It’s there if you look hard enough.

It’s not what you can really call a Silver Lining. It’s more of a Silver Sliver … a small bright spot to an otherwise dismal 6-5 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers in Game-1 of the 2018 National League Championship Series in front of a very spirited Miller Park crowd of 43,615.

It didn’t involve Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw, who uncharacteristically allowed five runs (four earned) on six hits – including a (then) game-tying solo home run to right-handed throwing and left-handed hitting Brewers reliever Brandon Woodruff on a 2-2 count (the first and only home run of his two-year MLB career), while walking two and striking out two.

It didn’t involve Dodgers shortstop Manny Machado, who briefly gave the Dodgers a 1-0 lead in the top half of the second inning with a solo home run to deep left-center field.

Machado’s solo home run in the top of the second gave the Dodgers their one – and only – lead of the night, which lasted all of one inning. (Video capture courtesy of FS1)

And it most certainly didn’t involve Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner, who inexplicably struck out in four of his five at-bats on the night, including for the final out of the game with the tying run on third base; or Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal, who committed two insanely huge errors and allowed two insanely huge passed balls … in the same inning.

No, the Silver Sliver of which I speak  involved Dodgers right-handed reliever Pedro Baez who, as recently as six weeks ago, every Dodger fan on the planet wanted to see burned at the stake, pitched a brilliant – absolutely brilliant – sixth inning.

In that camouflaged Silver Sliver inning, all the 30-year-old Bani, Dominican Republic native did was strikeout controversial Brewers reliever Josh Hader on three pitches, give up a one-out double to Brewers center fielder Lorenzo Cain, and then strikeout National League batting champion Christian Yelich and perennial Dodgers nemesis Ryan Braun, doing so on a grand total of 19 pitches, of which 13 were strikes.

There weren’t many Dodgers highlights in Friday night’s 6-5 loss in Game-1 of the 2018 NLCS, but it’s hard to argue that Pedro Baez striking out likely 2018 NL MVP Christian Yelich with a runner on second base wasn’t one of them. (Video capture courtesy of FS1)

Taking this Silver Sliver thing one step further and putting it into proper perspective, Baez had more strikeouts in his one inning of work than did Kershaw in his three. In fact, of the eight total Dodger punch outs by the six pitchers used by Dodgers manager Dave Roberts on the night, Petey had nearly half of them.

It may not be much on an otherwise dismal night, but it is a Silver Sliver.

Well done, Pedro!