Trea Turner slam, solo HR; Kershaw hurt, Dodgers beat Brews
Oct 1, 2021, 11:09 AM | Updated: Oct 2, 2021, 5:57 am
Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Kenley Jansen (74) and shortstop Corey Seager (5) celebrate an 8-6 win over the Milwaukee Brewers after their a baseball game Friday, Sept. 1, 2021, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
(AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Dodgers still have something to play for, although they may be doing it without Clayton Kershaw.
The three-time Cy Young Award winner got hurt before Trea Turner hit a grand slam and solo home run as Los Angeles extended the NL West race for at least another day, rallying past the Milwaukee Brewers 8-6 Friday night.
Pinch-hitter Matt Beaty launched a tiebreaking homer in the seventh inning to help the defending World Series champions maintain their increasingly slim bid for a ninth consecutive division title with their 104th win.
The first-place San Francisco Giants beat San Diego 3-0 to clinch at least a tie for the title and reduced their magic number to one. The Giants lead Los Angeles by two games.
“At this point, I’m just assuming they’re winning and we win a lot,” Turner said.
The Dodgers trailed the NL Central champion Brewers 5-1 after three innings, but came back to win their 13th in a row at home, equaling the 13 consecutive they won at home to open the 2009 season. It was their fifth straight win overall.
It wasn’t all good news for the playoff-bound Dodgers, though.
A somber Kershaw exited his start with left forearm discomfort in the second inning after 42 pitches. It’s the same injury that kept him on the injured list from July 4 to Sept. 12.
“It’s a tough blow,” he said. “Just felt something there in my elbow, I don’t know what it is. Kind of the same thing I’ve been dealing with. It got bad enough to where I couldn’t keep going.”
Kershaw allowed three runs and two hits in 1 2/3 innings of his final regular-season start. The left-hander struck out one and walked none. He is 10-8 with a 3.38 ERA, his highest mark since a 4.26 ERA as a rookie in 2008.
“Chances are, it’s not looking good for October right now,” he said. “I know we’re going to do something special this year and I wanted to be part of that.”
Blake Treinen (6-5) got the win in relief, giving up one hit. Kenley Jansen got four outs to earn his 38th save, the eighth pitcher used by the Dodgers.
Beaty went deep against Jandel Gustave for a 6-5 lead. It was the Dodgers’ 14th homer in the last three games.
The Dodgers added two more runs in the seventh. Gustave (1-2) hit Mookie Betts and Corey Seager singled. They moved up on Gustave’s wild pitch and Turner was intentionally walked to load the bases.
Betts scored on Gustave’s second wild pitch that moved up Turner and Seager, who scored on Max Muncy’s infield single that made it 8-5.
Turner’s fourth career grand slam came off Eric Lauer and tied it at 5 in the fifth. Austin Barnes, pinch-hitter Albert Pujols and Betts singled to load the bases. Turner hit his 27th homer — ninth with the Dodgers — to left-center with two outs.
Turner’s solo shot in the first landed in the lower right-field seats with two outs, extending his hitting streak to a career-high 17 games. His five RBIs were a season high.
“Trea got me a little bit. He took some good swings,” Lauer said. “The first one was exactly where I wanted to throw it and he just got to it. The changeup was obviously the worst pitch I threw.”
Eduardo Escobar, who scored twice, Kolten Wong and Luis Urias each had two hits for Milwaukee.
Lauer gave up five runs and six hits in five innings. The left-hander struck out three and walked two.
THE FUTURE
The Dodgers named infielder Miguel Vargas and Hyun-il Choi as their Branch Rickey minor league player and pitcher of the year. Vargas hit .319, with 23 home runs and 76 RBI in 120 games split between Advanced-A Great Lakes and Double-A Tulsa. The 21-year-old Cuban was a non-roster invitee to spring training this season, playing in eight games and scoring two runs in nine plate appearances. Choi, from South Korea, went 8-6 with a 3.55 ERA and 106 strikeouts in 24 games of his first full minor league season. Vargas and Choi were honored in a pregame ceremony.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Brewers: RHP Hunter Strickland was reinstated from the paternity list and pitched the eighth. … RHP Miguel Sánchez was optioned to Triple-A Nashville.
UP NEXT
Brewers: RHP Corbin Burnes (11-4, 2.29 ERA) is 9-0 with a 2.28 ERA over his last 19 starts.
Dodgers: LHP Julio Urías (19-3, 3.02) tries to become the majors’ first 20-game winner this season and his team’s first since Kershaw won 21 in 2014.
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