Brewers 9, Dodgers 1: Andrew Vaughn delivers memorable moment in shocking blowout
Curt HoggOne all-star hurler delivered a gem. The other delivered up one of the most memorable swings of the year for the opponent.
In a mound matchup of two of the National League's top starting pitchers this season – one day after being named to next week's midsummer classic – it was Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Freddy Peralta who outdueled Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
By a wide margin.
While Yamamoto was unable to pitch out of the first inning, serving up a three-run home to Andrew Vaughn in his first at-bat with the Brewers, Peralta stymied the Dodgers offense for six innings in a 9-1 win at American Family Field on July 7.
The Brewers registered their largest margin of victory against the Dodgers since an 11-3 win on May 5, 2010, and it was the biggest blowout for Milwaukee in a home game against Los Angeles since a 9-0 decision on Sept. 5, 2006.
At 11 games above .500, the Brewers tied the season-high mark, while the relatively-scuffling Dodgers matched their season-longest losing streak of four.
Freddy Peralta delivers one of his best outings of the year
In attack mode early and often, Peralta delivered not only one of his top performances of the season to date but also one of his biggest statements.
With a loud grunt, Peralta unleashed what would be his final offering of the night on pitch No. 98 and induced a tapper back to the mound off the bat of Dodgers center fielder Andy Pages. As Peralta flipped the ball to first for the out, he let out another yell and pounded his chest, six innings of shutout work against the National League's best offense complete.
Peralta walked only one and scattered five hits while striking out seven, delivering his third start of at least six shutout innings.
Peralta lowered his season earned run average to 2.74, eight-best in the NL. He also ranks 10th with 111 strikeouts.
Christian Yelich tacks on
For good measure, Christian Yelich ballooned the Brewers' lead to 9-0 with a two-run shot to left in the seventh inning.
The homer, which came off right-hander Julian Fernandez, was Yelich's 18th of the year, putting him within two more swings of his first 20-homer campaign since 2019.
Two more insurance runs against the Dodgers bullpen
You can never have enough runs when Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Will Smith are on the other side. The Brewers made good on that in the fifth by scrapping together a two-out rally against Dodgers reliever Will Klein.
With two outs and one on, Vaughn drew a walk and Isaac Collins singled to load the bases, setting up Brice Turang to rope a 100.1 mph rocket to left for a two-run single that pushed the lead to 7-0.
Andrew Vaughn's first Brewers at-bat is one to remember
With the team from Tinsel town in the building, the script for Andrew Vaughn couldn't have been written much better.
Acquired from the White Sox via trade earlier in the month and called up to make his Brewers debut before the game, Vaughn stepped to the plate with two on and two outs in the first inning and capped his first at-bat with Milwaukee by crushing a 407-foot blast to left field.
Vaughn struggled mightily in his time with the White Sox this year before being sent over to the Brewers for starting pitcher Aaron Civale, who requested a trade when he was bumped from the rotation.
Rhys Hoskins placed on injured list with sprained left thumb
Vaughn was called up from Class AAA Nashville prior to the game July 7 as Rhys Hoskins hit the injured list with a sprained left thumb.
Vaughn's previous struggles went out the window with one swing against Dodgers right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto, a National League all-star selection, who didn't make it out of the first inning after throwing 41 pitches.
Brewers pad their lead in first inning
Milwaukee pushed its lead to 4-0 on pitch No. 37 thanks to some shoddy defense from a superstar. After Isaac Collins singled and Brice Turang walked, Caleb Durbin rolled a lazy grounder to shortstop, but Mookie Betts' throw was short and first baseman Freddie Freeman couldn't pick it, leading to a ricochet that allowed Collins to scamper home from second.
Andruw Monasterio followed by dumping a blooper into right to push the lead to five and spur Dave Roberts out of the Dodgers dugout and to the mound to take the ball from his ace righty, who entered the day with a 2.51 ERA.
What time is the Brewers game today?
Time: 6:40 p.m. CT.
What channel is the Brewers game on today?
TV channel: FanDuel Sports Wisconsin.
Brewers lineup
- Sal Frelick RF
- William Contreras C
- Jackson Chourio CF
- Christian Yelich DH
- Andrew Vaughn 1B
- Isaac Collins LF
- Brice Turang 2B
- Caleb Durbin 3B
- Andruw Monasterio SS
Dodgers lineup
- Shohei Ohtani DH
- Mookie Betts SS
- Freddie Freeman 1B
- Will Smith C
- Andy Pages CF
- Michael Conforto LF
- Hye-Seong Kim 2B
- Miguel Rojas 3B
- James Outman
Brewers schedule
Brewers vs. Dodgers, 6:40 p.m. July 8. Milwaukee RHP Jacob Misiorowski (3-1, 3.20) vs. Los Angeles LHP Clayton Kershaw (4-0, 3.43) TV – FanDuel Sports Wisconsin/TBS. Radio – AM-620 WTMJ.
Brewers vs. Dodgers, 1:10 p.m. July 9. Milwaukee LHP José Quintana (6-3, 3.44) vs. Los Angeles RHP Dustin May (5-5, 4.52) TV – FanDuel Sports Wisconsin. Radio – AM-620 WTMJ.
Off day July 10.
