Dodgers club five homers to fend off Cubs |
LOS ANGELES - To say this week's series at Dodgers Stadium was strange would be an understatement as the Chicago Cubs (75-71) found a way to take two of three from the Los Angeles Dodgers (87-59). They did so by doing what they do best away from Wrigley Field, which is score runs, as they scored at least six runs in all three games.
That included eight runs in the series finale on Wednesday and one in which the Cubs had chances to potentially earn the sweep. Chicago lived dangerously all week against this team, allowing the top of the order to reach base 10 times on Monday only to find a way to win that game and then allowing three homers on Tuesday before rallying back to win. Wednesday had a similar feel. The Cubs fell behind 7-3 before battling back to tie things up late. In the end, it was the long ball that made the difference. The Dodgers clubbed five homers in the victory, including two more from Tommy Edman, his second one coming in the eighth inning. The Dodgers avoided the sweep 10-8. When you look at the Dodgers lineup, it shouldn't shock you that they rank near the top in runs scored while also leading the majors in home runs. However, starting pitching hasn't been a strength, which isn't something that you can say about this team in recent years. With Bobby Miller on the mound on Wednesday, the Dodgers were hoping their young righty would be able to do enough to win this game and give them some length. Things didn't look good for Miller or the Dodgers in the first inning as a pair of two-out walks from Seiya Suzuki and Cody Bellinger kept the inning alive, only to have the suddenly hot Isaac Paredes cash in with an RBI single to make this a 1-0 game. Michael Busch followed that up with a double to bring home another run, but the Cubs would strand two runners in scoring position to end the inning. Despite leading 2-0 in the bottom of the first, you never felt comfortable as the Cubs had Miller on the ropes only to let him off the hook. You can't do that against this offense, and it didn't take Los Angeles long to flex their muscles as Jordan Wicks served up batting practice in the first inning as four of the Dodgers five homers came in the first. That all started with a leadoff shot from Shohei Otani as his quest to become the first 50/50 player continues. Wicks responded to retire the next two hitters, but after the Teoscar Hernandez single extended the inning, the floodgates opened as Edman, Will Smith, and Max Muncy connected for back to back to back homers as the Dodgers extended their lead to 5-2 after one. Wicks has been shaky at best since returning from the IL, and after allowing seven runs in three innings, his rough season has hit a new low. To the Cubs' credit, they knew there was a lot of game left, and after Suzuki went deep for his 20th homer in the third, Chicago pulled within 5-3 only to have the Dodgers respond with two more in the bottom of the third. Not only were the homers an issue for Wicks in the first, but walks were also an issue as Wicks walked four hitters in the game, including another one in the third, which set up the two-run Otani single that extended the Dodgers lead to 7-3. That was all for Wicks on the evening as the Cubs pen was forced to work overtime, and for the most part, they did a great job as the Dodgers offense went cold the next several innings, which gave the Cubs offense a chance at another comeback. The Cubs comeback began in the fifth as a leadoff single from Ian Happ was followed by a Dansby Swanson walk and just like that the Cubs had two on and no outs. With Miller on the verge of escaping the jam as a double play was in effect, Cody Bellinger ensured that wouldn't happen as he connected for his second homer of the week to make this a 7-6 game. Miller was lifted shortly after, which became a battle of the bullpens again. What has been the strength of the Dodgers pitching staff this season, it was their pen that also had issues this week as Daniel Hudson took over for Miller and immediately walked the first two hitters he faced to extend the inning while a fielders choice loaded the bases. Chicago continued to make the Dodgers pay for their mistakes as the Pere Crow-Armstrong single capped off a four-run inning to tie things up 7-7, but the Cubs ran themselves into an out on that play, thus killing what could've been a bigger inning. Following three impressive innings from Ethan Roberts, Keegan Thompson, and Tyson Miller to keep the Dodgers offense in check, it was up to Shawn Armstrong to do the same in the seventh. Celebrating his 34th birthday, Armstrong wasn't his best as the one-out double from Smith set the Dodgers offense up before the Miguel Rojas two-out walk extended the inning. You can't give this Dodgers offense extra chances, especially with two outs, as that walk brought Gavin Lux to the plate, and he responded with the go-ahead RBI single that put the Dodgers in front for good 8-7. One inning later, another two-out rally got the job done as Trey Wingenter was the victim of a two-out Hernandez followed by the second homer of the game from Edman as Los Angeles pushed their lead back up to 10-7. For Edman, he entered this series with no homers with Los Angeles, but now has four as he connected for four homers over the final two games. Trailing by three in the ninth, the Cubs had the right part of their order coming to bat as Michael Kopech had to go through the teeth of this lineup. Kopech has had a rough season, but his time with the Dodgers has turned it around, as he came into the game sporting a 0.36 ERA since his trade. Despite his dominance overall with his new team, Wednesday was the version of Kopech who pitched for the Chicago White Sox. He walked the bases loaded before recording an out, and the Cubs were set up for big things. Paredes picked up the first out of the inning on a sacrifice fly, but with a run coming home to score, this was a 10-8 game. That is when the biggest play of the game happened and it wasn't a play in the Cubs favor as Craig Counsell tried to get aggressive with a double steal only to have Suzuki gunned down at third. That can't happen when wins are crucial at this point, as Busch would go down on strikes to end the threat, and the Dodgers avoided the sweep 10-8. “We showed a lot of fight in our clubhouse … they didn’t lay down after that start and they fought their way back.” “Your lead has to be big enough when [Kopech] steps off.”
Jordan Wicks on the Cubs’ offense tonight. pic.twitter.com/3OGCpevB4d
Cliff Floyd on Seiya Suzuki’s attempted steal of 3rd base in the 9th. pic.twitter.com/4iUZptuaVU
