MILWAUKEE — Questioned before Wednesday’s game about Craig Kimbrel’s failure to protect a one-run lead at any point this season, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts tempted fate.
“If we have a one-run lead tonight, he’s pitching,” Roberts said.
The baseball gods heard and must have said, “Hold my beer.”
Kimbrel entered the game in the ninth inning and put the tying and winning runs on base before closing it out, protecting a one-run lead for the first time this season (after blowing his previous four save chances in those situations) as the Dodgers beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 2-1.
“I am now,” Kimbrel said when asked if he was aware none of his 20 saves before Wednesday involved protecting a one-run lead – but all four of his blown saves involved losing a one-run lead.
“I guess we put that to rest tonight. Hopefully, the rest are all one run and I can get them done.”
He got it done Wednesday – but it still wasn’t pretty. After retiring the first two batters, he gave up a single to Keston Hiura and walked Mike Brosseau before getting Luis Urias to bounce out.
“I thought tonight was fine,” Roberts said. “Obviously it got a little traffic there at the end, but I liked the fastball command tonight. I liked the breaking ball in-zone. We got a couple ground balls.
“There was a walk in there. But outside of that, I thought he threw the ball well.”
A night earlier, Kimbrel was given a one-run lead to protect in the 11th inning and gave up a two-run walk-off single to lose the game.
“That’s the beauty of being in the bullpen – you don’t have to sit on it for too long,” Kimbrel said. “It never makes it easy, but it feels good to come out and do my job tonight. Fully expect to do it the next time I’m out there.”
He will need to do it more than a few times between now and October to clarify his role in a postseason bullpen. Kimbrel acknowledged that.
“For a lot of reasons, I got to start throwing the ball better, getting the ball over the plate and showing I can dominate,” he said. “Not only for myself and feeling comfortable, but letting everybody else feel comfortable going into the playoffs.
“It’s definitely my goal for the rest of the year, get things right and get ready for the playoffs.”
Kimbrel’s difficulties are just one thing the Dodgers’ pitching staff has given you to worry about – like Clayton Kershaw’s back, Walker Buehler’s elbow, Andrew Heaney’s shoulder and an assortment of injured relievers.
But the staff ERA of 2.85 leads the majors. No other team is under 3.00. The revolving group of starters – anchored by the trio of Tony Gonsolin, Tyler Anderson and Julio Urias – has an even wider margin over their peers. Their collective ERA of 2.71 after Wednesday’s game is almost a half-run lower than any other team.
Gonsolin retired the first 10 Brewers in order, walked a batter, erased him in a double play and didn’t give up a hit until the sixth inning. Singles by Keston Hiura in the sixth and Mario Feliciano in the seventh were all the Brewers managed against Gonsolin who seems to be catching a second wind in August. In three starts this month, he has allowed just one run on seven hits in 18⅔ innings.
“I felt like I was throwing everything for strikes today,” Gonsolin said. “I was landing the curveball. Splitter was in there for strikes when I needed to. Same thing with the slider. I thought the fastball was jumping pretty good. Got a lot of foul balls with it.”
The Brewers haven’t had much better luck with the Dodgers’ relievers in this series. They were 2 for 30 against the Dodgers’ bullpen in the first two games with both of those hits coming off Kimbrel in the 11th inning Tuesday.
But Caleb Ferguson walked back-to-back hitters with two outs in the eighth inning then gave up an RBI single to Christian Yelich to set up Kimbrel’s one-run redemption.
The Dodgers’ only offense in the game was solo home runs by Austin Barnes and Max Muncy.
For Barnes, the homer was his first since May 21. The Dodgers’ backup catcher had four home runs in his first 45 at-bats this season but none over his next 74 at-bats before Wednesday. He hadn’t played in 12 days after spending three days on the family emergency list over the weekend.
“It’s been challenging,” Barnes said, keeping his family emergency private. “There’s been some stuff and I had to step away from the team for three days. But it’s nice to be out here and play some baseball.”
Muncy, meanwhile, has six home runs in his August re-awakening. Muncy entered the month with a .161 batting average and .613 OPS. In his 13 past games, though, he has gone 16 for 46 (.340) with five doubles, six home runs and 13 RBIs.
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