Being down 4-0 after the first inning put a damper in the series opener on Friday night in Milwaukee, but the Dodgers offense at least nominally threatened for most of their 5-1 loss to the Brewers.
The Dodgers batted 22 times with at least somebody on base on Friday, compared to 15 plate appearances with the bases empty. That feels weird to say in a game that the Dodgers only had three hits.
All three hits were singles, and all came with nobody out. the one non-leadoff hit was in the seventh inning,
when Dalton Rushing singled after Teoscar Hernández reached on an error. Throw in six walks — three of which also led off an inning — and Max Muncy getting hit on his right wrist by a pitch, and the Dodgers had their chances, but they didn’t do much with them.
That seventh inning produced the only run for Los Angeles, with two flyouts scoring Hernández from second base. the Dodgers had one hit in 17 at=bats with anyone on base on Friday, and no hits in seven at-bats with runners in scoring position.
Logan Henderson pitched five scoreless innings, the 10th starting pitcher to last at least that long without giving up a run to the Dodgers this season. Only the Detroit Tigers and San Diego Padres, at 11 starts each, have had more such games against them.
So far this season, MLB teams bat 55.9 percent of the time with nobody on base, and 44.1 percent with nobody on. Dodgers splits are similar, batting 54.6 percent of the time with nobody on base. They are fourth in MLB in plate appearances with people on base, and sixth in PA with runners in scoring position.
But that was flipped on Friday, batting just 40.5 percent of the time with no one on. It’s out of line with the other three low-hit games this season:
- April 14 vs. Mets (3 hits, 2 runs): 10 PA on base, 21 without
- April 21 at Giants (3 hits, 1 run): 13 PA on base, 23 without
- May 10 vs. Braves (2 hits, 2 runs): 10 PA on base, 26 without
- May 22 at Brewers (3 hits, 1 run): 22 PA on base, 15 without
All those opportunities on Friday led to only one run for the Dodgers, who have been held to three or fewer runs 12 times in their last 22 games. Getting to four runs has been the magic number for Los Angeles this season, winning 27 of their 29 games when scoring at least that many. They are 3-3 when scoring exactly three runs, and just 1-14 when scoring two or fewer runs.
Saturday game info
- Teams: Dodgers at Brewers
- Ballpark: American Family Field, Milwaukee
- Time: 4:15 p.m. PT
- TV: Fox
- Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)
