Steve Webb
MILWAUKEE, WI — Tuesday night was one of those “what were they thinking?” nights. The Dodgers staged a nice comeback and were on the verge of winning the ballgame, but numerous extra-inning headscratchers opened the door for the Brewers to come back and walk it off in extras. What was Joey Gallo thinking getting thrown out in the tenth? What was Dave Roberts thinking not being ready for the bunt in the eleventh? What was Craig Kimbrel thinking in walking the go-ahead run into scoring position? What indeed? The final result of all these questionable moves was a 5-4 Brewer victory in a very disappointing end to what could have been a great win for the team.
Squandered Opportunity, Adames homer puts Dodgers in early hole
To be honest, the first inning in Tuesday’s ballgame could have gone a whole lot better for the visiting Dodgers. It started promisingly enough against Brewers’ flamethrower Brandon Woodruff. Back-to-back hits from Trea Turner and Freddie Freeman put runners on second and third with just one out. But a grounder that ended in a fielder’s choice run-down and a strikeout of Max Muncy and Woodruff was out of the inning with a zero on the board.
Then, Dodger starter Ryan Pepiot got himself in trouble in the most predictable of ways. The guy who has the highest walk rate in the majors right now started the game by issuing a free pass to Christian Yelich. The walk immediately came back to bite Pepiot when the next hitter, shortstop Willy Adames, hit a wallscraper that just cleared the right centerfield fence for a two-run shot. And just like that, the Dodgers were playing from behind, an unfamiliar position for the team these last couple of weeks..
Gallo and Betts bash the Dodgers back to even
The score stayed 2-0 until the top of the fifth inning, when the Dodgers had a power surge to tie up the ball game. On the first pitch of the inning, Joey Gallo hijacked a Brandon Woodruff four-seamer and sent it over the the right field fence. It wasn’t one of those majestic shots that Gallo is so famous for (just 363 feet) but it was plenty deep to get the job done.
One hitter later, Mookie Betts totally obliterated another Woodruff pitch, going upper tank to leftfield for the game-tying home run. It was his fourth round-tripper this month, and his OPS in August is still up over .945. And, more importantly, there was a new ballgame.
Yelich snatches the lead right back
The tie ballgame was very short lived. In the bottom of the fifth, as Ryan Pepiot’s outing was winding down, he got snake-bit by another longball. This time it was former MVP Christian Yelich, who went 451 feet on a Pepiot fastball to put the Brewers up 3-2. After Pepiot issued a two-straight walks in that same inning, his evening was over. Dave Roberts called on Reyes Moronta to get the final out of the frame. Pepiot pitched decent enough, but had the same two problems that plagued him in the start against the Twins: walks and the long ball. His final line for the night: 4.2 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 5 BB, 6 K.
Taylor ties it up!
With both Pepiot and Woodruff out of the game, it was up to the bullpens to finish this one up. Brad Boxburger was nasty for the Brewers in the sixth, but the Dodgers got to righty Matt Bush in the seventh. Bush retired Joey Gallo, but Chris Taylor found the seats on the first pitch he saw in his at-bat, a center-cut cookie that was asking to be hit hard. The solo shot tied up the game once again, and the two teams went into the late innings to see who would flinch first.
Great pitching sends the game into extras
The Dodgers got some fantastic work out of their relievers to keep the game tied in regulation. Moronta pitched a scoreless sixth. David Price continued the trend with yet another good inning of work in the seventh. In the 8th, Evan Phillips pitched a 1-2-3 inning. And finally, Phil Bickford struck out a couple against his former team and put up a zero to send the game into extra innings.
A tenth inning of gaffes and thrills
And, of course, the Dodgers came up short in extras. In the top of the tenth, they ran themselves out of a run when ghost runner Joey Gallo for some inexplicable reason tried to move to third on a grounder to shortstop. He was easily cut down, taking a runner out of scoring position, a runner that would have surely scored on Trea Turner’s single. But instead, Gallo could only watch from the bench as the inning ended with a zero on the scoreboard.
In the bottom of the 10th, Alex Vesia came on and held serve. However, it was more Chris Taylor’s doing than it was Vesia’s. With two outs, Andrew McCutcheon ripped a liner to centerfield that had “walk-off winner” written all over it. However, center fielder Chris Taylor ran a perfect route on the ball and was able to flag it down before he went sprawling into the outfield grass near the warning track. It was a game-saving catch that needed to be seen again to be believed.
JT for the lead!
Having dodged the bullet, the Dodgers were gifted new life in the eleventh. They seemed to make the most of it when Justin Turner banged a one-out single into center to score the ghost runner from third. It was all they would get, though, as neither Hanser Alberto nor Trayce Thompson could push across an all-important insurance run. The game went into the bottom of the 11th with the Dodgers clinging to a one-run lead.
Kimbrel coughs it up
Craig Kimbrel with the bases empty is dicey enough. Craig Kimbrel starting an inning with a man on second is just asking for trouble. And trouble found the Dodgers’ closer soon enough. With Max Muncy playing behind the bag at third, Brewer manager Craig Counsel saw an opportunity and pounced. He had leadoff hitter Hunter Renfroe lay down a bunt on the left side of the diamond. Renfroe came through perfectly, and Muncy had absolutely no play. It was first and third and nobody out. Ugh.
Kimbrel then got a strikeout of Kolten Wong to record the first out of the inning, but he got himself in more trouble immediately after that when he walked Luis Urias on 3-2 fastball that wasn’t even in the vicinity of the strike zone. And of course, with that walk, the bases were now loaded with Brewers and the winning run was in scoring position. Not good, Bob.
The next hitter was catcher Victor Caratini. Kimbrel got a couple of strikes on him, but just couldn’t put him away. Caratini worked the count to 2-2 and then muscled a fastball on his hands out into centerfield. The wounded duck died before reaching Mookie Betts and landed on the outfield grass. Renfroe got a great read on the ball and almost beat the ghost runner Andrew McCutcheon to the plate. Betts made a throw, but he had no real chance. Game. Over.
Sad trombone….
Gonsolin to take the mound on Wednesday
The Dodgers try to shake his one off in a hurry and get back on track against these same Brewers on Wednesday night. Game Three of this series features the return of the mound of Tony Gonsolin, looking to follow up his fantastic start in Kansas City. After a bit of a shaky July, the Catman’s ERA in August is 0.77. Taking the bump for the Brew Crew will be notorious Dodger killer Eric Lauer, who always seems to save his best starts for games against Los Angeles. In his career, Lauer is 6-0 with a 2.56 ERA in games with the Dodgers. However, the Blue Crew did knock him around a bit the last time they hooked up back in October, when they scored 5 earned runs off of him. Game time Wednesday, 5:10 pm, PDT.
Cans of Corn…
- Why Dave Roberts continues to defend Craig Kimbrel is beyond me. I guess it’s more for Kimbrel’ consumption than ours. Because Dodger fans have pretty much had it with him.
- Taylor’s catch in the tenth was so fantastic, you kind of felt like the Dodgers were going to win after that. They, in fact, did not.
- Gallo’s baserunning gaffe was like little-league bad.
- Evan Phillips has given up a grand total of ONE earned run in his last 30 appearances!!
- It’s infuriating to hear national baseball guys talk about the Dodgers when it’s obvious these guys have barely watched the team this year. Ugh.
- Looks like last year’s Danny Duffy signing is going to amount to a big fat nothing. He has experienced some discomfort in his rehab efforts in Arizona, and Dave Roberts says it’s “unlikely” that he’ll be pitching in 2022.
- Austin Barnes is back on the team, back from family emergency leave. Catcher Tony Wolters was sent back to OKC on Monday after appearing in two games in the Kansas City series.
- Clayton Kershaw didn’t make the trip to MKE. He’s back in Texas with his family. He’ll be doing a little throwing there as he helps Ellen get the kids back to school. Then, he’ll be back in LA this weekend, and will probably throw a bullpen to see how he feels.
