LOS ANGELES — As the Dodgers ride out a brutal stretch, protective wrap might be the best way to get to the other side.
Three errors and a left wrist contusion to Freddie Freeman were just the latest issues as the Dodgers dropped yet another game to the Milwaukee Brewers, this one 6-5 on Sunday.
The losses are getting historic now, with the Dodgers getting swept by the Brewers over a three-game series twice in less than two weeks. They finished the season series 0-6 against Milwaukee, the first time they have ever failed to win a game against Milwaukee in a single season.
Not only did the Brewers extend their winning streak to 10 games for the eighth double-digit win streak in franchise history, but the Dodgers dropped their sixth consecutive home game. It is their longest home losing streak since losing nine consecutive in 2017.
Freeman departed in the sixth inning when he was hit by an 88-mph sinker from left-hander Jose Quintana. The concerns were immediate as Freeman barely reacted but instead walked straight into the Dodgers’ dugout and into the clubhouse.
The initial diagnosis was a left wrist contusion, with Miguel Rojas finishing out the game at first base.
Shohei Ohtani did his part with a two-run home run after he was dropped to the No. 2 spot in the lineup. Mookie Betts was moved up to the leadoff spot despite his struggles, with a single just before Ohtani’s home run in the third inning.
But the Dodgers committed three errors with Clayton Kershaw on the mound, all while blowing a 3-0 lead in the fourth inning and a 4-3 lead in the sixth.
Kershaw gave up three runs (two earned) on five hits with one walk in 4⅓ innings. He finished with two strikeouts.
The Brewers’ three-run fourth inning, to wipe out the Dodgers’ early lead, came as Tommy Edman made a throwing error, Andy Pages made an error on a line drive to center and Esteury Ruiz made a wild throw home that eventually led to a run.
Ruiz made his own error that led to Kershaw’s departure in the fifth. Frustrated as he reached the dugout, Kershaw fired his glove and cap toward the bench and knocked over a mini cooler while letting out multiple roars.
The Brewers eventually loaded the bases in the fifth before Alex Vesia extracted them from the mess when he struck out Blake Perkins. Ruiz tried to make amends with a home run in the bottom of the fifth to put the Dodgers ahead 4-3, but all hope for a single win against the Brewers was quickly lost.
Milwaukee delivered its second three-run inning in the sixth against a trio of pitchers in Vesia, Lou Trevino (3-1) and Will Klein. Isaac Collins delivered the big blow with a go-ahead two-run single against Klein for a 6-4 advantage.
After Ruiz’s home run, the Dodgers didn’t have another hit until Tommy Edman singled with one out in the ninth. They loaded the bases and got within a run on an infield single from Dalton Rushing before Betts lined out to center to end the game.