Yelich, Perkins power Brewers to 9-2 victory over Dodgers and avoid being swept in weekend series

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Christian Yelich and Blake Perkins both homered, had three hits and drove in three runs as the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 9-2 Sunday to snap a seven-game losing streak at Dodger Stadium.

Eric Haase had a two-run homer in the fifth inning for the Brewers, who avoided a sweep in the weekend matchup of National League division leaders and are one of three teams in the majors not to have a losing streak of at least four games this season.

“Yelich rose to the occasion when we needed him. Perkins was unbelievable too. Great effort by our guys,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said.

Yelich started the scoring with a two-run homer in the fourth inning off Dodgers' starter Justin Wrobleski (0-1), who was making his major league debut. It was the second straight game Yelich had gone deep to center. He added an RBI double in the ninth inning.

“It’s good to win, especially on getaway day. We had two tough losses,” Yelich said.

Yelich, voted in as one of the NL’s starting outfielders for the July 16 All-Star Game, batted .393 (11 for 28) with three homers and five RBIs during the Brewers’ six-game road trip.

“I have no idea what any of my stats are. The home runs are probably the only one I know. I don't look at them because they change so much throughout the year," he said. "You just try to keep contributing to wins and stack them.”

Perkins had a solo shot in the seventh inning and then drove in two runs when his base hit with the bases loaded just got by Dodgers' third baseman Kiké Hernández and into left field.

Jakob Junis (1-0) got the win. The right-hander allowed two runs in 2 2/3 innings after he replaced starter Dallas Keuchel, who didn't allow a run in 4 1/3 innings. Keuchel gave up three hits and walked five.

Chris Taylor supplied the Dodgers' runs with a two-run shot in the seventh inning. Los Angeles ended up going deep eight times in the series.

Despite the loss, the Dodgers (55-36) are two games in front of the Brewers (53-38) for the second-best record in the NL. Los Angeles heads to Philadelphia — which has the majors best record at 58-32 — for a three-game series beginning Tuesday.

Shohei Ohtani stole a pair of bases. With 28 home runs and 20 stolen bases, he joins Davey Lopes (1979) and Matt Kemp (2011) as the only Dodgers player to reach the 20-20 mark before the All-Star break.

Wrobleski faced the minimum through three innings before running into trouble. The lefty allowed four runs on five hits in five innings with two walks and four strikeouts.

“I felt pretty comfortable out there. I thought I was gonna be pretty nervous, but I don’t know, like any other game. Felt normal, felt like I belong, so it was a lot of fun," Wrobleski said.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Wrobleski would be heading back to the minors after Sunday's start, but added they will see him again soon.

“I’m really, really impressed with the way he carries himself, the way he cared himself today. I know his stuff plays here," Roberts said. "He left the slider, sweeper to Yelich. The Haase at-bat, I think he just left a fastball up and out over. But all things taken into consideration, I thought he did a really nice job.”

TRAINER'S ROOM

Brewers: RHP Devin Williams (back stress fractures) will throw a live batting practice before Tuesday's game.

Dodgers: LHP Clayton Kershaw (left shoulder surgery) could make a rehab start on Saturday after throwing two innings in a simulated game. ... RHP Joe Kelly (right posterior shoulder) hit two batters in his one inning of work in a simulated game.

UP NEXT

Brewers: Face Pittsburgh on Tuesday to start a six-game homestand. RHP Colin Rea (8-2, 3.34 ERA) is 5-0 in his last eight games, including six starts.

Dodgers: RHP Bobby Miller (1-1, 6.12 ERA) will take the mound against the Phillies on Tuesday.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Kiké Hernández dives for a ball hit for an RBI single by Milwaukee Brewers' Blake Perkins during the eighth inning of a baseball game Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Milwaukee Brewers' Eric Haase, left, scores on a double by Christian Yelich as Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith misses the throw during the ninth inning of a baseball game Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Milwaukee Brewers' Blake Perkins, left, celebrates with Willy Adames, center, and Garrett Mitchell after the Brewers defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 9-2 in a baseball game Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Justin Wrobleski throws to the plate during the second inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Dallas Keuchel throws to the plate during the second inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Milwaukee Brewers' Jackson Chourio, right, waits to congratulate Christian Yelich after Yelich hit a two-run home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani, right, steals second as Milwaukee Brewers shortstop Willy Adames stands by during the third inning of a baseball game Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, has a discussion with home plate umpire Vic Carapazza after Will Smith was called out for interference with the catcher during the third inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Milwaukee Brewers' Rhys Hoskins, right, is tagged out by Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Chris Taylor as he tries to take second on a runner's fielder's choice during the first inning of a baseball game Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani, below, slides into second in an attempt to steal as Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Brice Turang jumps over him during the third inning of a baseball game Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Los Angeles. Shohei Ohtani was called back to first on the play after batter Will Smith interfered with the catcher. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Milwaukee Brewers' Jackson Chourio, left, waits to congratulate Christian Yelich after Yelich hit a two-run home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Milwaukee Brewers' Christian Yelich, left, heads to first for a two-run home run as Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Justin Wrobleski watches during the fourth inning of a baseball game Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

An Israeli airstrike hit a mosque in central Gaza and Palestinian officials said at least 19 people were killed early Sunday. Israeli planes also lit up the skyline across the southern suburbs of Beirut, striking what the military said were Hezbollah targets.

The strike in Gaza hit a mosque where displaced people were sheltering near the main hospital in the central town of Deir al-Balah. Another four people were killed in a strike on a school sheltering displaced people near the town.

The Israeli military said both strikes targeted militants, without providing evidence.

An Associated Press journalist counted the bodies at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital morgue. Hospital records showed that the dead from the strike on the mosque were all men, while another man was wounded.

In Beirut, the strikes reportedly targeted a building near a road leading to Lebanon’s only international airport and another formerly used by the Hezbollah-run broadcaster Al-Manar.

Israel and Hezbollah have traded fire across the Lebanon border almost daily since the day after Hamas’ cross-border attack on Oct. 7, 2023, which killed 1,200 Israelis and took 250 others hostage. Israel declared war on the Hamas militant group in the Gaza Strip in response. As the Israel-Hamas war reaches the one-year mark, nearly 42,000 Palestinians have been killed in the territory, and just over half the dead have been women and children, according to local health officials.

Nearly 2,000 people have been killed in Lebanon in the latest conflict, most of them since Sept. 23, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

Here is the latest:

BEIRUT — The southern suburbs of Beirut were hit by more than 30 strikes overnight, the heaviest bombardment since Sept. 23, when Israel began a significant escalation in its air campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported Sunday.

The targets included a gas station on the main highway leading to the Beirut airport and a warehouse for medical supplies, the agency said.

Some of the overnight strikes set off a long series of explosions, suggesting that ammunition stores may have been hit.

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron called for “a halt to arms exports for use in Gaza,” saying it's urgent to avoid escalating tensions in the region, his office said.

Macron drew strong criticism from Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by saying "the priority is … that we stop delivering weapons to fight in Gaza.” He made the comments in an interview with France Inter radio, which was recorded on Tuesday and aired Saturday.

France doesn’t deliver any weapons to Israel, Macron said.

Netanyahu released a video statement in which he called out the French president by name and referred to such calls as a “disgrace.”

In a statement, Macron’s office said “France is Israel’s unfailing friend. Mr. Netanyahu’s words are excessive and irrelevant to the friendship between France and Israel.”

“We must return to diplomatic solutions,” it added.

The statement also said that Macron had demonstrated his commitment to Israel's security when France mobilized its military resources in response to the Iranian attack. French authorities did not provided details about France’s role.

Macron has called for an immediate cease-fire in both Gaza and Lebanon.

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — An apparent Israeli airstrike early Sunday killed at least 18 people in central Gaza, Palestinian medical officials said.

The strike hit a mosque sheltering displaced people near the al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in the town of Deir al-Balah, the hospital said in a statement.

An Associated Press journalist counted the bodies at the hospital morgue. Hospital records showed that the dead were all men. Another two men were critically wounded, the hospital said.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment about the strike on the mosque.

The latest strikes add to the mounting Palestinian death toll in Gaza, which is now nearing 42,000 according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and militant deaths, but many of the dead were women and children.

BEIRUT — Powerful new explosions rocked Beirut’s southern suburbs late Saturday as Israel expanded its bombardment in Lebanon, also striking a Palestinian refugee camp deep in the north for the first time as it targeted both Hezbollah and Hamas fighters.

Thousands of people in Lebanon, including Palestinian refugees, continued to flee the widening conflict in the region, while rallies were held around the world marking the approaching anniversary of the start of the war in Gaza.

The strong explosions began near midnight after Israel’s military urged residents to evacuate areas in Beirut’s Haret Hreik and Choueifat neighborhoods. AP video showed the blasts illuminating the densely populated southern suburbs, where Hezbollah has a strong presence. They followed a day of sporadic strikes and the nearly continuous buzz of reconnaissance drones.

Israel’s military confirmed it was striking targets near Beirut and said about 30 projectiles had crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory.

A man checks the site of an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Emergency workers inspect a building that was hit in an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Israeli soldiers pray at a staging area in northern Israel, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)

An Israeli soldier prays at a staging area in northern Israel, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)

People check the site of an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Smoke rises from a destroyed building at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Mourners gather around the bodies of Palestinian men who were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)