Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
After coming alive (extremely) late in the Reds series, primarily thanks to the struggles of one pitcher, the bats of the Dodgers surely hoped to use that as a jumping off point for the series against the first-place Brewers. However, an old nemesis and his cohorts shut them down again in a 2-1 loss.
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Trevor Bauer took the mound seemingly having hit his stride on the season, but he generally didn’t seem pleased with how the ball was coming out of his hand early on tonight.
The first trouble of the game came in the 3rd with a lead-off double, but he got out of that without the runner moving. In the 4th, after getting the first two batters, Bauer walked Avisail Garcia, and Travis Shaw made him pay for that immediately by yanking a ball down the line in right for a two-run shot and a 2-0 lead.
🔔The Mayor goes yard🔔
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) April 30, 2021
Shaw puts the Brewers on the board with his 4th homer of the year.#ThisIsMyCrew pic.twitter.com/4ZbWVyQ0rG
Aside from that, Bauer pitched well and seemed to find it over the course of the game, not allowing another run or scoring chance. Providing length was key with a pen game tomorrow, and he did that, finishing with a quality line: 8 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 6 K, 113 Pitches.
Of course, there were no offense updates because there was no offense. Eric Lauer had made seven starts against the Dodgers with a 2.11 ERA against them in his career despite carrying a 4.75 career ERA. That trend continued today, as he faced just one batter with a runner in scoring position in the game. That came after a walk and a single in the 5th, which amounted to nothing for the Dodgers. He was removed after five innings for presumably pitch count reasons, but allowed just four singles and a pair of walks over five shutout frames.
The defense didn’t hurt.
Brad Boxberger and J.P. Feyereisen continued the shutout in the 6th and 7th without much trouble. However, Devin Williams wasn’t at his best, matching his 2021 trend. He allowed a four-pitch walk to Mookie Betts to start, then Corey Seager smashed a liner back up the box that the Brewers turned a ridiculous double play on. That proved huge and Justin Turner and Will Smith both lined singles afterward, and he got Max Muncy to ground out to end the threat.
That brought in Josh Hader for the 9th, who actually struggled more than expected. Chris Taylor started with a single then advanced on a balk, and with two down Austin Barnes dunked a single into left to cut the lead to 2-1. However, Betts then flew out to end the game.
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16-10. Kinda bad for a team that started 13-2.
The second game of the four-game series will start tomorrow at 2:10 PM HST/5:10 PM PST/8:10 PM EST. It’ll be a pen game for the Dodgers as they get Dustin May an extra day of rest, and they’ll be facing Freddy Peralta.
