RBI single by Kenosha native Gavin Lux in the third inning and a leadoff single by Kike Hernandez off reliever Elvis Peguero in the sixth inning.
But Chourio hit a double in the eighth inning, Contreras hit a cue shot to pitcher Hudson to load the bases with no outs, and Adames tied the game with a clean single. Black followed with a sharp grounder that Hernandez parried with a leap, but his only play was to first base, and Hoskins hit another grounder to Hudson to score another run.
Not that Williams needed that with a ninth place in positions 1-2-3.
Brice Turang reached base three times and stole two bases for the Brewers (69-52), whose lead in the National League Central grew to nine games.
All bounces go to Milwaukee in the eighth inning with three runs and take the lead
Chourio led off with a hard-hitting double, Garrett Mitchell worked his way to a walk, and Contreras got in safely when his ball bounced off Hudson. Adames then tied the game with a two-strike single to left.
The Brewers weren’t done yet. Black hit a sharp groundout to a diving Enrique Hernandez, but his only play was on first base, and the game-winning run was scored. Hoskins then hit another ball from Hudson that deflected to Miguel Rojas for a groundout, but that brought in a third run.
Sal Frelick nearly scored another run with a drag-bunt single, but was out by a whisker and the Brewers went into the ninth inning with a 6-4 lead.
Potential comeback of the Brewers in the seventh round ends again
The frustration continued against Los Angeles.
Relief player Alex Vesia walked the first two balls he threw in the seventh inning, but after throwing seven balls in a row, Frelick bunted and then struck out on the first pitch he saw, sending a fluttering ball into the infield that was easily caught and made the first out. Joey Ortiz thought he had gotten a walk in the next at-bat, but the pitch was ruled a strike to extend the at-bat, and then he flew out.
That brought Turang onto the field, who had already been on base three times today, but ended the threat with a strikeout.
Going into the eighth inning, the Brewers were still trailing 4-3.
Dodgers take the lead in the sixth with a slow single
Elvis Peguero, who has had trouble leaving inherited runners on the bench and is better against lefties this year, came in for Tobias Myers and immediately allowed a slow roller through the right side off the bat of right-hander Kike Hernández that gave the Dodgers the lead. It’s similar to what happened in the last home game against Atlanta; yes, he’s a groundball pitcher, but the switch was odd given the other options available. And again, it didn’t work out.
Peguero has allowed 15 of 24 runners to score this year. Although he is right-handed, right-handed hitters have fared much better against him than left-handed hitters this year (OPS .747 to .655).
The Dodgers went into the second half of the sixth inning with a 4-3 lead.
Brewers bats go cold after opening inning
It wasn’t for lack of opportunities, but the Brewers hadn’t scored a point since the first big play and were tied with the Dodgers until the sixth inning.
Turang worked a walk and stole second base when he came on top in the third inning, but was doubled off on Chourio’s line drive to third base. Chourio was at it again in the fifth inning when the Brewers had runners on second and third base with two outs, but he struck out on the 93rd pitch of the game from Jack Flaherty.
Flaherty has been mostly effective in his three starts since the Dodgers acquired him from the Tigers at the trade deadline.
Brewers starter Tobias Myers, meanwhile, flirted with danger, but did not allow a run in the fourth and fifth innings and returned to the field for the sixth inning.
Kenosha native Gavin Lux ties the game for the Dodgers
The Brewers didn’t wait long to give up their early lead.
Myers struck out Ohtani and Teoscar Hernández to start the inning, but from there the Dodgers caught up, with three consecutive singles from Freddie Freeman, Brewers hitter Will Smith and Kenosha native Gavin Lux, who tied the game 3-3 with a single to center.
Lux, who also hit a home run in the series, was 2 for 2 to start the game. Myers worked his way out of more trouble, but it was a troubling start after Milwaukee had a promising 3-0 lead.
Willy Adames’ problems in defense led to two runs
Adames was a top-notch defender in his first three years in Milwaukee, but this season has been an uphill struggle for him.
He made a big mistake early in the second inning when he attempted to initiate a double play on a slow roller by Rojas and threw a pitch to right field, allowing runners to reach second and third base. This allowed the Dodgers to score two unearned runs, one on a groundout by Jason Heyward and another on a double by Andy Pages with two outs.
Milwaukee’s early lead quickly shrank to 3-2 due to the two undeserved goals.
The first runner to score only came in because Ortiz’s throw bounced off the field and Hoskins couldn’t catch it. It was a tough play and resulted in a single, but it’s questionable whether Jake Bauers (today’s DH) could have caught it.
Brewers pounce on Jack Flaherty with home runs from Jackson Chourio and William Contreras
It’s a promising start for the Brewers, who took a 3-0 lead in the first inning thanks to two home runs from their star players.
Turang worked Flaherty seven pitches and then hit a double into the left field corner, somewhat making up for last night’s similar hit that was turned into an easy fielder’s choice out by a baserunning error by Ortiz, and moved him to second base for Chourio’s 15th home run of the season.
Chourio is now one of three Brewers rookies to record 15 home runs and 15 stolen bases in a season, joining Wayne Comer in 1969 (when the franchise was still called the Seattle Pilots) and Ryan Braun in 2007.
Two batters later, Contreras hit an absolute bomb into the left-field bleachers, a solo hit. He hit home runs in three of the four games in that series.
Bauers also sent one to the wall in center, where it was caught, ending the inning, but the Brewers’ lead is now 3-0.
Over the next two days, relief pitchers will compete at Class A Wisconsin, including Trevor Megill
Trevor Megill was on his way to Appleton for a rehab session for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers on Thursday evening. With a lot of rain forecast, it was a case of wait and see.
Enoli Paredes, meanwhile, will perform in Appleton on Friday.
The Brewers will have to get creative to make room for both spots on the pitching staff. The bullpen has a 2.88 ERA in August, the third-best in baseball, and there aren’t many obvious players whose spots are likely to be sacrificed. Megill, of course, will be a key signing when he returns from back pain.
Paredes has been out of action since July 3 with forearm inflammation and would not be able to play again until September 1 as he was placed on the 60-day injured list. The roster will expand to 28 players (one outfielder and one pitcher) on September 1.
Starting lineups
LOS ANGELES DODGERS
- Shohei Ohtani, designated hitter
- Teoscar Hernandez, left field
- Freddie Freeman, first base
- Will Smith, catcher
- Gavin Lux, second base
- Miguel Rojas, shortstop
- Jason Heyward, right field
- Andy Pages, midfield
- Kiké Hernández, third base
- Jack Flaherty, starting pitcher
Milwaukee Brewers – The best breweries in Milwaukee
- Brice Turang, second base
- Jackson Chourio, left field
- Garrett Mitchell, midfield
- William Contreras, catcher
- Willy Adames, Shortstop
- Jake Bauers, designated hitter
- Rhys Hoskins, first base
- Sal Frelick, right field
- Joey Ortiz, third base
- Tobias Myers, starting pitcher
What is the Brewers’ schedule?
Brewers vs Guardians, Friday, 7:10 p.m. Milwaukee RHP Aaron Civale (3-8, 5.02 ERA) vs. Cleveland RHP Gavin Williams (2-4, 4.38). Broadcasts: Television – Bally Sports Wisconsin. Radio – AM-620.
Brewers vs Guardians, Saturday, 6:15 p.m. Milwaukee RHP Freddy Peralta (7-7, 4.11 ERA) vs. Cleveland RHP Tanner Bibee (10-4, 3.39). Broadcasts: Television – Fox. Radio – AM-620.
Brewers vs Guardians, Sunday, 1:10 p.m. Milwaukee RHP Colin Rea (10-4, 3.72 ERA) vs. Cleveland RHP Ben Lively (10-7, 3.71). Broadcasts: Television – Bally Sports Wisconsin. Radio – AM-620.
