LOS ANGELES_The confidence and swagger that a high-powered Los Angeles Dodgers offense generated during a torrid start has disappeared. In its place is the confusion and mounting frustration of a losing streak that grew to six games Saturday night.
The Dodgers had few answers for the riddle that was Milwaukee starter Zach Davies, who relied primarily on a two-seam fastball that never topped 90 mph and an 80-mph changeup to stifle the Dodgers for seven innings of a 4-1 Brewers victory in front of a sellout crowd of 53,922 in Dodger Stadium.
Davies gave up one run and eight hits, struck out six batters and did not walk any, his only mistake a hanging curveball that Cody Bellinger hit for a home run in the fourth inning. The infield backed Davies with three inning-ending double plays. The Dodgers had only two at-bats with runners in scoring position.
Davies (2-0) retired the final eight batters he faced, and reliever Junior Guerra retired six in a row in the eighth and ninth innings for the save. The Dodgers, who were 8-2 to open the season, fell to 8-8 and lost six games in a row for the first time since a six-game losing streak May 10-16.
Bellinger seemed to awaken a slumbering offense with his National League-leading ninth home run, a towering drive to right that traveled 409 feet, reached 105 feet at its apex and pulled the Dodgers to within 2-1 with one out in the fourth.
Enrique Hernandez followed with a single to left field and took third base on Chris Taylor's two-out single to right. Taylor stole second but Austin Barnes struck out looking at a full-count fastball.
The Dodgers were so furious with umpire Jeremie Rehak's inning-ending call that catcher Russell Martin, who is on the 10-day injured list, was ejected for voicing his displeasure.
Milwaukee extended its lead to 4-1 in the fifth after Yasmani Grandal was hit by a pitch, Mike Moustakas singled to right and Jesus Aguilar walked to load the bases with no outs against reliever Dennis Santana.
Travis Shaw lined a two-run single off the glove of leaping first baseman Max Muncy. Roberts replaced Santana with Yimi Garcia, the right-hander who had an 11.12 earned-run average in his first seven games. Garcia escaped the jam by striking out Orlando Arcia and Davies, and getting Lorenzo Cain to fly out.
Opting to fill the injured Hyun-Jin Ryu's rotation spot with a bullpen game, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said his "best-case scenario" would be for starter Caleb Ferguson to throw three innings and 45 pitches.
The left-hander nearly came in under budget when he got the second out of the third inning with his 41st pitch, but Ferguson couldn't put away Grandal, who doubled beyond the reach of center fielder A.J. Pollock, and Moustakas, who walked.
Roberts pulled Ferguson, his pitch-count at 51, for Santana, who threw a wild pitch and walked Aguilar to load the bases. But Santana fooled Shaw with a 2-and-2 changeup for an inning-ending strikeout that preserved a 1-0 deficit.
Santana tried the same pitch on the same count to Arcia to open the fourth. The shortstop lined it into the left-field pavilion for his third home run.
Ferguson threw 11 pitches in a scoreless first inning and 25 in a one-run second in which Moustakas, the former Chatsworth High standout, led off with a home run to center, his fifth.
