8/17/23 Hometown Broadcasting Sports Thursday
17 August 2023 Sports
It was another game of bad luck and shaky defense as she Brewers dropped their second straight game to the Dodgers Wednesday night, 7-1. For the Dodgers, it was their 10th consecutive victory and the Brewers absorbed a loss that cut their National League Central lead to 2 ½ games over the second-place Cubs and Reds who won their games Wednesday.
Brewers starter Wade Miley Miley had never lost at Dodger Stadium, but Wednesday wasn’t his night.
In the first inning, the Dodgers manufactured a 1-0 lead with a walk, an infield hit from Will Smith, a catcher interference call against Contreras with J.D. Martinez at the plate, followed by Amed Rosario’s 60.1 mph, run-scoring groundout. For Miley, it was just the start.
In the second, he surrendered a two-out, go-ahead home run to Miguel Rojas and then saw the inning continue with Mookie Betts’soft single, Freddie Freeman’s ground-ball double just past the second baseman and then another infield hit for Smith.
Martinez, who batted with the bases loaded and appeared to end the inning when shortstop Willy Adames fielded a bouncer with a terrific sliding stop and threw to second in time for a forceout.
Instead, Martinez was awarded first base for the second time in as many innings on a catcher interference call.
This time, it forced home a run to make it a 3-1 game.
Miley and Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw each pitched five innings. The average exit velocity of the Dodgers’ balls in play against Miley was 83.2 mph. The Brewers’ balls in play against Kershaw averaged 92.6 mph.
And yet the Brewers had nothing to show for it, aside from Mark Canha’s home run leading off the second inning.
In the fourth, Adames doubled and Monasterio walked, but both were stranded when Sal Frelick lined out to first baseman Freeman, who beat Monasterio back to the bag for an inning-ending double play. And in the fifth, Yelich hit a 111.5 mph line drive to the right-center-field gap Dodgers right fielder Betts had a great jump and ran it down. easily.
The Brewers didn’t have any hits after Adames’ one-out double in the fourth. Both of the catcher interference calls resulted in an error charged to Contreras, and there was a third Brewers error charged to center fielder Wiemer in the sixth when he ranged back to the warning track for Freeman’s deep fly ball. Wiemer misjudged it, made a halfhearted leap and missed the baseball, allowing the Dodgers to grow their lead to 6-1.
In losing the first two games of this series, the Brewers have scored two runs on as many hits — five — as they have committed errors.
The teams finish up their three-game series tonight. Corbin Burnes (9-6, 3.60 ERA) starts for the Brewers against another right-hander Lance Lynn (9-9, 5.88 ERA). First pitch is at 9:10 CDT.
Elsewhere in the NL Central Wednesday the Mets beat the Pirates 4-3, the Reds downed the Guardians 7-2, the A’s shutout the Cardinals 8-0 and the Cubs edged the White Sox 4-3. The Brewers lead the Cubs and the Reds by 2 ½ games in the division.
In the Midwest League Wednesday the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers won at Cedar Rapids 9-2. They play again tonight with the first pitch at 6:35.
The Packers and the Patriots held their first of two joint scrimmages Wednesday in preparation for their Saturday night matchup at Lambeau Field.
New England’s quarterback Mac Jones after the departure of Tom Brady spoke after practice about the advice he’d give Love based on his own experience. The situations are a little different because Cam Newton was Brady’s direct successor in New England, though the seven-time Super Bowl champ still cast quite a shadow as Jones began his rookie season in 2021.
“Tom Brady’s the greatest quarterback to ever play in the NFL,” Jones said. “To follow up on him, it’s trying to chase the standard that he set every day. Honestly, we’re definitely two different players. That’s the only advice I’d have: Just continue to grow and be yourself. That’s all you can do is put your best foot forward and compete. It’s definitely big shoes to fill.”
Love backed up Rodges the past three seasons. Rodgfers’ trade to the New York Jets cleared the way for Love to take over in Green Bay, just as Rodgers started his career by backing up Hall of Famer Brett Favre for three seasons. “Obviously, we’ve had some really great quarterbacks here,” Love said after a practice session that was highlighted by a 75-yard completion to Christian Watson. “The standard’s kind of set and you’re trying to continue to raise your game until you get to that bar and continue to go past it once you get there.”
The Packers have prepared their young offense for the first year of the post-Rodgers era by scheduling an extra set of joint practice sessions. They traditionally had practiced against just one team in training camp.
Love says these joint practices offer him something different than what he encounters in exhibition games. Love played two series Friday when the Packers opened their preseason schedule with a 36-19 victory at Cincinnati.
“I think there’s more looks in joint practices,” Love said. “I think the defense is giving us more looks that they might not do in a preseason game. They’re trying to work things as well, and we’re trying to work some new concepts, so I think you dive a little bit more into the playbook.”
Love believes he has benefited from all the work he’s done.
Meanwhile, two-time NFL rushing leader Ezekiel Elliott was in Green Bay on Wednesday after officially signing with New England.
There weren’t any major fights during Wednesday’s joint practice. That was a major contrast from last week, when Packers guard Elgton Jenkins was involved in two skirmishes with Bengals players before getting removed from that practice session.
Today’s joint practice is once again at 10:30 at Ray Nitchke Field and is open to the public.
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