After Dodgers 7-2 loss, a decisive Game 7 awaits

MILWAUKEE – In the middle of the 8th inning on Friday, as the fans at Miller Park brayed invective at Manny Machado and flapped yellow towels to celebrate an impending 7-2 Brewers victory in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series, an act occurred which could cost the Dodgers the pennant: A reliever sat down.

A night off for a relief pitcher rarely has long-ranging consequences. But Josh Hader, Milwaukee’s left-handed All-star, is far from an ordinary reliever. He is a multi-inning demon, a pitcher who had logged three innings in Game 1, made a pair of scoreless appearances afterwards and nearly struck out half the Dodgers he faced in the process.

When the Dodgers failed to stress reliever Corbin Burnes in the eighth, Hader ceased warming up. Granted three days of rest, his number will be called on Saturday, in Game 7 at Miller Park. Dumped into a first-inning hole by Hyun-jin Ryu on Friday, the Dodgers could not stress the Milwaukee pitching staff enough to force Hader into the game. They could pay the price for their feeble hitting.

Ryu awakened the Miller Park crowd, which had been He lasted only three innings, giving up four runs in the first inning and five in all. Kenta Maeda was charged two runs in relief. One scored on a wild pitch, the other when Rich Hill gave up an eighth-inning single.

The output from Ryu in this series cannot match the twostart cataclysm committed by Yu Darvish in last year’s World Series. But it could reside in a similar strata in Dodgers lore, if the Brewers win on Saturday. In two appearances at Miller Park, Ryu completed 7 1/3 innings and surrendered eight runs. In Game 6, he allowed a moribund Brewers offense to tee off and awaken their crowd.

Before the game, manager Dave Roberts toggled his lineup so David Freese, a 35-year-old first baseman with eight stolen bases in his career, would lead off. The switch guaranteed Freese, a right-handed batter, would face left-handed starter Wade Miley.

Freese kept his balance when Miley tried a 2-2 changeup. The pitch drifted over the plate, and Freese ripped it into the rightcenter gap, where it crested over the fence for a leadoff homer. Unlike Game 5, Miley lasted longer than one batter. He managed to retire the side after Freese went deep.

Ryu could not protect the lead. The Brewers peppered him with contact. After a leadoff single by outfielder Lorenzo