Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
The Dodgers tried to avoid a third straight series loss on Friday evening against the Brewers in Milwaukee, but they ran into an unplanned second straight bullpen game. Starter Dustin May exited the game in the 2nd inning with what the Dodgers described as a “right arm injury.”
The odds were against them, but the Dodgers bullpen stepped up to pitch another 9 innings. Both teams scored one run in the 1st and were locked in a 1-1 tie until the 10th. Will Smith‘s triple gave the Dodgers a two-run lead in the 11th, but after exhausting all his position players and available relievers, the Brewers walked off in the 11th against Mitch White.
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Mookie Betts was back at the top of the lineup after a day off, and he wasted no time. He clobbered a leadoff home run off the first pitch of the game. It was also the first homer Brandon Woodruff has allowed this season and Mookie’s first long ball since April 13.
May only needed 11 pitches to retire the Brewers in order in the first. He struck out two and was looking sharp at the top of the game.
Matt Beaty opened the top of the 2nd with a ground ball base hit, but it was quickly erased by AJ Pollock, who grounded into the double play.
Luis Urias tied the game with one swing in the 2nd. He crushed a May sinker over the left field wall. Not a great location, Dustin.
With two outs in the bottom of the 2nd, May winced in pain after he pitched a 94-mph fastball to batter Billy McKinney, his 27th pitch of the game. He exited the game after a short talk with Dave Roberts and the training staff. That’s a tough break for the Dodgers, who are already reeling from a slew of injuries early in the season. May looked like he had unlocked his potential this season, so I’m really hoping it’s nothing major. The way he was grimacing and carrying his arm while walking off the field looked bad.
The Dodgers and Brewers have both been hit hard with injury. The Brewers currently have 16 guys on the injured list. The Dodgers have surpassed double digits as well.
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) May 1, 2021
Not good.
Garrett Cleavinger replaced the injured May. After a couple of walks and a single, he loaded the bases with two outs. Cleavinger went 3-2 on Kolten Wong, but he somehow got him to fly out to Mookie in center to escape the inning without any more damage.
Corey Seager picked up his injured pitcher with an RBI triple to deep center field in the 3rd. Jackie Bradley Jr. threw himself at the wall but came up empty. Betts got hit with pitch earlier and easily scored from first on the play.
Travis Shaw tied it back up with a solo shot off Cleavinger with two outs in the home half of the 3rd. It was another meatball right down the middle of the plate.
Jimmy Nelson was the next reliever out of the bullpen for the Dodgers. The pace of the game slowed down a lot, but the Dodgers finally put the ball in play in the top of the 5th. Pinch-hitter Sheldon Neuse took second base on a single and a Shaw throwing error at third. Betts sharply singled to left, giving the Dodgers runners at the corners and one out. Woodruff, who’s been great for Milwaukee this season, struck out Seager and Turner swinging with his four-seamer. That’s some more terrible hitting with RISP for the Dodgers. They came into the game slashing .235/.364/.363/.727 with RISP as a team.
Scott Alexander was the next arm out of the ‘pen, and he struck out Daniel Vogelbach, but a walk and a stolen base by Avisail Garcia gave the Brew Crew the tiebreaker in scoring position. Alexander was able to retire Shaw, and it looked like the bullpen was once again picking up the slack. If only the offense could pick it up too.
It continues to be painful watching Max Muncy at the plate. He struck out swinging on a Woodruff curve to open the 6th with the game still locked in 2-2.
Brutal.
Beaty, on the other hand, has given the Dodgers good plate appearances since reuniting with the team. He got on base three times with two singles and a walk. AJ Pollock grounded out, moving Beaty to second. A Woodruff wild pitch got the Dodgers the winning run 90 feet away with Gavin Lux up to bat. Lux has been slow to come back offensively after injury, and Woodruff got him on a foul tip to end the frame and preserve the tie. Dennis Santana was the fifth arm of the game for the Dodgers. The Brewers got runners to second and third with two outs, but Muncy made a nice play at second to get Tyrone Taylor for the third out.
Brent Suter took over for Woodruff in the 7th for Milwaukee. Edwin Rios continues to struggle mightily at the plate and struck out swinging for the second out as the Dodgers went down 1-2-3. Victor Gonzalez was the next arm out of the Dodgers’ bullpen carousel. Wong singled, and Barnes threw him out at second trying to steal. The Brewers challenged the play, but the call on the field was not overturned. He looked safe, and the crowd at American Family Field was not happy.
After Devin Williams kept the Dodgers quiet in the 8th, Kenley Jansen got the ball looking to preserve the tie. Angel Hernandez was doing his thing again. The call on Urias was terrible.
Thankfully the #umpshow didn’t hurt the Dodgers too much. Jansen ended up pitching a scoreless inning, sending the tie to the 9th.
Josh Hader walked Chris Taylor with one out to start that frame, and CT3 stole second to give the Dodgers the go-ahead run in scoring position. Will Smith pinch-hit for Rios, but he anticlimactically flied out. It was up to Blake Treinen in the bottom of the 9th, the eighth pitcher of the game for the Dodgers. With no remaining position players left, Barnes took over second base, Smith was behind the plate, and Muncy moved back to first. Treinen struck out two in a 1-2-3 inning pushing the game into extras.
The tie was finally broken up by Turner in the top of the 10th vs. right-hander Drew Rasmussen. A single scored Smith, who was the runner on second to start the inning.
Alex Vesia really got thrown into the fire for his Dodgers debut in a one-run game and a ghost runner at second in the bottom of the 10th. Consecutive walks to Garcia and Shaw loaded the bases with no outs for Bradley Jr. He reared back to strike out Bradley, but the Brewers tied the game up on a Urias sac fly.
Smith came up big for the Dodgers in the top of the 11th. His first career triple, a line drive to right field, scored two and gave the Dodgers a 5-3 lead.
The wild ride wasn’t over. The Brewers loaded the bases against Vesia, and Roberts had to go to White, his 10th pitcher of the game and very last reliever available. The only players not used at this point were Trevor Bauer, Walker Buehler and Julio Urias (tomorrow’s starter). The Brewers scored their fourth run on a Wong sac fly. White struck out Keston Hiura, but Garcia was able to get a ball by Seager (not hard to do nowadays), and the Brewers tied it up AGAIN. Consecutive singles by Garcia and Shaw were the nails in the coffin, and the Dodgers lost 6-5.
They fall to 16-12 on the season and 8-7 away after a third straight loss. They went 3-for-14 with RISP and left 11 men on base.
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Brew up some coffee for the final installment of the four-game series Saturday morning with first pitch at 11:10 AM PST. Urias (3-0, 3.23 ERA, 2.94 FIP) looks to continue his solid start to the season, while the Brewers have yet to announce their starter. Corbin Burnes was slated to start Sunday, but he was placed on the IL on Thursday due to COVID-19.
