W: Shaun Marcum (5-1)
L: Jon Garland (1-3)
S: John Axford (9)
HR: None
MVP: Shaun Marcum (+.317)
LVP: Carlos Gomez (-.148)
Win Expectancy Graph and Star of the Game Voting
I'm not sure it's possible to overstate the importance of tonight's win. After the debacle that was the last road trip, the Brewers did themselves a big favor by getting this one off to a good start.
If you watched Shaun Marcum's last outing against the Padres, tonight's game probably looked pretty familiar. Once again he was very good through six innings, but allowed the first two batters he faced in the seventh to reach. This time, however, Marcum recovered and retired the next three batters to preserve the lead. All told he allowed a run on five hits, walking one and striking out four.
The bullpen took over from there and performed admirably: Kameron Loe (pitching for the third straight day) and John Axford held the Dodgers scoreless in the eighth and ninth to close the door. It was Axford's first road save of the season.
Meanwhile, the Brewer offense provided just enough to get them over the hump tonight. The first run scored on a Prince Fielder single in the third, and they took the lead for good on a two out single for Rickie Weeks in the sixth. That inning would have ended before Weeks came to the plate if Shaun Marcum hadn't drawn a walk to extend it.
Carlos Gomez, meanwhile, made a couple of great defensive plays but did everything he could to keep the Brewers from scoring, going 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts and leaving eight runners on base. All told, the Brewers stranded 14 baserunners in the game.