Grandal, Dodgers top Brewers 3 1

The 26-year-old Puig has frustrated the Dodgers with his behaviour in the past, but he is thriving this season with 23 homers and a growing family that has seemingly centred him. (Wikimedia Commons, Fair use)

LOS ANGELES— It’s a baby boy for Yasiel Puig, and another victory for the major league-leading Los Angeles Dodgers.

Puig homered, Yasmani Grandal hit a tiebreaking RBI single in the fifth and Los Angeles beat the Milwaukee Brewers 3-1 on Friday night.

Grandal drove in Justin Turner with a single to centre against Chase Anderson (7-3). The switch hitter has four RBIs in his last three games.

Puig tacked on a solo drive in the sixth, part of a nice day for the Cuban slugger. Puig took the field with his expecting girlfriend for a gender reveal before the game, sending blue powder into the air with one big swing at Dodger Stadium.

The 26-year-old Puig has frustrated the Dodgers with his behaviour in the past, but he is thriving this season with 23 homers and a growing family that has seemingly centred him.

“I think it has a lot to do with it,” manager Dave Roberts said. “He has someone else to be accountable to, being a role model and having that responsibility and he’s even said that. He said it’s changed his life for the better.”

Domingo Santana hit his 21st homer for Milwaukee, which has dropped three of four. Anderson allowed six hits and struck out six in five innings.

The Brewers stayed three games back of NL Central-leading Chicago, which lost 7-1 at Philadelphia.

Santana connected against Kenta Maeda (12-5) in the second, but that was Milwaukee’s only hit of the night. Maeda struck out seven in six innings.

“He kept getting strike one on us, so he did a nice job of getting ahead on the count,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “I thought that was why he was really effective. We were behind in the count and never really working from a good count to get a good spot to sit on something. We were always working from behind in the count, and that’s good pitching.”

Tony Cingrani and Josh Ravin each got three outs before Kenley Jansen finished for his 35th save.

Forsythe tied it at 1 with his fourth homer in the fourth inning.

“I feel like I made only one bad pitch,” Anderson said. “That was the one to Forsythe.”

MAEDA’S DAY

Maeda, whose fastball was consistently in the mid-90s, was aggressive. Early in the season, he struggled to find a rhythm, but he has been particularly efficient recently.

“I think I was falling behind a lot the first half of the season,” Maeda said through a translator. “I tried to get easy outs and make sure that I throw strikes.”

ROLLING

Dodgers star Corey Seager continued his 13-game hitting streak continued with two singles.

PLAYERS WEEKEND

Both teams had some fun on the opening of the majors’ Players Weekend. Jansen used “Kenleyfornia” for his nickname on the back of his jersey. Grandal went by his initials of “YRG” to honour his child who is due in November.

“Awesome,” Jansen said of the jersey. “The fans gave me that name, so I keep rocking it.”

TRAINERS ROOM

Brewers: INF Travis Shaw (foot, shin) was back in the lineup after an MRI Thursday was negative. … LHP Brent Suter (left rotator cuff strain) is expected to be ready by Sept. 1.

Dodgers: LHP Grant Dayton (elbow) will have Tommy John surgery on Tuesday. Dr. Neal ElAttrache is scheduled to perform the surgery. He felt a pop on his last pitch in a bullpen session for Triple-A Oklahoma City in Tulsa. … INF Cody Bellinger (ankle) ran at 80 per cent, hit and took batting practice. He said he tried to get used to the tape on his ankle.

UP NEXT

Brewers: RHP Zach Davies (14-7, 4.09 ERA) allowed two runs in six innings in his last start at San Francisco, a Brewers loss.

Dodgers: RHP Ross Stripling (3-4, 3.41 ERA) is making a spot start in what will be a bullpen day for the Dodgers. He has not thrown more than three innings in a game as a long reliever and will make his first start of the season.