Max Muncy's X-Rays negative as Dodgers fall to Brewers

MILWAUKEE — The Dodgers walked into American Family Field on Friday night and got punched in the mouth early. By the end of a 5-1 loss to the Brewers, though, the final score almost felt secondary to the sight of Max Muncy walking off the field holding his right wrist.

The good news, at least initially, is that Muncy’s X-rays came back negative. Dave Roberts said postgame that Muncy is dealing with swelling and will likely be down for the next couple of days, but the Dodgers are hopeful the injury is not serious. Considering the way Muncy has played this season, the organization can only hope those early signs hold true.

"It is a relief. We just gotta monitor the next couple days. Typically, especially in that area, the X-rays never come back positive immediately." Muncy said.

Because this version of Muncy has become indispensable.

Muncy on his injury: "We just gotta monitor the next couple days. I'm pretty sure it hit half my wrist pad and half my wrist."

Muncy entered Friday leading the Dodgers with 12 home runs while posting a .258/.363/.515 slash line, an .878 OPS, and a 147 wRC+.

The injury happened during another frustrating offensive night for the Dodgers, which managed just three hits against the Brewers. 

Muncy was hit on the inside of the right wrist by a pitch and exited shortly afterward, immediately creating concern in the Dodgers dugout.

At that point, the damage on the scoreboard had already been done.

The Brewers ambushed Justin Wrobleski from the opening pitch. Three batters into the game, Milwaukee already owned a 3-0 lead after consecutive singles set up a towering William Contreras home run. By the time Wrobleski escaped the first inning, the Brewers had sent the entire lineup to the plate, collecting six hits, drawing a walk, and forcing the left-hander to throw 38 pitches.

It could have unraveled completely.

Wrobleski loaded the bases later in the inning but struck out Jackson Chourio to finally stop the bleeding. Milwaukee added another run in the second when Andrew Vaughn doubled home Contreras to make it 5-0.

And yet, somehow, Wrobleski stabilized.

That mattered.

Wrobleski battled through five innings despite needing 61 pitches to survive the first two innings. He ultimately allowed five runs on eight hits with two walks and four strikeouts across 100 pitches. It was hardly a clean outing, but there was value in him absorbing five innings after such a brutal start, especially for a Dodgers bullpen that has quietly become one of the club’s biggest strengths.

After Wrobleski exited, Paul Gervase and Jonathan Hernández combined to keep Milwaukee scoreless the rest of the way. Hernández, making his Dodgers debut after signing just days ago, delivered a perfect eighth inning. The Dodgers bullpen has now thrown 32 consecutive scoreless innings.

That streak has become one of the few constants keeping the Dodgers afloat during uneven stretches.

The offense, meanwhile, never found traction against Logan Henderson. The Brewers right-hander carried a no-hit bid into the fourth inning before Shohei Ohtani finally lined a single to center. Ohtani has now reached base safely in 22 of his last 36 at-bats, continuing to look increasingly locked in at the plate since Robert decided to rest Ohtani for two days before the freeway series last week.

The Dodgers’ best scoring opportunity came immediately after that hit. They loaded the bases with two outs in the fourth but failed to capitalize when Kyle Tucker and Muncy each popped out in the infield.

That sequence summed up the night.

Teoscar Hernández and Dalton Rushing opened the seventh with back-to-back singles before Ohtani lifted a sacrifice fly for the Dodgers’ only run. Rushing’s hit also snapped an 0-for-19 skid.

But there would be no comeback this time.

A loss in May can be forgotten quickly. Losing Muncy for any significant stretch would not be so easy to overcome. Now the Dodgers wait and hope the negative X-ray tells the real story.