Cubs blow out Dodgers in Cactus League opener

Mark Rebilas - USA Today Sports

Dustin Riese - Senior Writer - 22 hours ago

PHOENIX - For the first time in nearly six months, Chicago Cubs baseball returned to the airways as their 2025 season kicked off with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday. Although things aren't going to count until these teams meet in Tokyo in March, seeing Cubs baseball back on the diamond is always a joy to watch.

In what was a minor league type of lineup with Michael Busch being the lone starter, the Cubs came to play as they topped the Dodgers 12-4 to kick off their Spring Training schedule. All the Cubs runs came after opening day starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto was lifted from the game as the Cubs offense took it to the rest of the Dodgers staff.

With this being a minor league game, Craig Counsell elected to go with one of the pitchers trying to make this team, as Cody Poteet got the start for the Cubs. Acquired as part of the Cody Bellinger deal, Poteet is one of a handful of pitchers trying to make this team in some aspect. Today wasn't his best showing, as he was charged with three earned runs in his 1 2/3 innings before the rest of the Cubs arms took over.

All three of those runs came in the second inning, with Eddie Rosario opening the scoring with a two-run shot before a wild pitch led to the Dodgers third run of the inning and the 3-0 lead. That was it for the Dodgers offensively until late in the game as the Cubs pitching was outstanding the rest of the way while the offense stole the show.

In the third inning, the Cubs offense got rolling as their first six batters reached to begin the frame. Vidal Brujan started things off with his leadoff walk before coming home to score on a Busch single that nailed Bobby Miller in the head. Miller would eventually walk off the field on his own power, but the Dodgers were forced to bring in a new arm much earlier than they had hoped.

Another walk to Moises Ballesteros kept the train moving, which led to the Kevin Alcantara single to make this a 3-2 game. Following another walk to Nicky Lopez to load the bases, the Reese McGuire double put the Cubs in front for good as they took a 4-3 lead. Chicago added two more runs to close out the third on the Christian Franklin grounder and a James Triantos single to cap off a six-run third with the 6-3 lead.

James Triantos caps off a 6-run inning 🙌 pic.twitter.com/8fZDRtcyER
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) February 20, 2025

After Brad Keller pitched around a mini-jam in the bottom of the fourth, the Cubs offense got back to work in the fifth as Lopez started things off with a leadoff single. Lopez was later erased on the bases on a fielder's choice, but with Gage Workman coming to bat with two outs, the Rule 5 selection by the Cubs did his part and took Justin Worbleski deep over the left field fence to give the Cubs an 8-3 lead.

Gage Workman launches our first home run of #SpringTraining! pic.twitter.com/sCsGC86QEG
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) February 20, 2025

Workman was one of several Cubs to record multiple hits, as he left a great first impression.

Whether it be Daniel Palencia in the fifth, Jack Neely in the sixth, or Brooks Kriske in the seventh, the Dodgers offense had no answers as they went quiet for most of the game following their big second inning. The same can't be said about the Cubs offense as Miguel Olivo led off the top of the seventh with a double before coming home on the Dixon Machado single to make this a 9-3 game.

Although these games don't count for statistics or standing purposes, it's always nice to see the lineup produce from the top down, which continued into the Cubs half of the eighth. Putting the leadoff man on base was a theme most of the day for the Cubs, and with Reggie Preciado leading off the eighth with a single, that trend continued.

Preciado would advance to second on a Jonathon Long walk later in the inning before both runners advanced 90 feet on a wild pitch. That set the stage for Ivan Brethowr, who unloaded on a Jose Hernandez offering for his first homer of the Spring and extended the Cubs lead to 12-3.

Ivan Brethowr - Chicago Cubs (1)* pic.twitter.com/5WDuIjWtVb
— MLB HR Videos (@MLBHRVideos) February 20, 2025

Those would be the final runs of the game for the Cubs offense as they pounded out 15 hits in the victory.

After going six innings without scoring a run, the Dodgers were finally able to get back on the scoreboard in the eighth, and it came against fast-rising relief prospect Frank Scalzo Jr. Scalzo retired the first hitter he faced before walking Josue De Paula. That walk would come back to haunt him later in the inning, with Chris Okey connecting for an RBI double to make things 12-4.

Scalzo would walk the next hitter he faced before closing out the inning as the Cubs headed to the ninth up eight. Chicago had a chance to pour it on even more in the ninth as two of the first three hitters reached via the walk, with a Parker Chavers single following suit to load the bases with nobody out.

As was the case a lot of times last season, Chicago failed to capitalize on that chance, but it wasn't going to matter as Cayne Ueckert slammed the door in the ninth with a 1,2,3 ninth to give the Cubs a 12-4 victory.

Busch was one of three players to record multiple hits for the Cubs, as Alcantara and Workman joined him. Chicago pitchers walked seven and struck out 11, with Jack Neely delivering the best outing of all the pitchers.