Dodgers deck Brewers in series finale, 7-1

It was the best of starts...

Ross Stripling was in total control from the get-go today for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Travis Shaw hit a double with two outs in the first, but was stranded. Milwaukee didn’t record their second hit until the third inning, when Jhoulys Chacin snuck a ground ball through the left side of the infield. He was erased on a double play ball by the next batter, Lorenzo Cain. Yasmani Grandal hit a harmless, two-out single in the fourth. Stripling then retired the next ten batters in a row leading into the eighth inning. Jesus Aguilar hit a double to lead off the frame and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Eric Thames.

That was all that the Brewers’ offense could muster.

Stripling tossed 88 pitches across his eight innings, allowing only four hits, a walk, and one run. He struck out three en route to earning his first winning decision of the season.

It was the worst of starts...

Jhoulys Chacin clearly didn’t have his best stuff from the outset of today’s outing. He issued a two-out walk in the first inning, which was followed a base hit, another walk, and then a two-run single by Alex Verdugo. The damage came again with two outs in the second inning, when Joc Peterson took a hanging, 2-1 slider and deposited it over the fence in right field. For those counting at home, that’s now five dingers yielded by Milwaukee’s erstwhile ace across 19.1 innings this season — 2.33 HR/9.

The game fell off the rails in the third inning. Chacin walked Cody Bellinger to lead off the frame. AJ Pollock followed with a single that put runners on the corners. A groundball single by Maximum Muncy, and it was 4-0. Verdugo followed with a groundout, and then Chris Taylor lined a two-run single to make it 6-0. That brought Chacin’s day to an end after 63 pitches, only 32 of which were strikes.

Chase Anderson followed Chacin in long relief and managed to negotiate the rest of the third inning without any further damage. He did allow a solo dong to Verdugo in the fifth — his third of the season in 8.2 innings — but that was the only run on his ledger across 2.2 otherwise decent innings.

Seven runs would be where the Cream City Nine held the Dodgers, as Jacob Barnes tossed two perfect innings with a pair of strikeouts and Jake Petricka stumbled his way through a scoreless eighth. With the looming return of Jeremy Jeffress, it figures that the choice will come down to one of those two hurlers to head back to San Antonio to make room.

Milwaukee heads home with today’s 7-1 defeat wrapping up a 2-4 road trip to the City of Angels. The Brewers (10-6) will square off against the Cardinals (9-6) tomorrow at Miller Park at 6:40 PM central, with Freddy Peralta set to face off against Dakota Hudson.