One night after Kiké Hernandez questioned the energy level from players and fans at Dodger Stadium, both parties seemed to be galvanized by it as there was plenty of intensity in a 2-1 win by the Los Angeles Dodgers to pull even with the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Championship Series.
The atmosphere was lively before first pitch and that carried into the game as Rich Hill and the Dodgers began the night on a positive note. Hill needed all of nine pitches to retire the side in order, and was then spotted with an early lead.
Following a leadoff walk, Chris Taylor moved into scoring position on Justin Turner’s groundout. Gio Gonzalez hit David Freese with a pitch, then gave up an RBI single to Brian Dozier. Gonzalez was not long for the game, even by Brewers’ standards.
He rolled his left ankle while attempting to field a comebacker and after throwing one pitch to the ensuing batter, was removed without recording an out in the second inning. The Dodgers went on to load the bases but left them full when pinch-hitter Max Muncy was called out on strikes.
That in some regard set the tone as Los Angeles was 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and stranded six through the first three innings. It was initially offset by Hill not allowing a hit and working around three walks over that same stretch.
Jesus Aguilar broke up the early no-hit bid with a leadoff single to right field in the fourth inning. Orlando Arcia then reached on an infield single with one out in the fifth and promptly scored on Domingo Santana’s pinch-hit RBI double that tied the game.
Hill minimized the damage by retiring Lorenzo Cain and striking out Christian Yelich to end the threat. The lone run was all he allowed over five innings.
The bullpens battled to a stalemate, sending the game into extras. Both teams exhausted their position players and the Dodgers called on their final reliever, Julio Urias in the 13th inning. Looking to complete a fourth inning, Junior Guerra surrendered a walk-off single to Cody Bellinger.
For all the excitement, the Dodgers had their chances before that. They finished the game 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position and stranding 11 overall. One night after finishing with 14 strikeouts, Brewers pitchers combined to collect 17 in Game 4.
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