The visiting Los Angeles Dodgers will look to even the series against Milwaukee on Tuesday night behind veteran left-hander Clayton Kershaw — the newest member of baseball’s 3,000-strikeout club — while the Brewers will counter with hard-throwing rookie sensation Jacob Misiorowski.
Kershaw (4-0, 3.43 ERA) will make his 10th start since coming off the injured list in mid-May. Misiorowski (3-1, 3.20), a right-hander who was the National League Rookie of the Month for June, suffered his first loss his last time out.
The Brewers won the series opener 9-1 on Monday, the Dodgers’ fourth consecutive loss, tied for their longest skid of the season.
Freddy Peralta tossed six scoreless innings and Andrew Vaughn, called up earlier in the day from Triple-A Nashville, had a three-run homer in his first at-bat with Milwaukee during a five-run first inning. Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto failed to get out of the first, allowing five runs (three earned) and needing 41 pitches to get two outs — the shortest start of his major league career.
“We’ve got Kersh going tomorrow,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I like the guys that we have behind him. We’ve just got to put forth a good offensive effort, catch the baseball and find a way to win a game.”
The Dodgers have not lost five straight since May of last season.
After going 0-0 with a 4.91 ERA in three starts in May, Kershaw was 4-0 with a 2.28 ERA in five starts in June.
Kershaw, 37, is 9-5 with a 2.85 ERA in 19 career starts vs. Milwaukee. He has won his last three starts against the Brewers over the last two seasons, allowing just three runs in 17 2/3 innings.
Kershaw, selected for his 11th All-Star game as a “Legend Pick,” recorded his 3,000th career strikeout in his most recent start, although he did not get the decision in his team’s 5-4 comeback win over the White Sox on Wednesday.
“It was overwhelming to feel that,” Kershaw said afterward. “I don’t have a lot of great words other than that it was just really special.”
Misiorowski, who has topped 100 mph on 68 of his 313 big-league pitches, allowed just two runs in 16 innings in winning his first three starts after being called up from the minors in mid-June.
In his last outing, the 23-year-old gave up all five of his runs in the second inning on a grand slam and a solo homer in a 7-3 loss to the New York Mets. He lasted only 3 2/3 innings, giving up five hits.
“I use the old Tiger Woods approach and move on to the next hit. Move on to the next pitch,” Misiorowski said afterward. “It’s frustrating, but at the same time, it’s a young career and it’s good to figure it out now, not when we’re in the playoffs and it matters most.”
Opponents are batting just .123 against Misiorowski, who has struck out 21 and walked 10 in 19 2/3 innings.
Christian Yelich extended his on-base streak to 19 games Monday for Milwaukee with his team-leading 18th home run. Over that span, he is hitting .355 with five homers and six doubles with 21 RBIs and 12 runs.
–Field Level Media
