Steve Webb
Game 10, 4/5/2024: Dodgers 7, Cubs 9
CHICAGO, IL — Bobby Miller grew up in Illinois, a huge fan of the Chicago Cubs. I would imagine he’s a little bit less of a fan of the Northsiders after Friday’s matinee loss at Wrigley Field. After striking out the side in order in the first, Miller gave up five earned runs in the second and found himself treated to an early shower. The Dodgers fought back valiently, but could never quite get over the hump in this one, leaving too many ducks on the pond in a 9-7 loss to the Cubs.
At first it looked as if the Dodgers might have a good day on this blustery Chicago afternoon. They jumped on Cubs hurler Kyle Hendricks for two runs in the top of the first, thanks to a Teoscar Hernandez RBI single with two on and two on out in the first. And when Miller needed just fifteen pitches to strike out the side in the bottom of the frame, things were looking very good indeed.
Until, that is, the bottom of the second. Miller, who was celebrating his 25th birthday on the mound, started the inning off well enough, with a groundout from cleanup hitter Christopher Morel. However, that was about the end of good news for Miller in this one. He gave up a homer to Dansby Swanson. Then, it was walk, single, single to score the Cubs’ second run of the afternoon. After a flyout, there was a walk to load up the bases. Then, a wild pitch and a two-run double from Seiya Suzuki was enough to chase Miller from the game. Some birthday, amirite?
Dinelson Lamet came in to put out the fire, but after he gave up a solo shot to former Dodger Michael Busch in the third, the Cubs had stretched their advantage to 6-2. However, as this team has already shown in this young season, no lead is safe against this potent offense. They got to work in the top of the fifth. Mookie Betts led off with a single to start the rally. Then, Shohei Ohtani hit his second home run in as many games, a screaming pole-hugger to right field. Freddie Freeman followed the dinger up with a walk and scored on Will Smith‘s double. Now trailing by just a run, the Dodgers were eager for more. However, it was not to be. New reliever Drew Smyly entered the game, and put an end to the rally fast: consecutive strikeouts of Muncy, Teoscar Hernandez, and James Outman squashed the threat and preserved the Cubs’ lead.
Alex Vesia pitched well in the middle innings to keep the Dodgers close, but Michael Grove was unable to pitch a clean inning in the sixth. He gave up a walk, a single, a two-run triple and a sacrifice fly and the lead had ballooned to 9-5.
But again, the Dodgers’ relentless offense kept plugging away. They got a pair of runs on an RBI single from Teoscar Hernandez in the seventh, and had the tying run at the plate in both the 8th and the 9th, but could not get that critical hit that would put them back in the ballgame. Especially painful was the final out of the game, when James Outman ripped a liner down the first base line that had game-tying hit written all over it. Unfortunately, our old friend Michael Busch was there to snare the ball out of the air with a diving grab and that was that for the day. *Sigh*
Overall, it was a winnable game, but the Dodgers (7-3) just couldn’t overcome the rocky start from Bobby Miller. He will need to recalbrate for his next start, which will probably be back at Dodger Stadium on Friday night.
As for the rest of this series, there are two more day games in store: Saturday (Yamamoto vs. Jordan Wicks) has a 1:05 start on the West Coast and Sunday’s finale (Stone vs. Imanaga) will get underway at 11:20 local time.
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