LOS ANGELES -- Try as they might to figure him out, the Brewers haven't had many answers for Yoshinobu Yamamoto in recent history.
Yamamoto authored his latest strong start against the Crew on Friday night, striking out nine across six innings of one-run ball as his Dodgers evened the four-game set at Dodger Stadium with a 3-1 victory. The win moved L.A. (74-49) one game back of Milwaukee (75-48) for the best record in the National League.
While the Brewers only scratched across one run on a Joey Ortiz sacrifice fly in the fifth inning, they grinded out at-bats throughout the evening. They drove up Yamamoto's pitch count early, forcing him to throw 38 pitches through two innings. The right-hander grew more efficient as his outing went on and gave his team six strong innings on 97 pitches.
In the middle of a stretch of 13 games in as many days -- and working with a beleaguered seven-man bullpen -- the Dodgers needed as much length as Yamamoto could give them. After his night was over, Evan Phillips, Tanner Scott and Edwin Díaz finished the job. Díaz managed to strand the bases loaded, fighting his own wildness but hanging on to convert the save one day after he was charged with the loss in the series opener.
The Dodgers' bats did just enough, with Mookie Betts hitting an RBI single in the first inning and Andy Pages and Tommy Edman slugging solo homers. Given Yamamoto's track record of handling the Brewers, it was all the offense L.A. needed.
Yamamoto delivered one of his most iconic postseason performances against the Brewers in last year's NL Championship Series, going the distance for the first time as a Major Leaguer in Game 2 at American Family Field. In his return to Milwaukee on May 24, he tossed seven innings of one-run ball to help the Dodgers take two of three that series.
The quality start from Yamamoto on Friday brought the Dodgers one win away from clinching the season series against the Brewers, which could have implications down the road if tiebreakers are needed to determine postseason seeding.