Jacob Misiorowski outduels Justin Wrobleski as Brewers send Dodgers to frustrating loss
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- Milwaukee ace Jacob Misiorowski held the Dodgers to five hits and struck out Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman with the bases loaded to help lead the Milwaukee Brewers to a 4-1 win over the Dodgers.
- Justin Wrobleski gave up two home runs, but he and manager Dave Roberts were satisfied with the overall effort despite the loss.
- The Dodgers are two wins behind the first-place Brewers for the next-best record in the National League.
Justin Wrobleski‘s struggles continued as the Dodgers’ left-handed starter gave up a pair of two-run home runs in Saturday’s 4-1 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.
Milwaukee’s Joey Ortiz hit the first one 373 feet to left field in the second inning, and Wilson Contreras hit the other 389 feet to left-center in the fourth.
Neither Dodgers manager Dave Roberts nor Wrobleski believe the struggles are fatigue-related. However, the first-time All-Star, who gave up four hits through six innings, has pitched a career-high 126⅓ innings this season. He also has yielded 11 home runs in his past four starts.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto gives up just four hits over six solid innings as the Dodgers overcome another shaky Edwin Díaz performance to beat Milwaukee 3-1.
“Every year, you want to throw a little bit more, so you can throw a little bit more, right?” Wrobleski said. “If you would’ve told me I would’ve been at this inning count at this point at the start of the year, I would’ve been pretty happy.”
Wrobleski and Roberts considered Saturday’s outing a solid one, sans the 88-mph slider to Ortiz on the right-middle part of the plate.
“I even told him ... it was one bad pitch for me, the Ortiz pitch,” Roberts said. “I thought he did a really nice job.”
The Brewers, nonetheless, took advantage. With Milwaukee ace Jacob Misiorowski — the favorite for the NL Cy Young Award — giving up just five hits, the Dodgers struggled against a pitcher they could see again in the postseason.
“I hope that we can give Jacob as much credit and publicity as possible,” Roberts said of Misiorowski, who threw seven 102 mph-plus pitches to start the game. “He’s a great kid, and he’s great for the game. What he did today … you just don’t see it.”
The only time the Dodgers made Misiorowski look vulnerable was in the fifth when Teoscar Hernández, Alex Call and Hunter Feduccia each hit one-out singles to load the bases. But Misiorowski, who leads the majors in ERA (1.75) and strikeouts (210), struck out Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman to silence the announced crowd of 47,767.
“We created stress, and we had the guys we wanted up to bat, but Jacob made really good pitches,” Roberts said. “[Against] guys like that, you just don’t have many opportunities, and so when you do ... you got to try to find a way to cash in.
“But certainly with that guy, easier said than done.”
The Dodgers scored their only run on an Ohtani triple to right that scored Call from first in the third inning as the Brewers (76-48) made sure the Dodgers (74-50) will not overtake them for best record in the NL this weekend.
Brewers relievers Antonio Senzatela and Aaron Ashby didn’t give up a hit. In the ninth, Tommy Edman walked and Hernández reached on a fielding error before Ashby caught Call looking at a third strike to end the game.
“That’s the way it goes,” Call said. “Sometimes you come through and it’s the big reward, and sometimes it’s not.”
Injury updates
Tyler Glasnow is scheduled to make one more minor-league start, consisting of five innings and 75 pitches. He’s expected to join the Dodgers around the team’s end-of-August road trip to Atlanta and Detroit.
Will Smith took part in batting practice Friday and caught a bullpen session.
“The arrow is pointing up for Will,” Roberts said. “Don’t know when he’s going to partake in a live situation, but that’ll be kind of a good gauge.”
Kyle Tucker was given Saturday off amid his frustrations at the plate, where he’s hitting .192 at home compared to .275 on the road.
“The fact is, the splits are stark home-road,” Roberts said. “I don’t think we have a reason behind it ... he’s conscious of it, though.”
Reggie Smith honored
Former Dodgers outfielder and 1981 World Series champion Reggie Smith was inducted into the Legends of Dodger Baseball on Saturday before the game.
“It’s very special, being able to share this with my family,” Smith said. “Especially my 93-year-old brother and my 95-year-old sister that are here. This is a very, very special day.”
Shohei Ohtani threw 34 pitches off a bullpen mound before Friday’s game against Milwaukee as the Dodgers’ star works toward returning to the rotation.
Smith, a seven-time All-Star from Compton, spent six of his 17 MLB seasons with the Dodgers and hit .297 with 97 homers and 301 RBIs with the team.
He was part of the historic 1977 Dodgers that saw four players — Smith, Steve Garvey, Ron Cey and Dusty Baker — each hit 30 or more home runs.
“I had a job to do, and it was about trying to bring a world championship to Los Angeles,” Smith said. “And I played with a great bunch of guys. ... I was just that glad to have been a part of it and helped that era.”
