Jake Bauers delivered a pair of RBI hits, Logan Henderson went seven strong innings and the visiting Milwaukee Brewers completed a statement series with a 6-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday.
Bauers had four hits, after he drove in the game-winning run in the series opener Thursday, and Jackson Chourio had three hits as the Brewers won three of the four games over the weekend and also took the season series against the Dodgers 4-3.
Henderson (7-2) rebounded from a loss Monday at San Diego to give up one run on three hits with six strikeouts as Milwaukee opened a three-game lead over Los Angeles in the National League standings. The Atlanta Braves moved into second in the NL, 2 1/2 games behind.
Max Muncy and Andy Pages hit home runs and Tarik Skubal (7-7) gave up two runs (one earned) over six innings in his third start for the Dodgers. The most coveted prize at the trade deadline earlier this month is 0-2 with a 3.18 ERA over 17 innings since making his debut with Los Angeles on Aug. 4.
The Dodgers finished with six hits as they fell to 5-11 since July 31.
The Brewers took advantage of spotty Dodgers defense to take a 1-0 lead in the second inning. Shortstop Mookie Betts flipped the ball to second baseman Tommy Edman for what appeared to be the third out on a Luis Lara ground ball, but Edman dropped the toss, allowing Brandon Lockridge to score.
The Dodgers got even in the fourth inning when Muncy hit a home run to right field off Henderson, his 24th of the season.
Milwaukee went ahead for good 2-1 in the fifth on Bauers’ RBI single against Skubal. The native of nearby Huntington Beach, Calif., added an RBI double in the seventh inning and scored on a single by Andrew Vaughn for a 4-1 lead.
The Brewers scored two more runs in the ninth inning on another Edman error. Pages hit his home run in the ninth for the Dodgers.
By winning the season series, the Brewers hold a tiebreaker advantage on the Dodgers for playoff seeding.
