Machado makes his Dodgers debut in win over Brewers

MILWAUKEE — By the time Manny Machado made the first out of his Los Angeles Dodgers career, his new team was three outs from victory, with an All-Star closer waiting to deliver. By the time Kenley Jansen did deliver, the Dodgers’ giddiness in fortifying their roster with an All-Star shortstop had been tempered by the renewed realization they must fortify Jansen’s supporting cast.

It would be a cliche to say Machado’s Dodgers debut went according to script, and besides any good script would have had him hitting a home run. He did not do that, but he did reach base in four of five plate appearances.

He neither scored nor drove in a run. He singled twice and walked twice. He was booed every time up, since the home team tried to trade for him and the home fans were unhappy to see him traded to the visiting team.

But his team won. Enrique Hernandez hit a three-run home run for insurance in the ninth inning, Rich Hill delivered six innings of onerun ball, and the Dodgers opened the second half of the season with a 6-4 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.

Machado, who was liberated from the lastplace Baltimore Orioles in the trade to the Dodgers, won a game as a visiting player for the first time since June 23. This truly was the first day of the rest of his life.

“I finally got traded,” he said. “Everything was behind me now. I was able to put on a new uniform today for the first time, and it felt beyond great. “That blue looks pretty good on me.” The Dodgers had a fully-rested bullpen coming out of the All-Star break, and they were determined to use it. In the kind of slow-playing strategy that infuriates the commissioner, the Dodgers used a different reliever to face four consecutive batters in the eighth inning, with a 3-2 lead.