Gutsy Brewers walk off Dodgers in 11 innings

MILWAUKEE -- It started with Brandon Woodruff, who has become so reliable atop the Brewers rotation that his excellence is getting easy to overlook. For all the runner-on-second wackiness in extra innings, don’t forget where it started.

After Woodruff poured the foundation of another mostly high-quality night for Brewers pitching, Brewers hitters scored once in the 10th inning and three times in the 11th to fend off a pair of L.A. rallies for a 6-5 win at American Family Field on Saturday night. The final tally: Four hours and 48 minutes, four Brewers comebacks from a deficit, and three straight wins over the Dodgers with a chance to sweep the four-game series on Sunday afternoon.

• Box score

“It’s the team you have to go through to get to the World Series,” Woodruff said. “Any time you play the Dodgers it feels like a playoff-type game, and we’re only in May. That was a big-time win, a big-time series win. I was just happy to be a part of it.”

It didn’t come easy, but thanks to RBIs in the bottom of the 11th from Kolten Wong, Avisaíl García and Travis Shaw, with rookie Mario Feliciano working a tough walk in his first Major League plate appearance and scoring the winning run on Shaw’s two-out base hit, the Brewers improved to 6-0 this season against the National League-favorite Padres and Dodgers.

All that after the Brewers lost two more players to injuries before Woodruff’s first pitch, giving them an incredible 16 players currently on the IL. At the same time, they have the best record in the NL at 17-10, and the second-best winning percentage in the Majors to the surprising 16-9 Royals.

It’s early, but given the crowd in the training room, it’s something.

“We've kind of established that culture over the years that no matter who's in there, guys are going to be prepared, guys are going to give their best,” said Shaw, who also hit his team-leading fifth home run. “We're really being tested right here [early], but so far, I mean, we've come through better than I think anybody could expect."

It started with Woodruff, who needs to be the stabilizer now. His co-ace, Corbin Burnes, is on the injured list for a reason the team cannot say, with a timetable that isn’t known. Veteran starter Brett Anderson is on the IL with a leg injury. So is the team’s “sixth starter” when the season began, long man Josh Lindblom. Christian Yelich and Lorenzo Cain are still on the IL. Half the team is on the IL, really.

So, Woodruff’s steadying presence is more needed than ever, and he pitched up to the task without his crisp stuff against the Dodgers. He threw 91 pitches in six effective innings and still had gas in the tank, manager Craig Counsell said, when the Brewers took a shot at some runs in the bottom of the sixth inning with a pair of runners in scoring position in a tie game. Pinch-hitter Tyrone Taylor didn’t get the job done, but Woodruff did, holding the Dodgers to two runs on six hits with one walk and six strikeouts.

With all of the roster chaos around him, Woodruff has delivered five consecutive quality starts. His ERA after six starts this season is 1.80.

“We're at the point with Woody that you almost plan on it, really,” Counsell said. “We have so much going on, but you knew you were going to get a good start. They were tough on him tonight, but that's just how good Woody is. He's taking his game to another level.”

The Dodgers provided a series of tests, starting with Mookie Betts hitting the first pitch of the game for a home run. It was a 2-2 game when the Dodgers mounted other rallies that could have rendered extra innings moot. In the fifth with one out and runners at the corners, Woodruff struck out Corey Seager and Justin Turner. In the sixth with two outs and a runner at third, Woodruff struck out Kenosha, Wis., native Gavin Lux.

“That’s been the difference this year to previous years,” Woodruff said. “That set the table for Travis to walk it off tonight -- and for all of the other relievers to do their jobs, too.”

Brent Suter, Devin Williams and Josh Hader provided scoreless relief, with Hader pitching a third straight day for only the second time in his career, and for the fourth time in five days. Drew Rasmussen drew the unenviable task of pitching in extra innings with a runner on second and saw the Dodgers take a 3-2 lead in the 10th inning and a 5-3 lead in the 11th when Will Smith lined a two-run triple on Rasmussen’s 37th pitch. Angel Perdomo stopped the inning there.

And once again, Brewers hitters answered.

“These are the type of wins that go a long way,” Woodruff said.