Brewers snap out of funk in comeback vs. Dodgers

MILWAUKEE – Brice Turang hit a double -- well, so he thought -- and saw his batting average go down.

That, as much as anything, told you how much of Wednesday night went for the Brewers. But none of that mattered because it ended with a win.

Jackson Chorio reached safely three times including a seventh-inning single that slipped under Mookie Betts’ glove in right field for the go-ahead run in the Brewers’ 5-4 win over the Dodgers at American Family Field. It might have been the Brewers’ most unlikely victory of the season considering the circumstances they endured along the way, but it was a victory nonetheless, preserving Milwaukee’s status as the only team in the Majors yet to lose four games in a row this season.

Their allergy to extended losing streaks helps to explain how, despite a recent funk, the Brewers find themselves with their biggest lead all season in the National League Central standings – 8 1/2 games ahead of the second-place Reds and Cardinals.

“The boys, they just kept grinding. They didn’t quit,” said Brewers closer Devin Williams after carving through Shohei Ohtani, Betts and Freddie Freeman on seven pitches, all strikes, for his second save since coming off the injured list.

Said Jake Bauers, whose second-inning home run sparked the comeback: “That’s the name of the game, just keep going. As cliche as it sounds, it’s really big.”

From an emotional standpoint, the Brewers needed multiple bounce-backs in a game that started with third baseman Joey Ortiz misplaying Ohtani’s leadoff ground ball, leading to three unearned runs. If that wasn’t frustrating enough, the Brewers’ own bases-loaded, no-out rally in the bottom of the first fizzled after a disputed play at home plate.

It happened after Dodgers starter Walker Buehler opened with three straight walks in his first start off the IL, putting Brice Turang at third for William Contreras’ lineout to Dodgers center fielder Kevin Kiermaier. Turang broke for home and was greeted at the plate by catcher Austin Barnes’ left knee.

“I had nowhere to slide,” Turang said.

The question was whether Kiermaier’s sensational, 99 mph throw home drew Barnes into the baseline, or whether the umpires should have found Barnes guilty of violating MLB’s rule against blocking the plate.

The Brewers had the option to challenge, but opted against after consulting their replay specialist, August Sandri, in the video room.

“Our replay guys are the best. We’re leading the way there,” Murphy said. “[Sandri] understands that rule, we’ve talked through it, and he felt like there wouldn’t be enough to overturn it. I trust him.

“Emotionally, you want to challenge it, right? You just had a tough first inning, they had some balls fall in for them, an unlikely error for Joey. You want to challenge it. But I trust Augie.”

The Brewers came back to tie the game in a second inning that started with Bauers’ 10th home run, and took the lead with a run in the fourth. But even then, they endured some major angst.

First, Sal Frelick hustled for an infield hit but saw the call overturned for an out. Then, with Ortiz on first base after a go-ahead groundout, Turang hit a fly ball that clipped the left field chalk line and caromed off the wall while Turang cruised into second base safely. To everybody in the ballpark, it was a double.

But in this instance, Turang’s batting average actually went down.

How is that possible? Because Ortiz, who’d broken from first base with the pitch, slid into second and couldn’t find the baseball when he popped up. While he was looking around, he happened to bounce back toward first base, and he didn’t re-touch second before heading to third.

In the Dodgers dugout, Clayton Kershaw noticed. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts went to the mound to talk through an appeal at second base, and Ortiz was out. Turang’s double was changed to a fielder’s choice. Another rally fizzled.

“It was a big play at that moment in time,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.

The Brewers kept going, losing the lead in the top of the seventh inning and then getting it back when Chourio’s second hit of the night bounced under Betts’ glove. It was still a one-run lead when Williams went through three of the best hitters in the game to close it out.

When he was asked what he was thinking as he prepared to face a Dodgers trio whose contracts add up to $1.227 billion, Williams responded, “That I want to get them out.”

“I don’t know if there’s a better 1-2-3 in the league,” Williams said. “It was definitely a good test. I passed it today. Might have to do it again tomorrow.”