Brewers 4, Dodgers 2: Unearned runs, timely hits, a warm welcome and – finally – the end of a slump

The Milwaukee Brewers made their share of mistakes during a frustrating seven-game losing streak, so they weren’t going to argue Saturday night when the Los Angeles Dodgers opened the door to victory with some of their own.

Taking advantage of two errors that led to three unearned runs charged to Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw, the Brewers finally got back in the win column with a badly needed 4-2 triumph at Miller Park. 

The Brewers trailed, 2-1, entering the bottom of the sixth but Christian Yelich jumped on a first-pitch fastball from Kershaw and sent it out to center for a game-tying homer. Kershaw would later surrender a double to Ryan Braun and run-scoring triple by Keon Broxton but it was an error by third baseman Max Muncy, who had a tough game in the field, on a routine chopper by Manny Piña that paved the way for two more runs.

Josh Hader, pitching for the first time since his horrible teenage tweets were unearthed during the All-Star Game, tossed two shutout innings with four strikeouts and Corey Knebel held off the Dodgers in the ninth.

BOX SCORE: Brewers 4, Dodgers 2

ANALYSIS:Brewers needed a lot of things to go right to end long skid

NOTES:Brewers hope Ryan Braun's return boosts sagging offense

MLB:Live scoreboard, box scores, standings, statistics

It took Brewers starter Chase Anderson a whopping 43 pitches to get through the first inning, and he was fortunate to surrender only two runs. With two on and two down, he got ahead in the count, 0-2, to Yasmani Grandal but walked him on eight pitches to load the bases.

Chris Taylor singled through the left side, sending home two runs. The Brewers then made a defensive mistake – inexperienced first baseman Ryan Braun ranged off the bag for what would have been a routine groundout to second – that kept the inning alive and loaded the bases.

Anderson finally escaped the inning by striking out Hernandez but not before throwing 43 pitches, assuring his night would be a short one.

The Brewers peeled one run off that lead in the second, thanks to catcher’s interference on Grandal on the first batter, Ryan Braun. He moved to second on Tyler Saladino’s single, to third on Hernán Pérez’s fly to deep center and scored on Keon Broxton’s grounder to short, with Manny Machado making a great play in the hole to save a hit.

The Brewers had a shot to draw even in the third inning when Lorenzo Cain and Christian Yelich singled with one down to put runners on the corners. Jesús Aguilar, normally the hitter the Brewers want up in such situations, grounded into a double play, however, and it remained a 2-1 game.

The Dodgers had a chance to break open the game in the fifth inning when they loaded the bases with no outs, beginning with a walk to Kershaw. Manager Craig Counsell didn’t hesitate to summon rookie Corbin Burnes, only a few weeks into his big-league career, to face MVP candidate Matt Kemp.

Burnes and the Brewers caught a break when Kershaw tried to score when a pitch eluded catcher Erik Kratz, but he recovered and threw to his pitcher, who made the tag for the out. Burnes then struck out Kemp on a wicked breaking ball and retired Muncy on a fly to left to escape the mess and keep it a one-run game.

FIVE TAKEAWAYS

HADER HEARS CHEERS: For those wondering how home fans would react to Hader’s repugnant teenage tweets that prompted profuse apologies to teammates and the media, the first litmus test was a positive one. Hader came on to pitch the seventh inning, and when his name was announced, he received loud cheers, including a standing ovation from many in attendance.

WORST THINGS FIRST: The first-inning woes have become something of a pattern for Anderson this season. He has allowed 17 earned runs in that inning in his 20 starts, which works out to a 7.65 ERA.

D'AMATO:Brewers fans are willing to give Josh Hader benefit of doubt

HAUDRICOURT:Brewers face daunting task in overcoming four terrible days

FIRST-ROUNDER ROLLING: Outfielder Corey Ray, the Brewers’ 2016 first-round pick, has been tearing it up with Class AA Biloxi. Entering Saturday, he was batting .500 (9 for 18) on a five-game hitting streak with seven runs, two doubles, two homers, three RBI and seven steals. Over his last 21 games, he was hitting .293 with 18 runs, five doubles, nine homers, 23 RBI, 12 steals and 1.077 OPS. Ray was leading the Southern League with 18 homers, 30 steals, 49 extra-base hits and 187 total bases.

ANOTHER FIRST-ROUNDER ROLLING: Shortstop Brice Turang, the Brewers’ 2018 first-round pick, is off to a solid start in his pro career with the rookie club in the Arizona League. Turang hit safely in each of his first five games (8 for 18) with four runs, four walks, five steals and .990 OPS.

HITTING THE DOWN BUTTON: How much did the Brewers’ seven-game losing streak hurt their standing in the NL? Before that skid, they had the best record in the league. After the seven losses, they sported the fifth-highest winning percentage (.556), behind Chicago (.589), Philadelphia (.563), Atlanta (.558) and Los Angeles (.557).

RECORD

This year: 56-44

Last year: 53-47

ATTENDANCE

Saturday: 36,242

This year: 1,733,390 (34,668 avg.)

Last year: 1,445950 (29,119 avg.)

COMING UP

Sunday: Dodgers at Brewers, 1:10 p.m. Milwaukee LHP Brent Suter (8-5, 4.39) vs. Los Angeles LHP Alex Wood (5-5, 3.92). TV: FS Wisconsin. Radio: AM-620.