Pat Murphy and Andrew Vaughn on big win against Dodgers
Video: Pat Murphy and Andrew Vaughn on big win against Dodgers
The Milwaukee Brewers kept the magic going into the last weekend before the all-star break.
The Brewers managed to keep the mighty Los Angeles Dodgers in check for an entire series, and a first-of-its kind sweep culminated with the first career walk-off hit for Jackson Chourio in a 3-2 extra-innings win at American Family Field on July 9.
Chourio sent a clean single through the left side with one out against reliever Kirby Yates, plating Sal Frelick in the 10th to give the Brewers their first home sweep ever against the Dodgers, who managed just four runs over the course of three games in Milwaukee. The moment was made possible by Andrew Vaughn’s game-tying single in the ninth with one out against reliver Tanner Scott.
Trevor Megill struck out all three men he faced in an electric 10th to get the victory and set the stage for the final heroics.
Brewers starter José Quintana didn’t yield a hit until the fifth, leaving with just one run allowed in his six innings of work. That meant Brewers starters allowed just two runs against the Dodgers in 18 innings during the series, a Shohei Ohtani home run July 8 and a bases-loaded walk to Ohtani issued by Quintana on July 9.
Then, the Brewers overcame their sluggish offense in a game without an extra-base hit for either side by scoring late.
Facing Scott in the ninth and a 2-1 deficit, Isaac Collins singled to lead off the frame, and Caleb Durbin singled with one out. That brought up a pinch-hitting Vaughn, who christened his Brewers debut two days earlier with a three-run homer in his first Milwaukee at-bat. This time, his broken-bat single on the first pitch plated the tying run.
Milwaukee missed a chance to win the game in the ninth, but Megill was nails in the 10th. William Contreras hit a fly ball to the warning track that advanced automatic runner Frelick to third base leading off the Brewers’ half of the frame, and Chourio won it one batter later.
Reliever Aaron Ashby, who threw more than 40 pitches two days ago in the series-opening Brewers win, found trouble quickly in the seventh when he surrendered a leadoff single and back-to-back walks with one out to load the bases. Nick Mears checked into the game to face Mookie Betts, who lofted a sacrifice fly to left field for a 2-1 lead.
The Brewers scored without a hit in the fifth, when Jake Bauers walked, moved to second on a Tyler Glasnow balk, stole third and scored when catcher Will Smith’s throw bounced into left field. That answered the Dodgers score in the top half, when Quintana retired the first two men be saw before allowing each of the bottom three batters in the order to reach, followed by a bases-loaded walk to Ohtani.
One of those was former Brewers prospect Esteury Ruiz, who broke up Quintana’s no-hitter with two outs in the fifth when he singled to right-center, exactly to the location vacated by second baseman Brice Turang as he moved to cover the bag for a stealing Miguel Rojas.
The Brewers thought they struck out James Outman to end the inning with two on, but third-base umpire John Libka ruled Outman checked his swing on a full-count pitch, allowing the inning to continue and run to eventually score.
Glasnow, making his first appearance since May 31 after he encountered shoulder inflammation, allowed one unearned run on two hits in five innings. Quintana issued four walks but only one run on two hits in six innings.
The Brewers improved to 53-40, their high water mark of the season at 13 games above .500.
Trevor Megill blows through Dodgers in 10th for scoreless frame
Milwaukee has seized momentum in a huge way, with Trevor Megill working the 10th and striking out Freddie Freeman, Andy Pages and Tommy Edman to keep Los Angeles off the board. Megill just dominant in that inning.
Milwaukee will get Sal Frelick on second base and some good hitters due up to try and win this thing and record the first sweep ever against the Dodgers at this ballpark.
MIDDLE 10TH: Dodgers 2, Brewers 2
We’re going to extra innings after Brewers can’t plate winning run
Milwaukee had runners on the corners with one out, but Andruw Monasterio struck out and Sal Frelick grounded out, leaving the two teams tied at 2-2. The Brewers have used a lot of relievers, so it’s going to be tough to soldier through, but they’ll at least have a shot for this sweep.
END NINTH: Brewers 2, Dodgers 2
Brewers tie the game on Andrew Vaughn’s broken-bat single
Milwaukee found some late magic, plating a run to tie the game at 2-2 with three singles. Isaac Collins led off against reliever Tanner Scott, and Caleb Durbin hit one to almost the exact same spot in the outfield with one out. Pinch-hitter Andrew Vaughn then broke his bat to loft one into center, allowing Collins to score and tie the game, with runners still at the corners and one out.
Andruw Monasterio is due up after he checked into the game on defense.
Brewers heading to the bottom of the ninth down a run
Jared Koenig and Abner Uribe negotiated the ninth, working around a leadoff infield single, and now the Brewers will send Isaac Collins, Brice Turang and Caleb Durbin to the plate looking for at least one run to force extras or two to sweep the Dodgers.
Top of the order now 0 for 11 as Brewers fail to score in eighth
A pitch from reliever Ben Casparius grazed leadoff hitter Sal Frelick in the eighth, but William Contreras popped out to right and Jackson Chourio struck out for the third time today, leaving the top three hitters in the order at 0 for 11 today with four punchouts.
Christian Yelich, who has two of Milwaukee’s four hits today, then faced off with lefty Tanner Scott, then smoked a ball up the middle, but Mookie Betts was well positioned to pick it up and throw to first, ending the inning.
The Brewers fell to 0 for 12 overall with runners on base.
END EIGHTH: Dodgers 2, Brewers 1
Brewers caught stealing again, go down quietly in the seventh
Caleb Durbin reached on an infield single but was thrown out trying to steal, marking the league-leading 32nd time that’s happened to the Brewers this season. Anthony Seigler also pinch hit for Joey Ortiz, flying out to end the frame and send the game to the eighth.
The Brewers were caught stealing only 42 times all of last season and are on pace this year to steal fewer bases than they did last year.
END SEVENTH: Dodgers 2, Brewers 1
Aaron Ashby struggles, and Dodgers re-claim lead in seventh
Aaron Ashby, who threw 40 pitches two days ago in Milwaukee’s win over the Dodgers, found trouble quickly when he was summoned in the seventh, allowing a leadoff single and back-to-back walks after a strikeout. That prompted the Brewers to turn to Nick Mears, who allowed a long sacrifice fly off the bat of Mookie Betts to left field.
That put the Dodgers back in front, 2-1, though Mears was again able to escape further damage, even after issuing a walk of his own to re-load the bases.
Brewers again playing from behind, but it could be worse.
MIDDLE SEVENTH: Dodgers 2, Brewers 1
Brewers unable to score in the sixth, and we’re still tied
Christian Yelich legged out an infield single, but Alex Vesia struck out two of the other three batters he faced in the sixth, sending the game to the seventh. The teams to this point combined for five hits.
END SIXTH: Dodgers 1, Brewers 1
Pat Murphy elects to leave Quintana in for one more batter … and it pays off
Pat Murphy came to the mound with two outs in the sixth, after Jose Quintana yielded a well-struck single to Andy Pages, and it sure looked like the skipper was turning to his bullpen. But Quintana must have said the right thing, convincing Murphy to return to the dugout.
Quintana then needed one more pitch to get a comebacker off the bat of Tommy Edman, and the game moved to the bottom of the sixth, still tied.
Presuming his day ended there, Quintana finished with one run on two hits in six innings, with four walks and four strikeouts. Alex Vesia checked in for the Dodgers in the bottom of the sixth, so Tyler Glasnow’s day ended with one unearned run on two hits in five innings, with three walks and five strikeouts.
MIDDLE SIXTH: Dodgers 1, Brewers 1
Brewers get back to even thanks to Dodgers miscue
The Brewers scored without the benefit of a hit to tie the score at 1-1. Jake Bauers walked, moved to second on a balk, stole third and scored when the throw by catcher Will Smith bounced off third baseman Miguel Rojas and into left field. That’s gritty Brewers baseball for you.
It’s back to a 1-1 game.
END FIFTH: Dodgers 1, Brewers 1
Former Brewers prospect Esteury Ruiz breaks up José Quintana no-hitter, and Dodgers are on the board
Quintana issued a two out walk, giving the Dodgers their first baserunner since in the second inning, and then worked ahead of former Brewers prospect Esteury Ruiz before Ruiz poked a single up the middle, right to a spot vacated by Brice Turang as he covered the bag to try and catch a stealing Rojas.
After retiring 11 straight batters, the no-hit watch was over. And then, things got worse.
The Brewers thought they had James Outman struck out on a 3-2 pitch with a check swing, but third base umpire John Libka said no, loading the bases for none other than Shohei Ohtani. Ohtani took four pitches for a walk, forcing in a run and giving Los Angeles the first score of the game.
Mookie Betts flew out to right to keep any further damage from crossing the plate. It’s probably not the worst thing to happen to walk Ohtani with the bases loaded, but the inability to retire the final three batters in the lineup proved constly.
MIDDLE FIFTH: Dodgers 1, Brewers 0
Still no hits for the Dodgers through four, but still no runs for the Brewers
Quintana worked another 1-2-3 inning in the fourth, but Glasnow followed suit, fixing his shoe between outs before finishing the Brewers in the frame. Brice Turang ripped a two-out single after a brief delay for Glasnow to repair the footwear, but Caleb Durbin struck out and took the game into the fifth inning.
END FOURTH: Brewers 0, Dodgers 0
Now Jackson Chourio takes a hit away from Shohei Ohtani
Still no hits allowed by Quintana through three innings. Jackson Chourio made a sliding catch reminiscent of the one Isaac Collins made last inning, and this one robbed Shohei Ohtani of a bloop single. Ohtani fell to 0 for 2 in the game, and the Brewers had thrown 11 straight scoreless innings against the Dodgers (but really 12, if you figure they started over after the Ohtani homer on July 8).
The Brewers had also been quiet, though. The top of the order went down 1-2-3 for the second time in this game against Tyler Glasnow.
END THIRD: Brewers 0, Dodgers 0
Brewers load bases with one out but come up empty in second inning
A Christian Yelich single and two walks had Dodgers starter Tyler Glasnow on the ropes in the second, but Jake Bauers popped out into foul territory and Joey Ortiz struck out on a high pitch after taking two right in the heart of the zone. It was a 29-pitch inning, so the Brewers made Glasnow work, but still no score.
END SECOND: Brewers 0, Dodgers 0
Isaac Collins makes another nifty catch as Brewers extend scoreless streak
Isaac Collins is starting to build his brand around sliding catches in left field. Collins snagged another one to take a hit away from Tommy Edman, and Quintana hadn’t allowed any hits (one walk) in two innings.
Collins, by the way, entered the game leading all left fielders in the big leagues in Outs Above Average, with six runs saved.
Through the second, the Brewers had worked, essentially, 11 scoreless innings against the Dodgers. That’s not technically true since Shohei Ohtani took Jacob Misiorowski deep leading off the game July 8, but then Misiorowski worked a 1-2-3 first from there. Ten innings later, the Dodgers hadn’t scored again.
José Quintana starts with a 1-2-3 inning, including an Ohtani strikeout
It took 10 pitches, but José Quintana opened the game with a strikeout of Shohei Ohtani, then retired Mookie Betts and Will Smith for a clean top of the first.
The Brewers also went 1-2-3 in the bottom half.
END FIRST: Brewers 0, Dodgers 0
Glasnow returns from injured list for Dodgers
The Brewers were facing a third consecutive high-profile opposing pitcher, in the wake of defeating Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Clayton Kershaw. Tyler Glasnow, however, hadn’t pitched since the end of May after experiencing shoulder inflammation.
Glasnow, who missed the last six weeks of 2024, as well, had made five starts this year for the Dodgers and owns a 4.50 ERA with a 1.278 WHIP. So he’s been hittable, but his return marked a huge story line for a Dodgers team that has been beset by injuries.
Familiar name in the Dodgers lineup
The Dodgers’ starting left fielder on July 9 was none other than Esteury Ruiz, the former Brewers prospect who was traded in the deal that brought William Contreras to Milwaukee.
Ruiz went to Oakland in that three-team swap. Milwaukee had just acquired Ruiz from the Padres in the deal that sent Josh Hader to San Diego. Ruiz stole 67 bases in 2023 to lead the league but has otherwise struggled both offensively and defensively in the big leagues. In April, he was traded to the Dodgers for pitcher Carlos Durán.
What time is the Brewers game today?
Time: 1:10 p.m. CT.
What channel is the Brewers game on tonight?
TV channel: FanDuel Sports Wisconsin and MLB Network.
Brewers lineup
- Sal Frelick, right field
- William Contreras, catcher
- Jackson Chourio, center field
- Christian Yelich, designated hitter
- Isaac Collins, ldeft field
- Brice Turang, second base
- Caleb Durbin, third base
- Jake Bauers, first base
- Joey Ortiz, shortstop
José Quintana, pitcher
Dodgers lineup
- Shohei Ohtani, designated hitter
- Mookie Betts, shortstop
- Will Smith, catcher
- Freddie Freeman, first base
- Andy Pages, right field
- Tommy Edman, second base
- Miguel Rojas, third base
- Esteury Ruiz, left field
- James Outman, center field
Tyler Glasnow, pitcher
Brewers schedule
Off day July 10.
Brewers vs. Nationals, 7:10 p.m. July 11. Milwaukee RHP Quinn Priester (6-2, 3.59) vs. Washington TBA. TV – FanDuel Sports Wisconsin. Radio – AM-620 WTMJ.
Brewers vs. Nationals, 3:10 p.m. July 12. Milwaukee RHP Brandon Woodruff (1-0, 1.50) vs. Washington TBA. TV – FanDuel Sports Wisconsin. Radio – AM-620 WTMJ.
Brewers vs. Nationals, 1:10 p.m. July 13. Milwaukee RHP Freddy Peralta (10-4, 2.74) vs. Washington TBA. TV – FanDuel Sports Wisconsin. Radio – AM-620 WTMJ.