LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jake Bauers delivered the Brewers’ third RBI single of the ninth inning with two outs, and Milwaukee rallied for a 5-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday night to stay alone atop the National League standings.
Los Angeles entered the ninth with a 4-2 lead, but Edwin Diaz (2-2) gave up four straight one-out singles, including run-scoring hits by Jackson Chourio and Garrett Mitchell. The majors’ highest-paid closer has blown saves in three of his last four appearances, with his ERA ballooning to 11.57.
Alex Vesia relieved Diaz, but Chourio scored on a bouncing single by Bauers, a Huntington Beach native.
DL Hall (2-0) pitched two scoreless innings of relief, and Trevor Megill threw a perfect ninth for his 22nd save as the Brewers dramatically rebounded late in their first game since getting swept by the surging San Diego Padres.
The comeback victory kept Milwaukee (75-47) two games ahead of Los Angeles (73-49), which had won four of five after a seven-game skid.
Pinch-hitter Max Muncy crushed a three-run shot in the sixth inning to become the top home run hitter in Dodger Stadium history, but Los Angeles’ three-game winning streak ended with another concerning bullpen meltdown.
Muncy’s 131st homer at Chavez Ravine was a 426-foot drive to center field that broke Eric Karros’ franchise record for the majors’ third-oldest ballpark.
Roki Sasaki pitched six innings of four-hit ball, but he also issued five walks, including two with the bases loaded in a rocky fourth inning.
Shane Drohan yielded three runs on three hits and three walks while pitching into the sixth for Milwaukee.
Freddie Freeman didn’t take a day off after his frightening fall into the visitors’ dugout Wednesday while chasing a foul popup, going 0 for 3 with a walk.
Up next
World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto (11-7, 2.65 ERA) takes the mound for the Dodgers on Friday against Robert Gasser (3-4, 4.57) and the Brewers.
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