Max Langer
Wrigley Field, Chicago — The Dodgers’ offense was criticized a lot over the first few weeks of the season. They hadn’t gotten the “Big 3” going, the bottom of the lineup was among the worst in baseball, and they didn’t score double-digits in a game until yesterday. Today, the offense came through again, putting up six runs against Cubs starter Matthew Boyd. But as was the case with both games here at the friendly confines, the pitching struggles of Los Angeles were too much to overcome.
Ben Casparius gave the Dodgers everything they could have asked for and more to start this one. He went 2 and 2/3 innings, allowing only one hit, a bloop double that fell due to a miscommunication between Miguel Rojas and Michael Conforto. He left with a 2-0 lead. Both runs were driven in by Teoscar Hernandez, who banged a liner to left off of Boyd with the bases loaded in the top of the third.
Anthony Banda, who’s looked much better over the last several outings he’s had, threw another scoreless inning. Then, Noah Davis entered the game. After allowing a walk-off single to Ian Happ last night, Davis surrendered a hit, a walk, and then a three-run blast off the bat of Pete Crow-Armstrong. “PCA” has five home runs this season. Four of them are against the Dodgers.
But the Dodgers, as they did yesterday, fought back. Mookie Betts plated Miguel Rojas with a bullet of a double down the left field line, before Teoscar Hernandez doubled his RBI total pulling a two-run bomb over the wall in left. In the bottom of the fifth, however, with the Dodgers leading 5-3, Jack Dreyer came in to pitch. Since his first outing of the year, Dreyer’s been sublime. But the rookie southpaw simply did not have it today. Dreyer allowed four runs, mostly due to a litany of walks and singles, and by the time the Dodgers’ defense ran back to the dugout, the score had been flipped, and the Cubs led 7-5.
Andy Pages homered for the second consecutive night in the sixth to cut the lead in half, and two of the next three Dodgers hitters reached. That set the stage for Shohei Ohtani, who with two on and two out, weakly popped out to Dansby Swanson on a pitch about three feet inside. The Dodgers had only one baserunner the rest of the game, and Porter Hodge pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning to slam the door closed.
After two wild run-scoring affairs in the Windy City tonight and last night, it’ll likely be more of a pitching-focused duel the next time Los Angeles takes the field. The Dodgers play the Pirates friday night in Chavez Ravine, with Yoshinobu Yamamoto set to take on Paul Skenes. Hopefully, it’ll be an electric matchup between two of baseball’s best young pitchers, both in their sophomore seasons and both Cy Young candidates.
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