LOS ANGELES (AP) - Dodgers fans nearly filled their home stadium Monday night for a reboot of “Mannywood,” and then the Milwaukee Brewers stepped in to spoil the party.
Eric Thames hit a three-run home run and Christian Yelich extended his hitting streak to 14 games as the Milwaukee Brewers overcame a brief power outage delay and beat Los Angeles 5-2.
Manny Machado homered in the ninth inning in his first home game with the Dodgers, going 1 for 3 with two walks. He delivered his 26th home run of the season to center field off Brewers reliever Corey Knebel. He also struck out in the fourth inning with two runners in scoring position.
“It wasn’t a good situation,” Machado said, when asked about the home run. “I should have hit that a couple of innings before. … It was a little late for that one. We’re here to win games and when you come out with a loss like that, it’s not fun.”
There was an intensity among the crowd 44,933 that was reminiscent of 2008 when the Dodgers acquired Manny Ramirez for the stretch drive. Ramirez did his part that year by crushing 17 home runs over the season’s final two months, helping push the Dodgers into the National League Championship Series.
On Monday, a group of 12 fans in left-center field all wore a blue T-shirt with a single white character, spelling out “MANNYWOOD 2.0” when they stood shoulder-to-shoulder.
“That was pretty cool, I’m not going to lie,” Machado said.
However, the night belonged to the Brewers, who grabbed the momentum quickly, before a power outage caused a 23-minute delay between the first and second innings. The Dodgers said the outage was due to “a disruption in the city’s power feed to the facility.”
The Brewers had a 1-0 lead at the time of the delay. Milwaukee loaded the bases three batters into the game - started by a leadoff double by Yelich that extended his streak - against Dodgers starter Kenta Maeda before getting an RBI single from Travis Shaw. Maeda prevented more damage by getting a strikeout, popup and fly ball to end the threat.
Thames capped a two-out rally in the third inning with his 14th home run of the season. Shaw, who had three hits, worked a two-out walk before Ryan Braun singled. Thames then drilled a 0-1 pitch off Maeda into the bleachers in left-center to make it 3-0.
“It felt good to get the hit to give us some distance from the Dodgers because the way they line up,” Thames said. “This is a huge series. … This might be a postseason matchup, you never know. It’s a playoff preview for us.”
Josh Hader (4-0) had three strikeouts over two scoreless innings of relief as the Brewers won for the seventh time in 10 games to follow a seven-game losing streak that ended July 21.
“That’s just a tough baseball game,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “It’s a good team over there and we outlasted them pitching and did a nice job.”
Maeda (7-6) lasted just 4 2/3 innings, throwing 102 pitches. He gave up four runs and seven hits with four strikeouts and three walks.
Brewers starter Freddy Peralta went four innings, giving up one run and three hits with four walks and six strikeouts. He threw 98 pitches.
Joakim Soria pitched a scoreless seventh inning in his second appearance with Milwaukee after being acquired last week in a trade from the Chicago White Sox.
The Dodgers have lost consecutive games after starting the second half with six wins in nine games. They have just seven hits in their last two games after they nearly were no-hit at Atlanta on Sunday by Sean Newcomb.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Brewers: RHP Jimmy Nelson and C Stephen Vogt, both on the 60-day disabled list following shoulder surgery, were with the team in Los Angeles to get further examinations as they each continue their road to recovery.
Dodgers: RHP Ross Stripling was placed on the disabled list with inflammation in the big toe of his right foot, with manager Dave Roberts saying it could take 10-12 days to heal. … Justin Turner (right groin strain) took live batting practice Monday and ran the bases, three days before he is eligible to return from the 10-day disabled list.
STAR POWER
Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett was on field at Dodger Stadium pregame Monday, watching batting practice for both the Dodgers and Brewers. Garrett held a lengthy conversation on the field with Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, a Dallas-area native.
The Cowboys are in training camp in nearby Oxnard, approximately 60 miles west of Los Angeles.
UP NEXT
Brewers: LHP Wade Miley (1-1, 2.01 ERA) figures to feel right at home at Dodger Stadium, where he is 3-0 with a 2.41 ERA over six career starts.
Dodgers: RHP Walker Buehler (4-3, 3.92) will make his third start since returning from the DL because of a rib microfracture, coming off an outing at Philadelphia where he gave up five earned runs to match a season high.
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