I’ve seen THIS one before

If you watch enough Brewers games, there comes a point in the season where you are pretty sure that you’ve already seen this game. Maybe not THIS actual game—that would be impossible—but a game just like the one you are currently watching. And, no matter how much you wish things would end differently in THIS game, you sort of know that they won’t and the Brewers will lose. Because if Milwaukee regularly pulled out THIS sort of game, they’d be in the heat of a pennant race.  

The Dodgers took an early lead on a two-run home run by Matt Kemp in the second inning. The Brewers answered in the bottom of the second when Prince Fielder singled and scored on Casey McGehee’s triple (the second of his career). Despite having McGehee on third with no outs, the Brewers stranded him there. The Brewers would eventually be 0-11 with runners in scoring position. THIS.

Both pitchers, Ted Lilly for the Cubs (we cannot escape this man!) Dodgers and Dave Bush for the Crew settled down after the second and pitched scoreless ball until the fifth. The Brewers took the lead in the fifth with a two out rally. Rickie Weeks hit his 24^th homer of the season to tie the game. Milwaukee went ahead 3-2 on a single by Alcides Escobar and a double by Ryan Braun.

And then the sixth inning happened. Bush retired the first two batters and then just couldn’t finish out the inning. He gave up back-to-back singles and then a three-run shot to Rod Barajas. Barajas was just traded to the Dodgers from the Mets for “cash considerations” and has hit 105 home runs in his entire 11-year career. THIS.

"It's neat, you know? There's a lot of people here, it's a packed house and I didn't realize it until about the sixth inning that I saw Tommy Lasorda sitting right next to the dugout," Barajas said. "That was great to play well in front of him."

I hate to burst his bubble but it looked like Lasorda slept through most of the game.

In the eighth, Prince hit a double to deep center with one out only to be doubled off when McGehee lined out to third. It was a nice play to get McGehee and an even nicer one to get Fielder scrambling back to second base. THIS.

In the ninth inning, the Brewers staged a rally when Carlos Gomez (THIS) got a bunt single and LA closer Hong-Chih Kuo botched an easy double play ball—his throw was a lot like the one that got him in trouble in the All-Star game. With runners on first and second and only one out, pinch hitter Corey Hart popped out and Weeks struck out.

THIS is getting old. Given the history of Brewers pitchers blowing up in the sixth, Bush probably should have been pulled after the second single, if not sooner. And with only a two-run deficit, it’s a shame that Milwaukee couldn’t plate McGehee in the second inning. Really, it’s just a shame the Brewers didn’t win THIS game.  

Dodgers 5, Brewers 3

Game played 8-24-10