The Brewers had a big first inning for the second night in a row, but this time the Dodgers had an answer. Teoscar Hernández drove in six runs to turn things around in a 11-3 win for Los Angeles on Saturday night at American Family Field in Milwaukee.
Roki Sasaki needed 35 pitches to get through the first inning, a frame that started with two doubles and was exacerbated by his own throwing error and a mistimed leap by Mookie Betts at shortstop on a single that scored the third run. After trailing
4-0 after an inning on Friday, the Dodgers were down 3-0 after one on Saturday.
Los Angeles had a runner on base in each of the first two innings, including a one-out triple by Kyle Tucker in the second, but he was stranded. One of the outs was a strikeout by Hernández.
More opportunities came, and Los Angeles finally cashed in during the fourth inning, first with consecutive doubles by Freddie Freeman and Andy Pages for one run. After a walk by Tucker, Hernández hit a towering ball down the left field line that hit off the foul pole for a three-run shot that gave the Dodgers their first lead of the series.
That’s the second home run this week for Hernández, and his third extra-base hit in four games.
After a double (off the yellow line in center field, just shy of a home run) and walk with two outs in the second inning, Sasaki escaped that frame and retired his final 10 batters face, getting through the next four innings on only 52 more pitches. He left with four strikeouts and a lead.
Two walks started the eighth for the Dodgers, who cashed them in with consecutive singles by Will Smith and Hernández, plus a squeeze bunt by Miguel Rojas for a three-run frame. Hernández added another two-run single in the ninth for a season-high six RBI.
After going three weeks without an extra-base hit, Hernández since May 11 is hitting .386/.440/.682 with seven extra-base hits in 12 games.
Going streaking
After Alex Vesia and Kyle Hurt protected a one-run lead in the sixth and seventh innings, respectively, a warmed-up Tanner Scott entered with a four-run lead in the eighth and struck out three to work around a single. Jonathan Hernández got the ninth inning with an eight-run lead and retired all three he faced to finish the win.
Dodgers relievers have not allowed a run since May 12, and the bullpen’s 36 consecutive scoreless innings is the longest in modern franchise history (since 1901). On Saturday they surpassed a 33-inning streak from April 17-28, 1998.
Notes
- Eleven walks by Dodgers batters is a season high, two more than their previous best set last Saturday in Anaheim.
- Six RBI for Hernández match his career high, also done on June 13, 2021 with Toronto, on August 26, 2023 with Seattle, and on June 8, 2024 for the Dodgers at Yankee Stadium.
- Freeman’s double in the fourth inning was the 561st of his career, breaking his tie for 30th place all-time with Eddie Murray and Jeff Kent. Freeman, who has five extra-base hits in his last four games, is four doubles shy of Carlós Beltrán for 29th place.
- Freeman also walked four times, one shy of his career high set on June 17, 2024. He had two other four-walk games with Atlanta, in the regular season in 2019 and in Game 6 of the 2021 National League Championship Series.
- Shohei Ohtani singled twice and walked on Saturday, his ninth straight game reaching base at least twice, matching his own streak from April 3-12 as the longest by a Dodger this season. The last longer Dodgers streak was Freeman with a 10-game streak from April 20-30, 2024.
Saturday particulars
Home run: Teoscar Hernández (7)
WP — Roki Sasaki (3-3): 5 IP, 4 hits, 3 runs (2 earned), 2 walks, 4 strikeouts
LP — Robert Gasser (0-1): 4 1/3 IP, 4 hits, 4 runs, 4 walks, 4 strikeouts
Up next
The Dodgers and Brewers close things up on Sunday afternoon (11:10 a.m. PT, SportsNet LA), with Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the mound against right-hander Brandon Sproat.
