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Brewers rout Dodgers to force decider
LOS ANGELES, Oct 20, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – The Milwaukee Brewers staged an
early onslaught to set up a 7-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers to level
their National League Championship Series here Friday and force a decisive
game seven.
Jesus Aguilar, Mike Moustakas and Erik Kratz all drove in first innings
runs as the Dodgers’ South Korean pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin turned in his worst
performance of the 2018 season at just the wrong time.
Brewers manager Craig Counsell said his team had benefited from the
deafening support inside Milwaukee’s Miller Park Arena.
Aguilar’s early hit “lifted the roof off the place,” Counsell said.
“The first inning was loud from then on,” Counsell added. “The rest of the
game, whenever we got in a scoring situation it got really loud. And I
thought it helped us.”
The Dodgers — fresh from wins in game four and five — had hoped to lock
up a return to the World Series at Miller Park on Friday as they aim to end a
30-year drought for the coveted baseball crown.
The visitors got off to a dream start when leadoff hitter David Freese
smashed a 402-feet homer to right center field to give them a 1-0 first
inning lead.
But the Brewers hit back with a devastating burst of scoring in the bottom
of the first which ultimately decided the game.
Dodgers starter Ryu never looked comfortable in the face of an aggressive
onslaught from the home side who got Lorenzo Cain and Ryan Braun on base
either side of outs from Christian Yelich and Travis Shaw.
The arrival of first baseman Aguilar to the plate marked the opening of the
floodgates, the Venezuelan lashing a double to right field which brought home
Cain and Braun.
Third baseman Moustakas then piled on the agony for Ryu, opening his at bat
with a double to right field to score Aguilar and make it 3-1.
It got worse for Ryu immediately afterwards when veteran catcher Kratz
drove to right field to allow Moustakas to cross home plate for a 4-1 lead as
Miller Park erupted once again.
MORE/MR/ 1217 hrs
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By the time Ryu finally claimed his third and final out of the first inning
he had conceded four earned runs — more than he had given up in any previous
start in 2018.
The Dodgers then left Chris Taylor stranded on third base in the top of the
second as Brewers starter Wade Miley shut down the visitors offense once
more.
The Brewers then picked up where they left off in the first, aggressively
going after Ryu and quickly extending their lead.
Yelich doubled to right field and then Braun drove in another double to
make it 5-1 as Ryu looked on aghast.
The Dodgers pulled a run back in the fifth inning when Freese’s double
allowed pinch hitter Brian Dozier to score to make it 5-2.
But the Dodgers hopes of mounting a rally ran into a brick wall in the
shape of Corey Knebel and Jeremy Jeffress.
The Brewers then extended their lead when a wild pitch from Dodgers
reliever Kenta Maeda flew past catcher Yasmani Grandal to allow Aguilar to
score and hand the hosts a 6-2 lead.
Aguilar again punished the Dodgers in the eighth, finding a gap to score
Lorenzo Cain and all but guarantee victory before Corbin Burnes rapidly
disposed of Joc Pederson, Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp to wrap up the win.
Game seven takes place in Milwaukee on Saturday, with the Dodgers looking
to rookie Walker Buehler to resurrect their World Series dream.
“I think Walker is prepared for this moment,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts
said. “He’s ready to go. He understands the magnitude of this moment, this
game, and he’s a good person for us to take the baseball.”
BSS/AFP/MR/ 1217 hrs