Again, it was the slider that betrayed Dodgers closer Edwin Díaz. He put one on the inside edge of the plate to Milwaukee’s Garrett Mitchell, who lined it into right field to dissolve the Dodgers’ lead in the ninth inning.
Díaz’s problems persisted in the battle for the best record in the National League. The Dodgers went on to lose 5-4 to the Brewers, after Díaz was charged with three runs and a blown save.
It started as a quiet offensive night for both teams. And though Roki Sasaki was giving up hard contact, spiking his splitter in the dirt more than usual and losing his footing on the mound, the right-hander gave up only one hit through the first three innings.
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Then he briefly unraveled in the fourth.
With one out and a runner on first, Sasaki hung a slider right over the middle to Andrew Vaughn. Luckily for Sasaki, Vaughn let it go for a strike. But then he threw four straight balls to walk him. Christian Yelich then singled to load the bases before Sasaki got William Contreras to chase a high fastball and a pair of splitters below the zone for a strikeout.
But Joey Ortiz was pickier, and Sasaki was wilder. He walked Ortiz on four pitches to push in the game’s first run. Then Sasaki walked David Hamilton on five pitches to double the Brewers’ lead.
Sasaki finally escaped by striking out Jackson Chourio.
The Dodgers (73-49) got a run back the next inning on Ben Rortvedt’s RBI single. And Sasaki got back on track to get through the sixth without giving up another run.
In the bottom half of the inning, Max Muncy entered the game as a pinch hitter and delivered a go-ahead three-run home run. Muncy had to fight for the homer that would give him sole possession for the record of most home runs at Dodger Stadium. Muncy worked a full count against Brewers right-hander Antonio Senzatela. Then he jumped all over a 100-mph fastball, launching it into the right-field stands.
The 426-foot blast gave him 131 career home runs in Chavez Ravine — breaking a tie with Eric Karros for the most in Dodger Stadium history.
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“You did it, Munce, you did it,” said Karros, during the SportsNet LA game broadcast. “Now the all-time home run leader at Dodger Stadium, Max Muncy. Congratulations, brother.”
The celebration didn’t last for the Dodgers. In the ninth inning, Díaz recorded his third blown save in four appearances.
With one out, he gave up four consecutive singles, and the Brewers (75-47) tied the score. After Díaz tallied a second strikeout, left-hander Alex Vesia replaced him with two outs and runners on first and second.
He got Jake Bauers to hit a ground ball to the right side of the field, but it found a hole to drive in the go-ahead run.
The Dodgers then went down in order to end the game.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.