Aguilar snaps slump at perfect time
MILWAUKEE — Jesus Aguilar’s lack of production in big spots had frustrated him in this NLCS, but he compensated with a breakout game Friday. “They’ve been throwing me away, and I just tried to go that way,” Aguilar said after going 3-for-4 with three RBIs — all his hits were to right field — in the Brewers’ 7-2 victory over the Dodgers in Game 6. Aguilar entered 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position in the series before delivering a two-run double in the first inning. He also doubled in the seventh and scored on a wild pitch before stroking an RBI single in the eighth.
His first-inning double resonated the loudest.
“You couldn’t describe it as any bigger,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “It lifted the roof off the place and the first inning was loud from then on. The rest of the game, whenever we got in a scoring situation it got really loud and I thought it helped us.”
➤ Dodgers manager Dave Roberts opted to preserve his bullpen for a possible Game 7 rather than remove Hyun-Jin Ryu in the first or second inning with the lefty struggling. Ryu allowed five earned runs over three innings.
“There’s the thought of trying to go to your pen in the first inning or the second inning, but there’s a significant cost potentially for a potential Game 7,” Roberts said. “I just felt we need to keep our highest leverage guys available for a potential Game 7.”
➤ Mike Moustakas reached two straight World Series with the Royals — winning against the Mets in 2015 — and is now within a victory of returning to the event with the Brewers. He says he is thrilled to have the opportunity in another small market.
“The small-market atmosphere is more personable,” he said. “It’s fun to come out and enjoy this with the fans with this electric crowd. It’s very similar with Kansas City in that way.
“I’ve only been here for a couple of months. The fan base has been here for however long. That’s the way we looked at it in Kansas City. We’re here just to help to get to the World Series and win it.”