Short-handed Brewers' late-game heroics snap losing skid in series opener against Dodgers

Entering their series opener against the World Champion Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday night, nothing was going right for the Milwaukee Brewers. The Crew, in the midst of a 17-game-in-17-days stretch which includes two trips to the West Coast, suffered a frustrating sweep at the hands of the San Diego Padres to start the week, during which they easily should have won at least one game.

Pair that three-game losing streak with a string of disheartening injuries, and the vibes for the first-place Brew Crew were not good as they kicked off a four-game series in Los Angeles. Not only did Cooper Pratt land on the injured list with a hamstring strain over the weekend, but during their series in San Diego, both Jackson Chourio (thumb) and Brice Turang (knee) suffered injuries as well. While Chourio was able to play through his thumb soreness, Turang was kept out of the lineup on Thursday night due to pain in his left knee.

As reported by Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Turang is day-to-day, and while an "MRI didn't reveal anything serious," the Brewers' second baseman is seeking a second opinion. Paired with their brutal sweep at the hands of the Padres, news regarding Turang's knee injury surfacing just before their first of four games against the Dodgers left the Brewers in a difficult spot on Thursday night.

However, the short-handed Brew Crew responded with their best win of the season. Kick-started by an excellent bounce-back performance from rookie southpaw Shane Drohan, and capped off by a ninth-inning rally against All-Star closer Edwin Díaz, Milwaukee's Thursday night victory restored some of the momentum the Brewers had lost during their difficult three-day stretch.

Brewers' ninth-inning rally propels team to losing streak-breaking victory over World Champion Dodgers

After a tough performance against the Minnesota Twins in his last start, Drohan was in need of an encouraging outing against the mighty Dodgers' lineup on Thursday night, and that's exactly what he got. The 27-year-old left-hander began the game with four scoreless frames, before allowing his first run of the game on a bloop single in the fifth. Drohan returned for the sixth inning and collected the first out quickly, but subsequent back-to-back walks forced Pat Murphy to turn to his 'pen.

At this point in the game, the Brewers carried a 2-1 lead thanks to Dodgers starter Roki Sasaki walking in two runs with the bases loaded. However, that lead was quickly squandered after trade deadline acquisition Antonio Senzatela entered the game with two runners on base in the sixth frame. Facing Max Muncy, William Contreras called six straight fastballs for Senzatela, and the Dodgers' slugging left-hander sent the sixth one 426 feet to right-center field, giving Los Angeles a 4-2 lead.

With the current state of the Brewers' offense, that two-run lead with just nine outs left to work with felt insurmountable. However, the scrappy Brew Crew didn't give in. DL Hall turned in two huge scoreless innings in the 7th and 8th frames, but the Brewers' offense couldn't piece anything together in the top half of either inning. Therefore, Milwaukee entered the final frame still two runs behind their National League nemesis.

Dodgers' manager Dave Roberts turned to All-Star closer Edwin Díaz, who has struggled since coming off the injured list at the end of July, for the ninth inning. Díaz quickly retired Contreras, who had another tough game at the plate, but the next batter, Joey Ortiz, roped a single to center field to get the rally started. David Hamilton, batting ninth in the order behind Ortiz, followed with a single of his own, which allowed his middle infield colleague to advance to third base.

Still trailing by two runs with runners on the corners, Chourio dumped a bloop single into shallow right-center field, which cut the deficit to just one run and allowed Hamilton to reach third base. Garrett Mitchell followed with the Brewers' fourth straight single, a ground ball through the right side, and Hamilton jogged home from third base to tie the game at four runs apiece.

Díaz locked in and struck out Sánchez, thanks to a narrowly overturned ball call, but with left-hander Jake Bauers stepping to the plate next, Roberts decided to go to his bullpen and bring in southpaw Alex Vesia. The decision proved to be the wrong one, as Bauers bounced a go-ahead RBI single through the right side, and the Brewers took a one-run lead into the bottom of the ninth.

Trevor Megill, who has been dominant since the start of May, shut the door in the bottom half of the frame, and the Brewers snapped their three-game losing skid. It feels odd, and frankly inaccurate, to call a game a "must win" when the team earning the victory has the best record in the National League. However, the Brewers victory over the Dodgers last night, given the context of Turang's injury, their momentum stalling in San Diego, and the second-place Chicago Cubs' recent winning ways, was undoubtedly their biggest win of the season and a "W" almost felt necessary.

Milwaukee responded to Muncy's mid-game apparent knock-out punch by being patient at the plate, taking what was given to them, and "chilling out" as an offense, which is what Bauers wanted them to do after their Wednesday afternoon loss in San Diego. It was the exact response Brewers fans were looking for, and for the Crew to deliver it short-handed against the defending back-to-back World Series champions, made it that much better.

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