Dodgers 2, Brewers 1 (13 innings): NLCS tied after Game 4 marathon
LOS ANGELES - Back to even.
A matchup that was either a terrific pitcher's duel or horrendous offensive display, depending upon your perspective, finally came to an end in the 13th inning Tuesday evening.
And the outcome was not in the Milwaukee Brewers' favor.
Cody Bellinger's two-out single off Junior Guerra drove in Manny Machado, and the Brewers fell to the Los Angeles Dodgers, 2-1, in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series.
Seven Milwaukee pitchers limited Los Angeles to just seven hits while striking out a postseason franchise-record 17. But with Guerra in his fourth inning of relief and few other options left in the bullpen, the Brewers' luck finally ran out.
As a result the Dodgers tied the series at 2-2 with Clayton Kershaw taking the mound for Game 5 on Wednesday afternoon before the series shifts back to Milwaukee.
"It was one of those nights," said Jesús Aguilar, who went 1 for 5 and left four runners on base. "They did a great job on the mound. Us, too. Too many strikeouts, we couldn’t put the ball in play. But we’ve got to keep going. We’ve got to keep moving forward.
"We’ve got a couple more games to go, and let’s see what happens."
In his fourth inning of work, Guerra had recorded the first out in the 13th before Machado singled to left. He eventually moved up on a wild pitch, and with two outs Bellinger lined a single to right.
Christian Yelich made a strong throw home but Machado slid in just before the tag, ending the marathon after 5 hours 15 minutes. It was the second-longest NLCS game ever by time, surpassed only by the Mets and Braves playing for 5:46 in Game 5 in 1999.
Every player on both benches and 16 total pitchers were used, and the two teams combined to go 2 for 18 with runners in scoring position while leaving 21 on base.
"It hurts because when your pitchers go out there and keep these guys at one run for 12 innings or 13 innings or whatever it was, you want to win that game," said Lorenzo Cain, another hitter in a funk who went 0 for 6 with three strikeouts. He was also robbed of a hit on a sliding catch by Bellinger in the 10th.
"So it’s definitely tough as an offense. We struggled big-time. We’ve got to turn this thing around and score some more runs for those guys because they’ve just been so good for us all season long."
Rookies Freddy Peralta and Corbin Burnes did the heavy lifting early on for the Brewers, who lost starter Gio Gonzalez to a high ankle sprain two pitches into the second inning.
The pair combined to throw five innings of hitless relief while combining for nine strikeouts.
Milwaukee’s offense did little against Dodgers starter Rich Hill and five relievers in regulation, with Domingo Santana’s pinch-hit RBI double in the fifth tying the game at 1-1.
Both teams spun their wheels offensively from the sixth on, with Kenley Jansen throwing a scoreless ninth and Corey Knebel matching him in the bottom half as the Brewers went into extra innings for the second time this postseason.
Jansen again blanked the Brewers in the 10th, and Guerra struck out a pair in a 1-2-3 bottom half.
There was a little excitement when the one player who didn't strike out, Machado, appeared to intentionally bump legs with Aguilar as he ran out a grounder to shortstop.
Aguilar and Machado exchanged words in the aftermath, and soon thereafter both dugouts emptied with the teams meeting on the infield. But nothing came of it, and by the time the bullpens arrived on the scene the matter had already been settled.
While several of Aguilar's teammates were vocal in their displeasure of Machado's play, Aguilar said the two had ironed things out when Machado reached first on his 13th-inning single.
"I told him, ‘Go see the video and tomorrow let me know,’" Aguilar said. "I’ve known him from so many years ago from High-A, so I know him really well. But we turned the page. We’re good. We’re fine. We already talked.
"Everything is fine."
Manager Craig Counsell was a little more terse in his postgame comments when he was asked if Machado's play had gone past the bounds of just playing hard. He was involved in a couple of hard slides into second base in Monday's game as well.
"I don't know. I guess they got tangled up at first base," he said. "I don't think he's playing all that hard."
Guerra took the loss, but he set a Brewers club record with 3 2/3 innings of scoreless relief.
"We got some incredible pitching performances tonight," Counsell said. "Freddy and Junior were absolutely wonderful. And really, they put us in a spot to give us some chances to try to put some runs on the board."
It was Orlando Arcia's single with one out in the fifth that set the stage for Santana, who's been the Brewers' late-season, pinch-hitting specialist. His double to right-center off Hill scored Arcia from first to make it a 1-1 game.
The Dodgers took a 1-0 lead in the first against Gonzalez, who scuffled with his command in a 25-pitch first inning. He threw only 10 strikes in all, with Brian Dozier's RBI single driving in Chris Taylor.
On his first offering in the second, Yasiel Puig hit a sharp comebacker that Gonzalez leaped up to grab, only to land awkwardly and roll his left ankle. Puig was credited with a single while Gonzalez was examined by an athletic trainer and then took a few warmup pitches.
Apparently good to go, Gonzalez threw just one more pitch before having to call it quits. He was visibly frustrated as he handed the ball to Counsell, who replaced him with Peralta.
Gonzalez will likely have to be replaced with a healthy player for the rest of the NLCS, which would disqualify him from the World Series roster if the Brewers are able to advance.
"He's checking with the doctors now," said Counsell. "But it's likely we're going to have to replace him, yes."
Peralta entered the game having not pitched since Sept. 24 and with just 4 2/3 innings to his credit since Aug. 29. He started out by walking Austin Barnes, then made a nice play to throw out Puig at third on a bunt by Hill for the first out.
Peralta followed up by striking out Taylor only to walk Justin Turner to load the bases.
David Freese was pulled for left-handed slugger Max Muncy, who led the Dodgers with 35 homers in the regular season, but he was caught looking at a 95 mph fastball on the inner half of the plate for Strike 3.
Peralta struck out two more in the bottom of the frame, giving him six to end his impressive 47-pitch outing. He walked three but didn't allow a hit, making him just the second pitcher ever to throw three or more hitless innings while striking out six or more in a postseason game.
Boston's Pedro Martinez was the first, having struck out eight over six hitless innings in the 1999 ALDS at Cleveland.
Another rookie, Burnes, took Peralta's place and was similarly solid as he struck out three in two hitless innings.
As the Brewers continued to swing away with nothing to show for their efforts, their bullpen continued to put up zeroes as well. Joakim Soria, Josh Hader and Corey Knebel each threw a scoreless inning to get the game into extras.
That would seem to leave Milwaukee in a precarious position heading into Wednesday afternoon's Game 5.
"I think anytime you've got to cover 13 innings and there's a game the next day, you're always worried about that," Counsell said. "And we'll have to kind of put our heads together and look at what we've got.
"We've got some guys we've used quite a bit. We were able to stay away from a couple of guys tonight. But we're in a little bit of a tough spot, for sure. And I think that's just the nature of a 13-inning game and losing your starter in the second inning."
Next up for the Brewers is Kershaw, who took the Game 1 loss.
"Nothing is easy in this round," said Aguilar. "You’re going to face a really good starter, you’re going to face really good relievers. But we’ve got to be aggressive in the strike zone and put the ball in play.
"Tonight it was us (who lost). Tomorrow you never know what’s going to happen."
FIVE TAKEAWAYS
IT'S A FIRST: The Brewers came into Tuesday holding their first-ever 2-1 lead in a seven-game postseason series. The Dodgers were 4-11 all-time when trailing 2-1 in a seven-game postseason series.
NO FAN FAVORITE: Counsell annoyed the sellout crowd of 53,764 with not one but two stoppages in play in the eighth. First, he asked for a review of a play down the right-field line on which Yelich failed to come up with a pop foul, asserting that a fan had reached over the wall and possibly touched the ball. Then he had the umpires confer on two parts of a fielder's choice grounder, asking if Muncy had interfered with Schoop on his slide into second and if Brian Dozier was out at first for a potential double play. None of the reviews worked in the Brewers' favor.
CLOSE CALL: Yelich gave the Brewers a few anxious moments in the seventh. With two outs, he chased down a Turner fly ball that he finally gloved near the wall down the right-field line. Yelich then hit the wall – which is only about waist-high – and went over it. He held on, however, and was no worse for wear as he jogged back into the dugout. Yelich then led off the eighth and delivered an infield single.
YOU DON'T SAY: The Dodgers' eighth inning was something of a rarity against Hader, with a pair of left-handed hitters in Muncy and Bellinger both singling. Hader came into the game having allowed just eight hits to lefties all season, for a collective .090 average.
ALL ABOUT NOTHING: Milwaukee has recorded four postseason shutouts in franchise history, and three have come during its current playoff run – Games 2 and 3 of the National League Division Series and Game 3 of the NLCS. The Brewers are the first team with three or more shutouts in one postseason since the Cleveland Indians set the all-time record with five in 2016.
COMING UP
Wednesday: Brewers vs. Dodgers in Game 5 of the NLCS, 4:05 p.m. at Dodger Stadium. Milwaukee LHP Wade Miley (0-0, 0.00) vs. Los Angeles LHP Clayton Kershaw (1-1, 3.27). TV: FS1. Radio: AM-620.
NLCS SCHEDULE
Game 6: Friday, Oct. 19, 7:39 p.m. at Milwaukee
Game 7: Saturday, Oct. 20, 8:09 p.m. at Milwaukee