The Manny Machado era began on a positive note as the Los Angeles Dodgers pulled away late for a 6-4 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers in the opener of a three-game series. It also marked the start of a 10-game road trip for the Dodgers and 17 consecutive games overall.
Machado, who was penciled in second in the lineup, beat the shift with an opposite-field single in his first at-bat for the Dodgers. Machado then walked on eight pitches in two ensuing plate appearances, and collected a second base hit in the seventh.
His walk in the third inning led to a run as it was followed by a hit by pitch that loaded the bases, then a wild pitch. Machado’s single in the seventh put two on with one out, and was followed by Max Muncy’s RBI double.
Machado flied out to right field in the ninth inning, finishing 2-for-3 on the night with a pair of walks.
In his first start since July 10, Rich Hill upheld the Dodgers’ 1-0 lead before
cracking in the fifth inning. He allowed a double and issued a walk in the first but otherwise struck out the side.
It set the tone for the veteran southpaw, as he collected seven strikeouts through four shutout innings. While the Brewers managed to scratch against Hill, they squandered an opportunity to do more damage.
Many Piña singled and Keon Broxton worked a walk to put two on with nobody out in the fifth. Wade Miley then pulled his bunt back and slapped a base hit through the infield. But Piña was given the hold sign at third base, resulting in Broxton getting caught in a rundown.
Christian Yelich offset the blunder in some sense by ripping an RBI double down the right-field line, though the inning ended when Miley was inexplicably sent home, resulting in the third out.
The Dodgers themselves ran into an out when Yasmani Grandal attempted to score from first base on Chase Utley’s pinch hit double in the seventh inning. Chris Taylor delivered a go-ahead single and Muncy’s aforementioned double later extended the lead.
Hill finished with six innings of one-run ball, complete with nine strikeouts that were one off matching a season high. Scott Alexander backed Hill with 1.1 perfect innings before handing the ball over to Daniel Hudson.
He surrendered a solo shot to National League home run leader Jesús Aguilar, who wound up being the only batter Hudson faced. Zac Rosscup made his Dodgers debut and retired Travis Shaw, then gave way to Dylan Floro who allowed a bunt single before recording the final out of the eighth.
Provided insurance by Kiké Hernandez’s three-run home run in the top of the ninth, Floro remained in the game but allowed a leadoff single and compounded that by issuing a walk. Kenley Jansen was called upon and nearly kept the Brewers at bay but allowed a two-run triple to Yelich.
Jansen then struck out Aguilar, who represented the tying run, to seal the Dodgers’ seventh win in their past 10 games.
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