Teoscar Hernandez homered and matched his career high with six RBIs and the Los Angeles Dodgers’ bullpen extended its scoreless streak to a franchise-record 36 innings to preserve an 11-3 victory over the host Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday to even the series between division leaders.
Dodgers starter Roki Sasaki (3-3) allowed three runs in the first, but left after five innings with a 4-3 lead. Relievers Alex Vesia, Kyle Hurt, Tanner Scott and Jonathan Hernandez each followed with a scoreless inning to extend the bullpen’s scoreless streak to 36 innings, the team’s longest in the modern era, surpassing the previous franchise record of 33 innings set in 1998.
The Dodgers erased a 3-0 deficit with four runs in the fourth off Robert Gasser (0-1), capped by Hernandez’s three-run homer. Freddie Freeman and Andy Pages opened with back-to-back doubles to make it 3-1. Kyle Tucker drew a one-out walk and Hernandez then sent an 0-2 pitch 357 feet to left for his seventh homer.
The Dodgers added three runs in the eighth on RBI singles by Will Smith and Hernandez followed by a safety-squeeze bunt by Miguel Rojas to make it 7-3.
Hernandez added a two-run single the following frame to trigger a four-run ninth.
Sasaki allowed three runs, two earned, on four hits in five innings, striking out four and walking two in an 87-pitch outing.
Gasser allowed four runs on four hits in 4 1/3 innings, striking out four and walking four. Brewers pitchers walked 11, including Freeman four times.
The Dodgers, who lead the National League West, swept the Brewers in the National League Championship Series last season, but had lost nine consecutive regular-season games to Milwaukee.
The Brewers, who lead the NL Central, lost for just the third time in their last 15 games.
The Brewers took a multi-run lead in the first for the second consecutive game, but a base-running mistake might have cost them a chance for more.
Jackson Chourio and Brice Turang opened with consecutive doubles for the first run. Andrew Vaughn reached when Sasaki threw wildly past first, allowing Turang to score from second. Christian Yelich reached on a force out and Gary Sanchez walked. Sal Frelick delivered a two-out RBI single, but Sanchez was thrown out at third on the play to end the inning.
