MILWAUKEE (AP) — Travis Shaw homered and hit a game-winning single, and the Milwaukee Brewers scored three runs in the 11th inning to beat the scuffling Los Angeles Dodgers 6-5 on Saturday night.
Los Angeles, which has dropped three straight to Milwaukee, also lost starter Dustin May to an apparent injury after just 27 pitches.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said May felt “kind of a shooting sensation” through his arm on a curveball he threw. The right-hander is headed to the injured list, and plans are for him to undergo an MRI in Chicago on Monday.
The game was tied at 2 after nine innings and 3-all after 10.
In the 11th, Drew Smith, who entered Saturday batting .222, hit a two-run triple off Drew Rasmussen to give the Dodgers a 5-3 lead.
But Milwaukee, despite owning the lowest team batting average (.215) in the NL entering Saturday and having 16 players on the injured list, responded.
The Brewers loaded the bases with no outs after left-hander Alex Vesia (0-1), who was called up earlier in the day, started the inning with two walks. He was replaced by right-hander Mitch White, who had pitched 3 2/3 innings this season. White gave up a sacrifice fly to Kolten Wong, an RBI single to Avisail Garcia and the game-ending hit to Shaw, which scored Mario Feliciano in his major league debut. Feliciano had walked.
“Guys just learn how to win. They expect to win. You come into spring training, you’re expecting to win the division, compete for the division and compete for the World Series,” Shaw said.
“We’ve kind of established that culture over the last three years that no matter who’s in there, guys are going to be prepared, guys are going to give their best. We’re really being tested right here but, so far, we’ve come through better than I think anybody could expect.”
Shaw also hit a solo homer earlier in the game.
Left-hander Angel Perdomo (1-0) got the win.
The teams entered the game on divergent paths. Milwaukee ended April 8-3 and Los Angeles 3-8, with the Brewers winning the first two games of their four-game series. Milwaukee pitching held the Dodgers to one run in both games.
Mookie Betts, who was 7 for 36 (.194) in his previous eight games, led off the game with a home run against Brandon Woodruff. It was his first since April 13. Betts gave Los Angeles a 2-1 lead in the third, reaching on a hit by pitch and scoring on Corey Seager’s triple.
“I thought we competed really well. Mookie got us off to a good start,” Roberts said. “I thought the energy was really good tonight.”
But the offense for the defending World Series champions has fallen off. In 2020, the Dodgers led the majors in home runs (118) and slugging (.483). In 2021, entering Saturday they had dropped to 11th in both homers (31) and slugging (.398).
In the 10th inning, the Dodgers took a 3-2 lead on Justin Turner's RBI single off Rasmussen. Turner entered Saturday fourth in the NL in batting (.330) and tied for third in RBIs (20). But he was 6 for 28 (.214) with one homer in his previous eight games.
“I thought we grinded,” Roberts said. “Just some of the at-bats during the night, I thought we did a really nice job.”
The Dodgers reached base in each of the six innings Woodruff pitched, but the 2019 NL All-Star, who has gone six or more innings in five of his six starts, kept them at bay. In the fifth, with the game tied at 2, one out and two runners on, Woodruff struck out Seager and Turner.
Milwaukee’s pitching has been strong. Entering Saturday, three of the 12 pitchers with the lowest ERA in the NL were Woodruff and two other Milwaukee starters, Freddy Peralta and Corbin Burnes, who went on the IL on Thursday.
Luis Urías homered in the second inning off May, who then faced Billy McKinney. After the 23-year-old right-hander threw a fastball to make the count 3-2, he motioned to the Dodgers' dugout for help and was removed from the game moments later.
Reaching 100 mph, May threw 27 pitches, 20 for strikes. He had pitched six innings in his previous start, against the Padres, giving up one run and two hits while striking out 10.
Dodgers: RHP Edwin Uceta was optioned. Vesia took his place.
Brewers: C Omar Narváez (strained left hamstring) went on the 10-day injured list, and Feliciano was recalled... RHP Eric Yardley (right shoulder strain) was placed on the 10-day IL, retroactive to Friday. RHP Patrick Weigel was recalled.
The four-game series ends with LHP Julio Urías (3-0, 3.23 ERA) starting for Los Angeles. He has pitched seven innings twice, including April 20 at Seattle, where he gave up no runs and one hit, and struck out 11. Milwaukee did not announce a starter before Saturday’s game.