MILWAUKEE — Devin Williams retired Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman in order in the ninth inning to preserve the Milwaukee Brewers’ 5-4 victory over Los Angeles on Wednesday that snapped the Dodgers’ five-game winning streak.
Williams needed only seven pitches to retire those three MVPs and earn his second save in as many opportunities. Ohtani hit a fly to left, Betts struck out and Freeman grounded to second.
“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. I might have to do it again tomorrow.”
The Brewers got only four hits but capitalized on three Dodgers errors to end a three-game skid. Milwaukee is the only major league team that hasn’t lost at least four in a row at some point this season.
“We competed,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “That’s the Brewers you guys have seen all year.”
Los Angeles’ most critical error came in the seventh, when Betts misplayed a ball in right field to enable Joey Ortiz to score the go-ahead run on Jackson Chourio’s single.
“I know that guy (Ortiz) is fast,” Betts said. “I was trying to make a play. I just missed it.”
Ortiz led off the seventh by getting hit by a pitch from Brent Honeywell (0-1). After Ortiz advanced to second on Brice Turang’s sacrifice bunt, Chourio singled to shallow right.
When the ball rolled past Betts, Ortiz came all the way home and Chourio advanced to second. Chourio wasn’t credited with an RBI on the play.
The Dodgers had tied the game in the top of the seventh when Miguel Rojas delivered a two-out, pinch-hit RBI single off Jared Koenig (9-3).
Dodgers starter Walker Buehler came off the injured list and gave up four runs – one earned – over 3 1/3 innings after missing nearly two months with right hip inflammation. He struck out three and allowed three hits and four walks.
Los Angeles lost despite taking a 3-0 lead in the first inning.
Frankie Montas’ bases-loaded walk to Teoscar Hernández brought home Ohtani, who started the game by reaching on an error by Ortiz. Later in the inning, Betts came home on a sacrifice fly by Kiké Hernández and Freeman scored on Kevin Kiermaier’s two-out double.
Montas recovered from his tough start and didn’t allow any more runs in his five-inning stint. He struck out six and yielded five hits, three walks and three unearned runs.
Buehler walked the bases loaded to start the bottom of the first, but the Brewers couldn’t take advantage.
Turang tried to score from third on Wiliam Contreras’ fly to center, but Kiermaier threw him out. Willy Adames then struck out to end the threat.
Kiermaier’s throw to the plate went 99 mph, the fastest outfield assist by any Dodgers player since Statcast started measuring those speeds in 2015.
The Brewers tied the game with three runs in a second-inning rally that featured a leadoff homer from Jake Bauers and an RBI triple from Turang.
Milwaukee took a 4-3 lead in the fourth but wasted an opportunity to do more damage.
Kiké Hernández committed an error on a bouncer to third from Ortiz that scored Garrett Mitchell from third. Turang then greeted Anthony Banda with an apparent double down the left-field line that would have put runners on third and second with one out.
The problem was that Ortiz slid into second, took a step backward, then didn’t retouch the bag before heading toward third. After Dodgers manager Dave Roberts left the dugout and held a mound conference, Banda threw to second on an appeal play and Ortiz was ruled out.
Roberts said after the game that three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw had noticed Ortiz’s mistake from the bench and pointed it out, leading to the appeal.
Although Turang remained on second, his apparent double was ruled a fielder’s choice. Chourio then grounded out to end the rally.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Dodgers IF Tommy Edman (wrist) and IF Max Muncy (oblique) are on track to return early next week. RHP Ryan Brasier (calf) is expected to return Saturday.
UP NEXT
RHP Jack Flaherty (9-5, 2.97 ERA) pitches for the Dodgers and RHP Tobias Myers (6-5, 2.79) starts for the Dodgers when this four-game series concludes Thursday afternoon.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
