LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers wore their City Connect uniforms on Monday night. Eric Lauer still recognized them.
The 27-year-old left-hander added another start to his history of success against the Dodgers, holding them scoreless for the first five innings of a 4-0 shutout victory for the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Dodgers had a stretch of 73 consecutive games without being shut out end at Washington on May 25. Since then, they have been shut out six times in 79 games including twice in the past nine. This was their first shutout loss at home.
Lauer is familiar with keeping the Dodgers’ offense in check – even as the faces and places have changed.
The left-hander is 7-1 in 11 career starts against the Dodgers with a 2.37 ERA, holding Dodgers hitters to a .212 average. Most of that positive feedback came in Lauer’s first two big-league seasons with the San Diego Padres (5-0, 2.13 ERA in seven starts).
The rest of Major League Baseball has not found Lauer as baffling. He is 23-28 with a 4.31 ERA against anyone but the Dodgers.
The Dodgers were complicit in lowering Lauer’s ERA. With runners at first and second and two outs in the second inning, Gavin Lux shot a single to left field. Third-base coach Dino Ebel chose to challenge left fielder Christian Yelich’s arm. It was not the right choice this time. Justin Turner was an easy out at home plate to end the inning.
Two innings later, the Dodgers had another chance to break through, loading the bases with back-to-back two-out singles by Turner and Max Muncy and a walk of Chris Taylor. That brought up Lux again. This time, he skied a high fly ball to Yelich to end the inning.
The Dodgers didn’t fare much better against the Brewers’ post-Josh Hader bullpen, managing just three harmless singles over the final four innings.
Julio Urias was better than Lauer except for one thing – a full-count fastball to Luis Urias in the fourth inning.
Luis Urias (no relation) drove the fastball into the left-field pavilion for one of only two hits allowed by Julio Urias in six innings and the Brewers’ only run in the first eight innings.
The Brewers put the game away with three runs in the ninth off Dodgers reliever Phil Bickford. Willy Adames and Yelich started it with back-to-back doubles. Yelich eventually scored on a sacrifice fly by Luis Urias. And Keston Hiura capped the scoring with a solo home run.
The Dodgers lost a Julio Urias start for the first time since June 12 in San Francisco. In 12 starts since that loss, Urias has gone 10-1 with a 1.95 ERA.
More to come on this story.
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