Reliever Woodruff home run stuns Kershaw, Brewers take Game 1
Reliever Woodruff home run stuns Kershaw, Brewers take Game 1
The high-five on the plate by Brandon Woodruff almost took Lorenzo Cain out.
It is not often that the reliever hit a homer.
Hitting lefties. Left handed Clayton Kershaw. In the playoffs.
Woodruff surprised the ace with a homer and Milwaukee's normally closed bullpen held, barely, when the Brewers beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-5 on Friday night in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series. .
Hard thrower Josh Hader and the Brewers won their 12th consecutive win, one less than the franchise record set to open the 1987 season.
Woodruff, of all people, had the swinging stroke.
"It's something that is obviously coming up to date, you do not know in your wildest dreams that it's going to happen," he said.
It was the first time in post-season history that a pitcher hit a home run in a left-handed versus left-handed matchup. Woodruff was understandably pumped when he rounded the bases.
"It was on when he got home, he almost broke my arm," said Cain.
The Dodgers scored three times in the eighth to make it 6-4, and then almost tied for the ninth. Chris Taylor hit a triple RBI over Cain's glove in deep center field with two outs before Corey Knebel beat Justin Turner to finish it.
Game 2 is Saturday at Miller Park, with Wade Miley pitching for the Brewers against Hyun-Jin Ryu.
The Dodgers did some damage against the Brewers bullpen. Milwaukee used seven pitchers, including three scoreless entries by Hader. Woodruff threw two perfect innings and got the win.
"But for us to look at these pen guys in a seven-game series, I think that's a good thing," manager Dave Roberts said.
Manny Machado hit a home run and drove in three runs for Los Angeles. The Dodgers made four errors, including two by catcher Yasmani Grandal, who also had two past balls.
NERVOUS MOMENTS
Craig Counsell's Milwaukee manager pitching strategy continued to be a success, at least until the final innings.
Finally, Knebel, who threw the ball hard, regained order by crossing out Turner. Knebel walked Joc Pederson with two outs before Taylor's long trip.
"It's the postseason and anything can happen, you saw it on the spot, it was a good feeling to continue on our way to the end," Knebel said.
Awesome HOMER
After starter Gio Gonzalez went two innings, cut by Machado's home run, Woodruff entered the top of the third. In the lower half, Woodruff made a sudden impact - with his bat.
Woodruff became the third relay home run pitcher in the postseason, marking the three-time NL Cy Young Award winner for a tied individual drive. Woodruff pumped both arms as he rounded first base, while Kershaw turned around and looked down at the ground.
"I knew I could hit the bat a little bit, for sure," Kershaw said. "I did not know I could do that, but I knew I could hit a little."
Woodruff was a hitter with 4 runs for 22 (.222) before connecting. He had a previous homer in July against Nick Kingham of Pittsburgh.
DODGER BLUES
Kershaw was chased before he could remove a batter in the fourth inning.
It was another miserable October night for the southpaw whose regular-season brilliance has often disappeared in the postseason.
And not even Christian Yelich and the Brewers' stars came to him. Hernán Pérez hit a sacrifice fly later in the third, and Dominican hitter Domingo Santana had a two-run single in the fourth for a 4-1 lead that drove Kershaw off the mound with no one out.
It was the shortest postseason start of Kershaw's career. He had a 4.65 ERA in 10 career appearances, including seven starts, through Friday.
That effectiveness went up after allowing six hits and five runs, four of them won, in more than three innings.
"The errors affected the game, but as for Clayton, I think it was a bad execution," Roberts said.
Jesus Aguilar added a homer in the seventh for the Brewers, his second of the postseason. Cain went 3 for 5 and scored a race.
Burner time
Eat, Milwaukee.
This end-of-season race earned Brewers fans a free burger at a chain of restaurants in the area.
George Webb Restaurants has a long-standing promotion to give away a free hamburger each time the Brewers win 12 straight games.
It's dinner time after a dozen.
Save the date: October 18, announced George Webb after the game. Save one for reliever Jeremy Jeffress, too.
"Honestly, as long as you put in some mayonnaise, I'm fine with that," he said.
George Webb also paid in 1987.
UNTIL NEXT TIME
It's another left-handed pitching match in Game 2. Ryu threw seven shut innings, striking out seven and allowing hits, in the Dodgers' Game 1 win over the Braves in the Division Series. Ryu is 2-0 with a 1.96 ERA in four postseason starts in his career. Miley is making her second postseason start, going 4 2/3 innings in the Brewers Division Series, clinching victory over Colorado on Sunday. He is 4-5 with a 3.55 ERA in 15 career games against the Dodgers.
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More MLB AP: https://apnews.com/tag/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports
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