Although the Dodgers could have secured a series victory against the Brewers with a win in Thursday’s finale, they came up on the short end of a 5-3 loss, resulting in a 2-2 series split.
Lefty Andrew Heaney got the start for Los Angeles, and although he looked good at times — as shown by his impressive 10 strikeouts — he was still unable to last through five full innings of work.
Heaney ended up throwing 89 pitches over 4-2/3 frames, surrendering five runs — three of which were earned — on five hits and a walk. Three of those five hits were long balls, with two coming off the bat of veteran Andrew McCutcheon.
The bullpen quartet of Reyes Moronta, David Price, Phil Bickford and Alex Vesia threw shutout ball the rest of the way and were nearly perfect for the Dodgers, aside from a walk surrendered by Moronta and a double allowed by Bickford.
By the time the Dodgers got on the board in the sixth inning, the Brewers were already up 5-0.
Los Angeles scored all three of their runs in the sixth, spearheaded by Gavin Lux’s two run triple that plated both Freddie Freeman and Will Smith.
Cody Bellinger made his return to the lineup after a two-game hiatus, starting in centerfield and batting ninth. He went 0-for-4 with three punchouts, as his season average dropped to a paltry .204.
After experiencing a bit of a hot streak lately, Max Muncy also cooled off on Thursday by going 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts.
Former Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes picked up the win for Milwaukee, throwing just 5-2/3 innings and surrendering three earned runs on six hits and a walk. The righty improved his record to 9-5. Milwaukee’s Devin Williams was credited with his eighth save.
Up next for the Dodgers is a homestand beginning with a three-game set against the Marlins, who currently sit in fourth place in the NL Central, trailing the Mets by 24 games.
One of the big news stories will be the return of righty pitcher Dustin May, as he’s scheduled to start the middle game on Saturday. Lefty Tyler Anderson gets the start in the opener.
After the Marlins leave town, the Dodgers will have another shot at the Brewers, who will arrive at Dodger Stadium for a three-game series beginning Monday.
Think Blue Planning Committee 
Since White is gone and Price is becoming a very attractive short solution out of the bullpen, we’re left needing a long man. Seems to me that Heaney might just be that guy.
I don’t expect to see Miller or Stone here this year because of the 40-man roster contortions it would create. It’s going to be hard enough making room for the guys coming back from the 60-day IL.
Speaking of hot shot pitching prospects, here’s another name to keep track of: Nick Nastrini.
Drafted out of UCLA last year, he did very well at Great Lakes and tonight he made his debut at Tulsa.
He went 6.1 innings before allowing a hit. That hit was a homer and his final line in 6.2 innings was 1 run, 1 hit, 2 walks, 8 k’s.
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Jeff: I’ve seen Nastrini pitch twice in Midland. He didn’t impress or unimpress. Sort of a mixed bag guy here. He was a fixture in the rotation all season so the Dodgers wanted to get a full look. Didn’t give up many hits, but walked quite a few. But overall his WHIP was good. Led the team in hit batters. Few hits given up may have been from batters thinking ‘I’ll either walk or get hit, so hang loose in the batter’s box?’ [laughing]
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I think the word on Nastrini since the beginning was that if he could ever harness command, he could be something special. He’s always walked too many and at one point in his collegiate career he was a total mess.
That said, apparently the Dodgers decided to take the risk that they could fix him and this year, for the most part, it seems as though they’ve made progress. I don’t think anyone has ever questioned his upside, but a lot of people didn’t think he’d ever reach it.
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Ozuna arrested for a DUI. Guy is an idiot. Braves talking extension with Swanson. Dodgers have Pepiot penciled in for Sunday’s game with Alcantara, the Marlins ace scheduled to pitch that day.
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