Brewers' Alec Bettinger Ties MLB Record by Allowing 11 Runs in Debut vs. Dodgers

Things are going fairly well for the Milwaukee Brewers this season considering they are in first place in the National League Central at 17-11, but nothing went well during Sunday's 16-4 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Not only did the Brewers lose by 12 runs, pitcher Alec Bettinger tied Major League Baseball's all-time record by allowing 11 earned runs during a debut performance, per Adam McCalvy of MLB.com.

Chicago White Sox pitcher Arnie Munoz also allowed 11 runs during a June 2004 start against the Montreal Expos.

The Brewers right-hander allowed the 11 earned runs, 11 hits and two walks over the course of four innings.

McCalvy explained manager Craig Counsell left him in that long in part because the team is dealing with a handful of injuries and is in the middle of a stretch of playing 17 games in as many days. Taking him out earlier would have put undue stress on the bullpen during a game that was essentially decided in the first two innings.

AJ Pollock hit a grand slam in the first, while Matt Beaty launched a grand slam in the second.

That made Bettinger, who also allowed RBI singles to Beaty in the first and fourth innings, the first pitcher in the modern era to give up multiple grand slams in a debut.

"I've been punched in the mouth plenty of times in this game," Bettinger said. "This game is going to humble you many, many times. Anybody who's played it for as long as we have here knows that. I'm just going to keep pushing forward. That's all I can do at this point."

Sunday was a disappointing development for the Brewers, but they still took three of four against the defending World Series champions and have remained in first place with Christian Yelich, Lorenzo Cain and Corbin Burnes all sidelined by injuries.

Next up is a four-game series at the Philadelphia Phillies that starts Monday.