Logan Henderson was grateful the Brewers didn’t trade him. Two weeks later, the Milwaukee club is grateful too. In a matchup against the left-handed ace the Brewers tried in vain to acquire ahead of the Trade Deadline — perhaps because they refused to part with Henderson in the deal — the 24-year-old Texan pitched a career-high seven innings while outdueling Tarik Skubal in Milwaukee’s 6-2 victory at Dodger Stadium.
Logan Henderson pitched seven one-run innings, while Jake Bauers went 4-for-4 with two RBIs to help the Milwaukee Brewers defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 on Sunday and take three of four games between the divisional leaders. Henderson (7-2) struck out six, allowed three hits and walked one in the longest outing of his two-year major league career. His performance helped Milwaukee secure the tiebreaker over Los Angeles.
The Brewers extended their lead over the Dodgers to three games in the race for the best record in the National League. The Brewers not only won the narrative, but they also took the four-game series 3-1 and, most critically, secured the head-to-head season series against each other 4-3. Why does this matter so much? Because the Brewers and Dodgers are among the teams vying for one of the top two spots in the National League, which grant a direct bye to the Division Series. And in the event of a tie, the head-to-head record serves as the first tiebreaker.
Jake Bauers and Aaron Ashby vs. the Dodgers
Jake Bauers led the offense by tying his career high with four hits and driving in two, while left-handed reliever Aaron Ashby followed up Saturday’s two-inning save with two crucial outs in the eighth inning by inducing a double-play grounder against Shohei Ohtani when he represented the tying run. Thus, the Brewers emerged from the rematch of last year’s lopsided NLCS with the best record in the majors at 77-48.
Bauers put Milwaukee ahead 2-1 in the fifth inning with an RBI single and responded again in the seventh frame with an RBI double to make it 3-1. Both times, Jackson Chourio was the one who crossed the plate. Bauers finished with four hits in four at-bats, the first time he has collected four hits in a single game without making an out.
It was just what they needed after being swept in San Diego to start this road trip, a series that included a Henderson start in which he pitched into the seventh inning for the first time in his major league career, only to let a 2-1 lead slip away after allowing a two-run homer. Sunday’s start against Los Angeles began in an eerily similar fashion, with Henderson holding the Dodgers to three hits — including a solo home run by Max Muncy — and finishing the sixth frame with a 2-1 lead. Just as happened six days earlier, his pitch count (69) was under control. And just like six days prior, a bullpen that has been carrying a heavy workload while Milwaukee employs a six-man rotation was depleted.
Tarik Skubal and the Dodgers
For the Dodgers, Tarik Skubal (7-7) allowed one earned run and seven hits in six innings, with two walks and seven strikeouts. He threw a career-high 109 pitches. Max Muncy and Andy Pages hit home runs, but the Dodgers were also hurt by two errors from Tommy Edman that turned into three runs for Milwaukee.
This time, Henderson delivered on the goal. The Brewers added two insurance runs in the top of the seventh inning on RBI hits by Bauers and Andrew Vaughn, and Henderson bounced back from a leadoff walk to retire Muncy, Mookie Betts and Kyle Tucker to throw a scoreless seventh inning for the first time since he pitched for McLennan Community College in Waco, Texas. He finished with one of the best pitching lines of his young career: seven innings, three hits, one earned run, one walk and six strikeouts on 93 pitches. In his first 17 career starts, he still has not allowed more than three runs in an outing. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, only one pitcher since 1893 has a longer streak of starts allowing three runs or fewer to begin a career, with no relief appearances mixed in: Zac Gallen, who had 23 such starts for the Diamondbacks from 2019 to 2020.
Pat Murphy on Logan Henderson
Brewers manager Pat Murphy stated that he did not want to lose Logan and did not care who it was for, adding that as long as he stays healthy, he will pitch for a long time.
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