Brewers eke out 5-4 win as starters struggle

Despite just four hits, the Brewers win showdown against LA

Box Score

Somehow, the Brewers locked up an important 5-4 win against the Los Angeles Dodgers despite multiple miscues and after allowing three runs in the first inning.

There were so many moments that played against the Brewers — thrown out at home on a tag-up, not properly tagging a base, or a pair of close calls at first that were nearly hits.

But just as many plays went against the Dodgers.

It began in the first inning with Frankie Montas on the mound for the Brewers. The leadoff batter, Shohei Ohtani, reached on an error by Joey Ortiz, one of the unfortunate fellows wrapped up in tonight’s odd bounces and plays.

Back-to-back singles from the other Dodgers stars, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, left Montas facing the bases loaded before registering a single out. A mound visit emphasized the dire start to the game as Montas struggled to begin the night’s contest. A walk brought home the first Los Angeles run, along with a sacrifice fly, and a hard line drive from Kevin Kiermaier that just snuck past a diving Brice Turang.

The Brewers were quickly on the back foot facing that 3-0 deficit with their starter at 30 pitches already. At the very least, it looked like Milwaukee would respond in equal fashion in the bottom half of the frame.

Dodgers starter Walker Buehler still hasn’t ironed out the wrinkles since returning from injury and his command was erratic. Three walks, including full-count walks to Turang and Tyler Black, set up William Contreras for a potential momentum-changing at-bat. He sent the ball flying into the outfield for what seemed a clear sacrifice fly with Turang on third base, one of the speediest runners in the league. Instead, Kiermaier nailed the throw to leave the Brewers scoreless. There was some controversy about whether the catcher blocked the plate, but either way, it was a surprising result.

While that was one opportunity missed, the Brewers were capable of building another rally in the second inning. The first spark was Jake Bauers’ solo home run, his 10th of the year. After going down 0-2 in the count, he stayed patient enough to wait for a full-count fastball that he pulled over the right-field wall.

Turang had one of his best nights at the plate in a while and was a critical part of the Brewers win. Sal Frelick reached on an error to get a runner on for Turang’s deep triple that almost left the deepest part of the ballpark. Jackson Chourio quickly followed with an RBI single to equalize at 3-3.

In the fourth inning, the Brewers had one last chance to pounce on Buehler. Garrett Mitchell led off with a walk and stole second base. He would move to third on a ground out and score on yet another Dodger’s error. Ortiz’s sharp grounder snuck by the third baseman, leaving both the runner and batter safe.

That’s when one of the most confusing — and costly — plays of the game occurred. Turang launched another ball into the outfield for what would usually be an extra-base hit. But Ortiz, unsure where the ball was as he was already in motion, stepped back past second base. When he moved toward third base again, he never touched the bag and eventually was forced out on an appeal. It would have been another double for Turang, but it was ruled a fielder’s choice instead, costing Turang his second extra-base hit of the night.

It was a playoff atmosphere for the teams in this contest, but the pitching duel was particularly strange. Both teams had to send out a mound visit before recording an out. Montas was able to finish five innings after his difficult first frame, and despite his struggles, wasn’t charged an earned run on any of the three that scored on his watch. Buehler had a similar story with four walks to three strikeouts, but despite being charged four runs, only one was earned.

The top of the seventh seemed set to be a dramatic turning point in the game. The top three of the Dodgers order, Ohtani, Betts, and Freeman, were set to face Jared Koenig. If the Brewers could escape here, they had a good chance of winning the game. But the Dodgers’ stars came through. Betts and Freeman logged back-to-back singles to set up the middle of the order. Koenig was able to record two outs, but pinch-hitter Miguel Rojas did the damage and tied the game at 4-4 with a slicing single to right-center field.

In a clash like this, both bullpens had to be locked in. While the Dodgers shut down Milwaukee for a time, the Brewers managed yet again to scrape across a pivotal run. Ortiz was hit by a pitch and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Turang in a play that was nearly a bunt single. Even though Turang couldn’t reach safely, Chourio stepped up with another clutch hit in his young career.

It was merely a blooper to right field, but Betts failed to cleanly field Chourio’s single. Ortiz had hesitated at third base, expecting Betts to come up with the ball cleanly, but the misplay opened the lane for Ortiz to run home with the 5-4 lead.

If the game couldn’t get any more theatric, that dangerous group of Ohtani, Betts, and Freeman stepped up once again for the ninth inning against Brewers closer Devin Williams. The crowd was ready and roaring for Ohtani’s fly out to left field. Even more so when Betts struck out on a foul tip. And a routine ground ball from Freeman to Turang let the Brewers head home with a victory in one of the most entertaining games of the month, snapping Milwaukee’s three-game skid.

While the Brewers had fewer hits (four) than runs (five) in the victory, they capitalized when it mattered most. Chourio was the only player with multiple hits, as he went 2-for-3 with a walk. Turang nearly had a 3-for-3 night but instead settled for a 1-for-2 game that included a triple, a walk, a fielder’s choice, and a sacrifice bunt.

The bullpen of Nick Mears, Koenig, Joel Payamps, and Williams combined for the final four innings behind Montas, allowing one run on four hits with four strikeouts.

The Brewers will go at the Dodgers again with a marquee pitching matchup tomorrow afternoon in the series finale. Tobias Myers is scheduled to face Jack Flaherty, the Dodgers’ recent trade acquisition. First pitch is set for 1:10 p.m.