MILWAUKEE, Wis. (AP) – If Andrew McCutchen can return to hitting left-handers as well as he has for much of his career, the Milwaukee Brewers will be well on their way to a fifth straight postseason appearance.
McCutchen homered twice and Hunter Renfroe also hit a home run off left-hander Andrew Heaney in Milwaukee’s 5-3 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers to split the four-game series.
We got a pretty nice day from our players that have hit left-handed pitching really well, Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. They had big hits with guys on base. Cutch had a big day, a really big day.
McCutchen entered Thursday batting.302 with a.396 on-base percentage and.940 OPS versus left-handed pitchers. This season, he’s hit.241 against left-handers and.257 versus right-handers.
The Brewers are suffering against lefties in general, not just McCutchen. The squad began Thursday ranked 25th out of 30 major-league teams in OPS versus left-handed pitchers, with a.218 hitting average against lefties, trailing only Miami.
It was just nice to get a few decent at-bats, McCutchen said. It doesn’t matter if it’s to the right or left. We’ll have to deal with both of them.
McCutchen added three RBIs in his 19th career multi-homer game, and it was his first since June 1, 2021, when he also blasted a pair for the Philadelphia Phillies in a 17-3 rout of the Cincinnati Reds. On Thursday, he hit a single home run in the first inning and a two-run drive in the third.
Renfroe was 3 for 3 with a two-run homer in the fifth inning to help the Brewers take a 5-0 lead.
Stuff happens, and you just have to make pitches, Heaney explained. It doesn’t really alter with how I approach things, just like it doesn’t with anything else. I simply need to lock in and make a somewhat better pitch there.
Heaney (1-1) struck out ten batters but allowed five runs, five hits, and one walk over four and a third innings.
Corbin Burnes (9-5) of Milwaukee held the Dodgers scoreless for five innings before getting into difficulty in the sixth. In 5 2/3 innings, the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner struck out six batters while allowing three runs, six hits, and two walks.
Devin Williams struck out the side in the ninth inning for his seventh save in a row.
The Dodgers re-entered the game with three runs in the sixth inning.
Tyrone Taylor of the Milwaukee Brewers, who stretched over the fence to snag a drive from Tampa Bay’s David Peralta on Aug. 9, nearly robbed another opposition player on a two-out ball from Gavin Lux. Taylor’s glove originally held the ball, but it slid out and bounced back into play when he extended his arm over the center-field wall.
I felt it was a great effort, said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. It’s one of the best non-catches you’ll ever watch.
Lux’s two-run triple trimmed Milwaukee’s advantage to 5-3, and Burnes was removed from the game. After replacing Burnes, Brad Boxberger walked Joey Gallo to put runners on the corners before striking out Chris Taylor to stop the danger.
THE TRAINER’S ROOM
RHP Brusdar Graterol is expected to be available for this weekend’s series against the Miami Marlins, according to Roberts. Graterol hasn’t thrown since July 10 because of a shoulder ailment, but he’s been on rehab assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City.
MOVE OF THE BREWERS
J.C. Meja was reinstated by the Brewers and optioned to Triple-A Nashville. Meja was suspended for 80 games after testing positive for the performance-enhancing drug Stanozolol.
C Jakson Reetz was given the duty.
UP NEXT
Dodgers: Play the Marlins at home. On Friday, LHP Tyler Anderson (13-2, 2.81) throws for the Dodgers, while LHP Jess Luzardo (3-5, 3.72) pitches for the Marlins.
Brewers: Head to Chicago to begin a three-game series with the Cubs. Scheduled starters Friday are LHP Aaron Ashby (2-10, 4.24) for the Brewers and RHP Keegan Thompson (9-5, 3.67) for the Cubs.
___McCutchen had his 19th career multi-homer game in the Brewers’ 5-3 victory.
About Author
