It was a rough night and ending to the road trip for the Milwaukee Brewers in Los Angeles. To put it simply: the pitching was HORRENDOUS during the six game road trip against the Chicago Cubs and especially against the LA Dodgers. On Wednesday night, there were very few bright moments.
Top of the First Inning was nice… but that’s all
Facing off against Dodgers starter Alex Heaney, the brewers could not have gotten off to a better start. Willy Adames hit a solo home run to put the Brewers in front 1-0. Coming off the previous game where the Dodgers crushed the Brewers 10-1, it seemed that the offense would get on track.
Willy takes the early lead#ThisIsMyCrew pic.twitter.com/crVw5xlTnP
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) August 25, 2022
Unfortunately, as has been the case the last couple of months the pitching collapsed faster than a deck of cards
Making his first start since June 30, Brewers pitcher Adrian Houser had a rough first inning to be kind.
He gave up four runs on 41 pitches. To start, Freddie Freeman tied the game on an RBI single. After a strikeout against Max Muncy, Justin Turner gave the Dodgers the lead on an RBI single of his own. Finally to add insult to injury, Cody Bellinger drove in two runs off an RBI double.
When all was said and done, Houser was pulled out of the game after just two and one-third innings. He gave up four runs on five hits and perhaps the most glaring stat of his start: four walks allowed on 81 pitches.
Offense goes quiet
At one point, Dodgers starter Alex Heaney recorded seven consecutive strikeouts against Milwaukee batters. They tried to get back in the game thanks to a Hunter Renfroe double in the third inning to cut the lead in half.
Renfroe ropes it to the wall! @Brewers | #ThisIsMyCrew pic.twitter.com/oXxsblgonC
— Bally Sports Wisconsin (@BallySportWI) August 25, 2022
They couldn’t get any closer. After an RBI groundout by Austin Barnes in the bottom of the third to make it 5-2 LA, the fourth inning came…
Bullpen Disappears and Disappoints in Fourth Inning
The nail in the coffin came in the bottom of the fourth inning. It seemed like every Dodger had their turn to bat. To put it simply, Brewers reliever Hoby Milner was AWFUL. He gave up four runs and couldn’t escape the bottom of the inning. It was 8-2 Dodgers at that point.
Offense Shut Down until 7th
To Alex Heaney’s credit, he shut down a potent Brewers offense early and often. He earned the win pitching six innings, giving up two runs, four hits, one walk and most impressively: ten strikeouts. The Brewers got to the Dodgers bullpen putting up two runs in the seventh and two more runs in the ninth but the damage had been done.
Final Thoughts
With this disappointing loss, the Brewers record now drops to 65-58 and they finished 2-4 on the road trip to fall five and a half games behind the St. Louis Cardinals for the lead in the National League Central and a game and a half behind the San Diego Padres for the final Wild Card spot. The brewers look to bounce back with a three game series against the suddenly resurgent Cubs on Friday.
For more Wisconsin sports related content, follow Wisconsin Sports Heroics on Twitter @WiSportsHeroics and James Jefferson @J16James.
