Dodgers Recap: Dodgers Drop Another Heartbreaker as Brewers Finish Off the Sweep

CHAVEZ RAVINE — Sunday afternoon at Dodger Stadium felt like a familiar script for Dodgers fans this weekend—decent enough starting pitching, enough offense to win, and then… it slipped away.

Clayton Kershaw deserved a better fate in his first start of the second half. The veteran lefty was sharp through the first three innings, mixing speeds and inducing soft contact. But a rough fourth inning—marred by defensive miscues from Tommy Edman and Andy Pages—allowed two unearned runs to score, erasing a 3–0 Dodgers lead. Kershaw exited with the game tied after 4.1 innings, charged with only one earned run on five hits.

The Dodgers’ offense, which had shown signs of life, put up another respectable effort. Shohei Ohtani launched his 34th homer of the season, a two-run shot in the third, and Esteury Ruiz added his first home run of the year in the fifth to give L.A. a 4–3 lead. Andy Pages added two more hits, including a double, and Dalton Rushing delivered a clutch RBI single in the ninth to keep hopes alive.

But the bullpen couldn’t hold the line.

Lou Trivino, who was generally solid in the first half, struggled with command in the sixth. After replacing Alex Vesia, he allowed a game-tying RBI single to Eric Haase, then departed after loading the bases. Will Klein took over and gave up a two-run single to Isaac Collins that put Milwaukee up 6–4, a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

The Dodgers had a real chance in the ninth. Down 6–4, Will Smith, Pages, and Michael Conforto (who walked) loaded the bases with two outs. Rushing came through with an RBI single to cut the lead to one, but that’s where the rally ended. Mookie Betts, batting leadoff for the first time this season, lined out sharply to center to end it. A sweep at home to open the second half of the season. Not what you want.

The 6–5 loss marks the Dodgers’ sixth straight defeat at the hands of the Brewers, who swept the weekend series in L.A. It also marked the second straight game in which a late rally fell just short, as the Dodgers continue to find new ways to come up just shy.

Injuries didn’t help. Freddie Freeman left the game in the sixth inning after being hit on the wrist by a pitch. X-rays were reportedly negative, but his status for the coming week is uncertain.

On Monday, the Dodgers will try to stop the bleeding when the Minnesota Twins come to town. Shohei Ohtani will be on the mound, and there’s no question the team needs him to play the role of stopper. The Dodgers have now dropped three in a row overall and 10 of their last 12. The NL West lead has become fragile, and the team needs to find a way to right the ship—fast.

Shohei to the rescue?

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