Brewers rally to make Craig Counsell winner over Dodgers, 4-3

Craig Counsell must be wondering what the big deal is about managing.

Counsell took over a Milwaukee Brewers team Monday that had started a baseball-worst 7-18 under Ron Roenicke. Then the Brewers fell behind 3-0 to the Dodgers and National League MVP Clayton Kershaw.

And then the Brewers won.

They rallied with three runs in the eighth inning to stun Kershaw and the Dodgers, winning 4-3 at Miller Park to end the Dodgers’ four-game winning streak.

The Dodgers got off to the right kind of start. Rookie Joc Pederson, back in the leadoff spot, opened the game with a solo home run off Milwaukee right-hander Kyle Lohse.

For Pederson, it was his seventh home run of the season, second on the team to Adrian Gonzalez’s eight. It was his fourth homer in five games.

The Dodgers added two more in the fourth. Gonzalez walked -- for one of three times; he was also hit by a pitch -- and was singled to second by Andre Ethier. Yasmani Grandal singled with a drive to center that Carlos Gomez misjudged, allowing Gonzalez to score and Ethier to move to third base. Juan Uribe’s fly to Gomez scored Ethier.

And the Dodgers had a 3-0 lead and Kershaw on the mound. If they were feeling pretty good, soon they’d discover a very different sentiment.

Kershaw was pretty dominant through five innings -- he struck out his first four batters -- but the Brewers started coming back in the sixth, when they scored a run on back-to-back triples from shortstop Hector Gomez and Gerardo Parra.

Kershaw was still up 3-1 in the eighth when the game got away from the Dodgers. Rookie Hector Gomez pulled Milwaukee within one with the first home run of his career. Kershaw appeared to be laboring, and after he gave up a double to Adam Lind, fill-in manager Tim Wallach -- Manager Don Mattingly was ejected for arguing a call in the third -- went to reliever Chris Hatcher.

Carlos Gomez doubled to score Lind and tie it at 3-3. Gomez advanced to third on a Jason Rogers groundout. Hatcher then shattered Ryan Braun’s bat, but the little roller to Uribe at third became decisive. Uribe charged and fired to first, but Braun just beat the throw as Carlos Gomez scored the winning run.

The Dodgers challenged the play, but after viewing the replay, the call was upheld. Kershaw would not get his 100^th win, and the Dodgers’ bullpen had given up its first run since April 25.

Kershaw was charged with three runs in his 7 1/3 innings, allowing five hits without a walk, and striking out eight. Hatcher (0-3) took the loss.

Ex-Angel Francisco Rodriguez pitched a perfect ninth to earn the save for Milwaukee, and Counsell was undefeated as a manager.