The Brewers left San Diego with a sweep hanging over them, but they answered in a big way against the Dodgers. Over four games, Milwaukee took three and built back some breathing room in the NL Central, and Sunday’s 6-2 win had plenty to do with shaky defense behind a strong Logan Henderson start.
Henderson gave the Brewers exactly what they needed: length, calm, and just enough punchouts to keep Los Angeles from settling in. He worked seven innings, a career high, and allowed only one run on Max Muncy’s solo homer. He struck out six, and the Dodgers never really put together much after that early burst.
Milwaukee’s offense didn’t waste time getting into the game. William Contreras led off for the first time in more than two years and singled to start the afternoon. The Brewers didn’t score in that opening inning, but they kept forcing pressure on the Dodgers’ defense and eventually got rewarded.
In the second, Brandon Lockridge walked, Jonathan Ornelas singled him to third, and Contreras drew another walk to load the bases. Luis Lara then hit a soft grounder to short, and Mookie Betts flipped to second for what should have been the final out - only for Tommy Edman to miss the ball. Everyone was safe, and Milwaukee had a 1-0 lead.
The Brewers kept poking at Los Angeles from there. They ran into a double play in the third, then watched Henderson settle in with his first true 1-2-3 inning of the day.
After Tarik Skubal matched him in the top of the fourth, Muncy tied it with his homer to right, but the Brewers answered right back in the fifth. Jackson Chourio doubled, Jake Bauers singled, and Milwaukee was back in front 2-1.
Henderson shrugged off the home run and kept cruising. He put up another 1-2-3 inning in the fifth, then another in the sixth.
Edgardo Henriquez took over in the seventh and got two outs, but Chourio came through again with two outs. Dave Roberts turned to lefty Alex Vesia for Bauers, and that didn’t help.
Bauers doubled in Chourio, and Andrew Vaughn followed with a single that brought Bauers home on a close play at the plate, where Bauers got a perfect slide to avoid the tag. Just like that, Milwaukee had a 4-1 cushion.
Henderson came back out for the seventh after walking Andy Pages to open the inning, then finished the frame and handed it off after seven. The Brewers’ bullpen had to do a little more work in the eighth, when Chad Patrick allowed a Teoscar Hernández single, a wild pitch, and a hard-hit Hunter Feduccia single that put runners at the corners. Pat Murphy went to Aaron Ashby for the left-on-left matchup with Shohei Ohtani due up, and Ashby got exactly what he needed: a 4-6-3 double play on the third pitch he threw, ending the threat and keeping the 4-1 lead intact.
Milwaukee added more insurance in the ninth. Lara walked, Chourio drove a fly ball to the wall in right for a double, and with runners in scoring position again, Bauers drew another walk to load the bases.
David Hamilton then chopped one to second against a drawn-in infield, and Edman completely whiffed for the second time on the day. The ball rolled into right, two runs scored, and the Brewers pushed it to 6-1 before the inning ended.
DL Hall took over in the bottom of the ninth and allowed a one-out solo homer to Pages, but that was all the Dodgers could get. Milwaukee finished off the 6-2 win and claimed the series 3-1 in a matchup of two of MLB’s best.
Henderson got the victory, his seventh, with the best outing of his young run: seven innings, one run, six strikeouts. Patrick ran into trouble, but Ashby cleaned it up with the inning-ending double play, and Hall closed it out after the Pages homer.
At the plate, Bauers had the biggest day, going 4-for-4 with three singles, a double, a walk and two RBIs. Chourio added three hits and scored three times, and Vaughn chipped in two hits and an RBI.
In Other News...
Brice Turang Just Gave Brewers Fans Reason To Exhale
Jacob Misiorowski kept the Brewers rolling with another strong outing, working six innings and allowing one run as Milwaukee knocked off the Dodgers 4-1. The bigger takeaway for the Brewers, though, came before first pitch, when Brice Turang continued moving in the right direction after his knee injury. He did not play, but he was out for pregame work and remained around the team as Milwaukee checked another important box in a season where every healthy regular matters.
Pat Murphy and reports around the club both pointed to encouraging progress, and the early read is that Turang should be able to avoid a stint on the Injured List. For a Brewers lineup that leans heavily on his steadiness at second base, that is the kind of update that can quiet a worried dugout, even if his return date is still something the club will handle carefully. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Could Put Several Young Contributors On The Trade Block
The Brewers are already staring at an offseason that could require some hard roster math, with several young contributors drawing attention as potential trade candidates if Milwaukee decides to use the winter to reshape the roster. Grant Anderson, Aaron Ashby, Joey Ortiz and Garrett Mitchell are among the names being discussed, a reminder that this front office has never shied away from dealing from areas of depth when it thinks a move can bring back prospects or create more payroll flexibility.
What makes the situation worth watching is that it is not tied to a single October outcome. Milwaukees planning appears headed in the same direction regardless of how the postseason unfolds, and that leaves a few recent pieces of the roster in a more uncertain spot than their age or upside might suggest. For a team that has long balanced contention with constant turnover, the question now is which young players fit the next version of the Brewers and which ones might be used to help build it. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Missed On Tarik Skubal But Logan Henderson Just Raised The Stakes
The Brewers spent the trade deadline working on a Tarik Skubal deal, but the chase ended with Detroit sending the left-hander to the Dodgers instead. It was the kind of near miss that lingers around a contender, especially when the player at the center of it is one of the most sought-after arms in the market. Skubal has already made two starts for Los Angeles since the trade, and the Brewers are left to watch from afar as the move that got away starts to take shape.
Logan Henderson has become part of the story too, offering his thoughts on the upcoming matchup with Skubal after being mentioned as a pitcher Milwaukee viewed as a key piece of its long-term picture. The Brewers are always balancing the present against the future, and the Skubal pursuit showed how aggressive they were willing to be without crossing every line. Hendersons comments only add another layer to the situation, because the trade that never happened now sits beside a young arm trying to establish just how high his own value really is. [Read more 🡒]