Grand finale! Yasmani's 8 RBIs lift Dodgers over Crew
MILWAUKEE -- Yasmani Grandal hit a pair of three-run home runs and logged eight RBIs as the Dodgers scored a four-game series split by beating the Brewers, 14-4, at Miller Park on Thursday.
Six different Dodgers drove in a run to deny the Brewers a second consecutive series victory, led by Grandal, who finished 4-for-4 with two walks and set the new standard for RBIs in a game in Major League Baseball this season. Cleveland's Brandon Moss had led the way with a seven-RBI night on April 24.
"[Grandal has] gotten on a roll, and I hope he stays on it," said Dodgers manager Don Mattingly.
Alex Guerrero also homered for Los Angeles, and Adrian Gonzalez drove in two runs. Gonzalez, named National League player of the month for April as the series began, reached safely in 11 of 18 plate appearances in the series and has reached in his last 10 games against the Brewers.
For Milwaukee, Adam Lind hit his sixth home run of the season and drove in a pair, giving him 17 RBIs this season. He leads the Brewers in both categories.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
What about me?: With all of the attention Joc Pederson has been getting lately, Guerrero was the NL Rookie of the Month for April, and he showed why with another home run in another of his infrequent starts. It was his sixth in at-bat No. 37.
Video: LAD@MIL: Guerrero drives a solo homer to deep left
Lind liftoff: Many things have gone wrong for the Brewers this season, but here's one which has gone right: The Lind trade. He kept the scoreboard operator busy in the first inning for the second straight game, singling home Ryan Braun with two outs for a 1-0 lead. It gave the Brewers more first-inning runs in the past two days against the Dodgers (six), than they'd scored in their first 27 games combined. Lind added a home run off Dodgers starter Carlos Frias in the fourth.
Video: LAD@MIL: Lind launches homer to second deck in right
3x3=9: Brewers starter Mike Fiers struck out all three Dodgers hitters he faced in the fourth inning on just nine pitches for a so-called "immaculate inning." According to Baseball Almanac, it was the first such inning in Major League Baseball this season, and only the fourth in Brewers history. Coming off a 12-strikeout performance against the Cubs, Fiers finished with eight strikeouts in five innings against the Dodgers. More >
"Just very inconsistent," Fiers said. "It's tough for me, but it's tough for this ballclub, too. I let them down today. This could have been a different outcome, and I just pitched bad when this team needed me to pitch well."
Video: LAD@MIL: Fiers strikes out the side on nine pitches
Super sub: Yasiel Puig might be the new face of baseball, but Andre Ethier has been more productive this year. Puig, now on the disabled list, is hitting .279 with two homers and four RBIs. Ethier, his primary understudy, is hitting .292 with four homers and 10 RBIs, including the tie-breaker with his sixth-inning triple. Ethier has 14 runs scored, compared to four for Puig.
Video: LAD@MIL: Ethier gives Dodgers the lead on RBI triple
QUOTABLE
"We all know this is a hitter's ballpark, but I've never hit well here. I just hit two home runs, and really don't know how. I never drive balls here." -- Grandal, who brought a .304 average and .391 slugging percentage at Miller Park into the game.
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
Grandal is the first Dodger to notch eight RBIs in a game since James Loney drove in nine runs against the Rockies on Sept. 28, 2006. The only other player in franchise history with more with eight RBIs in a game is Gil Hodges, who drove in nine as part of a four-homer game in 1950.
With Lind's first RBI, the Brewers scored more first-inning runs in the past two days against the Dodgers (six), than they'd scored in their first 27 games combined.
WHAT'S NEXT
Dodgers: After leaving Miller Park, the Dodgers continue their beer run at Coors Field Friday night, with Brett Anderson facing his former team. First pitch is scheduled for 5:40 p.m. PT. Anderson is coming off his best Dodgers start, tossing six scoreless innings against Arizona.
Brewers: After taking two of three games from the Cubs last weekend for their first series victory of the season, the Brewers will host Joe Maddon & Co. beginning Friday night at Miller Park. Jimmy Nelson gets his second start against Chicago in five days, beginning at 7:10 p.m. CT.
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