Nathan Eovaldi pitched well enough to win in his 2012 Dodger debut, throwing six shutout innings after giving up a two-run homer to Ryan Braun in the first inning, and finishing with five baserunners allowed in seven frames.
But in his first start of 2012, Michael Fiers pitched a little better, allowing only one run on five baserunners in seven innings.
That left the Dodgers trailing 2-1 in the bottom of the ninth, which began with newly activated Matt Kemp lacing a double to left-center against Milwaukee closer John Axford to end a nine-pitch at-bat. Axford hit Andre Ethier (2 for 3 with an RBI double) with the next pitch.
In a way, though, hitting Ethier was like a well-placed intentional walk. Jerry Hairston Jr. tried to bunt, went to two strikes, then hit into a double play. With A.J. Ellis on deck, the Brewers smartly went after James Loney, who grounded out to end the game.
Fiers (89 pitches) and Eovaldi (90) maintained a quick pace in a game that was in the eighth inning when it hit the two-hour mark.