Freddie Freeman injured as Dodgers are swept by the Milwaukee Brewers, again
Instead, Kershaw has shown flashes of the pitcher who won three Cy Young Awards in four seasons, though now he gets by on guile and guts more than curveballs and sliders. On Sunday, however, he was undone by his defense in a 6-5 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.
It was the Dodgers' third loss in as many games since the All-Star break and 10th in a dozen games overall, the team's worst 12-game slump since 2018.
And the losses keep mounting in other ways as well, with first baseman Freddie Freeman sustaining a left wrist contusion after being hit by a José Quintana pitch in the sixth inning. Freeman leads the Dodgers in batting average (.292) and is third in runs (47) and hits (95). With the team already missing third baseman Max Muncy and utility player Kiké Hernández, the possibility of losing Freeman for any stretch would be a significant blow.
The game ended with the slumping Mookie Betts lining out to center field with the bases loaded.
The Dodgers' rotation has also been battered by injury, which is why Kershaw's performances have been so important. Despite missing the first seven weeks of the season, he ranks third on the team with 11 starts and has given up two or fewer earned runs in eight of them — including Sunday, when he scattered five hits over 4 1/3 innings, exiting the game with the score tied 3-3 in the fifth.
Kershaw, who left without a decision, would have pitched longer had a throwing error by third baseman Tommy Edman and a misplayed fly ball by center fielder Andy Pages not extended the Brewers' fourth inning twice, forcing Kershaw to throw 29 pitches in the inning. And he battled to get that far, working with a fastball that rarely topped 90 and a curve he bounced to the plate more than once.
'It just speaks to the guy,' said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts before the game. 'Even when he doesn't have his best on that particular day, he does what's called of him each time out.'
'He has adjusted, as far as using his his whole pitch mix more,' Roberts continued. 'He's incorporating a lot more pitches and trying to keep guys more off a particular set, attacking guys differently.'
The Dodgers gave Kershaw an early lead with a three-run third. Pages led with a double to left, then scored on a line-drive sacrifice fly by Dalton Rushing. After Betts followed with a single, Shohei Ohtani sliced a 2-0 sinker over the left-field wall for league-leading his 34th home run.
The defense gave all three runs back in the fourth with a two-out throwing error by Edman letting in a run and Pages misplaying a ball that bounced off his glove near the warning track in center for a game-tying double.
Esteury Ruiz's first home run for the Dodgers put them back in front in the fifth, but the Brewers went in front to stay in sixth, scoring three times off relievers Alex Vesia and Lou Trivino (3-1) on a double, three singles and a walk.
The Dodgers' bullpen earned-run average of 4.38 ranks 12th in the 15-team National League. The team hasn't gotten a scoreless game from its bullpen since July 3.
After Rushing's bases-loaded infield single pulled the Dodgers to within a run in the ninth, Betts who was elevated to the leadoff spot in the order in an effort to end a slump that had seen him start July hitting .174 with as many strikeouts as hits, lined out to center. He finished one for five, dropping his average to .240.
Notes: Pitchers Blake Snell and Blake Treinen made rehab appearances for triple-A Oklahoma City on Sunday. Snell, who has been on the injured list since April 6 because of left shoulder inflammation, made 58 pitchers over four innings, giving up a run on four hits while striking out six. It was his third rehab appearance. Treinen, out since April 19 with a forearm strain, followed with a perfect fifth inning in which he struck out two. He could return to the Dodgers' roster this week.
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Fox Sports
15 minutes ago
- Fox Sports
Last Night in Baseball: This Dodgers Win Had Everything
There is always baseball happening — almost too much baseball for one person to handle themselves. That's why we're here to help, though, by sifting through the previous days' games, and figuring out what you missed, but shouldn't have. Here are all the best moments from last night in Major League Baseball: Dodgers win a wild one The Dodgers have had it pretty rough of late. They entered their series with the Twins on Monday having lost 10 of their last 12 games, with those two wins coming against the Giants, a team absolutely blowing their shot at catching up to Los Angeles this month with their own performance. Coming off of a sweep at the hands of the Brewers, the Dodgers were still searching for their first post-All-Star Game dub, and things didn't look great on that front with Shohei Ohtani giving up a first-inning home run to Byron Buxton. 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He wasn't the only Dodger to have a big night, however. Will Smith went deep twice, with a solo home run in the fourth and another in the sixth, and Andy Pages would make it 5-1 Dodgers with his own blast in the seventh. While those last two dingers ended up just being insurance runs for Los Angeles, they were mere inches away from being cashed in. The Twins entered the ninth still down 5-1, but Buxton led off the inning with a walk, and then Brooks Lee was hit by a pitch. The Dodgers would swap in Kirby Yates for Tanner Scott, but he loaded the bases by walking Ryan Jeffers. Kody Clemens would drive Buxton in with a sacrifice fly, making it 5-2 Dodgers. Two outs, but two on, and Carlos Correa at the plate with a chance to tie it. He nearly did. James Outman had subbed in for Teoscar Hernandez as a defensive replacement at the start of the inning, and switched with Pages in the outfield so he'd line up in center field. Outman then ended the game by robbing Correa of a three-run home run that would have tied things up 5-5. Baseball: it's good. Brewers latest W a big one The Brewers, after a 6-0 win against the Mariners on Monday, have now won 11 games in a row. Notable not just because 11 is quite a few Ws strung together, but thanks to what this particular win means: with the Royals crushing the Cubs, 12-4, Milwaukee now has sole possession of first place in the NL Central, and their 60-40 record both ties them for the most wins in the league with the Tigers, and gives them the best record in MLB this year owing to Detroit having played one more game, which they lost. At 11 games, the Brewers are also just two shy of their franchise-best win streak of 13 dubs in a row, set back in 1987. That team finished third in the AL East that year, despite a 91-71 record, as they opened the season with 13 consecutive victories before going 78-71 the rest of the way. 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16 minutes ago
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Uncertainty continues for Fever and Caitlin Clark as her healthy teammates carry their playoff hopes
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