Eric Lauer's usual mastery of the Dodgers missing as Brewers' modest win streak is ended

Longtime Dodger killer Eric Lauer was missing his mojo on Tuesday night.

The left-hander surrendered a leadoff home run to Mookie Betts and never managed to get on track after that as the Milwaukee Brewers saw their modest two-game winning streak snapped by a 6-2 setback to Los Angeles at American Family Field.

Lauer logged his second-shortest start of the season at only 3⅔ innings, and after putting up nine runs in Monday's victory the offense wasn't able to pick up the slack behind him with solo homers in the seventh by Rowdy Tellez and Victor Caratini accounting for the Brewers' lone tallies against a cavalcade of eight Dodger pitchers.

Box score: Dodgers 6, Brewers 2

The first inning was an odd one for both teams.

For the Brewers, Lauer – who entered with a 7-1 record and 2.37 ERA in 11 career starts against them – surrendered a homer to Betts two pitches in.

Then Lauer walked Freddie Freeman who went on to steal second and advance to third on an errant pickoff throw. Will Smith's sacrifice fly to center scored Freeman one batter later, and it was at that point Lauer was visited on the mound by manager Craig Counsell and head athletic trainer Scott Barringer.

Lauer suffered a cracked fingernail on the middle finger of his left hand two starts prior to Tuesday but it was unclear if it was bothering him in this one.

He remained in the game after a brief meeting and kept the damage to two runs.

Less than 2 minutes later, Dodgers starter Noah Syndergaard was escorted off the mound by a member of the training staff for what appeared to be a large blister on his right index finger.

While leadoff man Christian Yelich stood just outside the batter's box and waited, Syndergaard left the field for a brief time before ultimately returning.

Yelich then greeted him with a leadoff single and Jesse Winker followed with a walk.

But Chris Taylor made a leaping grab near the wall in left field to rob Willy Adames of likely extra bases and Rowdy Tellez grounded into a 4-6-3 double play to extinguish the budding rally.

Los Angeles tacked on a run in the second when James Outman doubled with one out and scored on a two-out single to right by Miguel Rojas but Syndergaard was lifted in favor of Phil Bickford before he could take the mound for the bottom of the inning.

Smith's solo homer off Lauer in the third made it 4-0.

Lauer (3-4) got to within an out of completing the fourth inning but walked Trayce Thompson and was lifted at that point by manager Craig Counsell. His 3⅔-inning start was his shortest ever against the Dodgers and his 67 pitches were easily a season low.

Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts utilized his bullpen liberally the rest of the night, and to great effect with one reliever after another putting up zeroes.

In fact, after Winker's walk in the first only one of the next 18 Milwaukee batters reached base, Tyrone Taylor on a leadoff single in the third.

The Dodgers gave themselves more breathing room in the sixth when Miguel Vargas cracked a two-run homer off Bryse Wilson.

Solo homers by Tellez and Caratini in the seventh off Shelby Miller finally got the Brewers onto the scoreboard but the offense was unable to generate any more runs from there.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brewers' Eric Lauer, offense struggle vs. Dodgers in 6-2 loss