Cubs lose to Dodgers despite Wicks' solid outing |
CHICAGO - At some point, you knew the Chicago Cubs (5-3) offense would cool off, as there is no way they could play at that level all season. The same could be said about the Los Angeles Dodgers (8-3) and their offense, although they have more depth from top to bottom than the Cubs.
In front of another big crowd at Wrigley Field on Saturday, it was a tale of two games for the Cubs, and this one was all about pitching. One day, after seeing 16 total runs scored, the Cubs and Dodgers were held scoreless until the fifth, while they also struck out a combined 29 times between the two of them. Credit Jordan Wicks and Yoshinbu Yamamoto for that, as both men were dialed in from the start. Unfortunately, as you have seen so often against this Dodgers lineup, they work counts and wear down pitchers, which is what happened here. Wicks was chased after 4 2/3 innings and 100 pitches allowed. He did more than hold his own as he didn't allow a run before his departure, but came away with two earned runs with one walk and seven strikeouts. Those runs would be all the Dodgers offense would need as they evened up the series with a 4-1 victory. While Wicks was doing his thing on the mound, the same can be said for Yamamoto, who also had to work extremely hard. Despite being at 60 pitches through three, he settled down but was still chased after five innings, allowing just two hits while striking out five. Although neither team managed to score until the fifth, the first inning was the best scoring chance of the early going for either side. First, it was Mookie Betts leading the game off with a walk ahead of the Shohei Otani single to put a pair of runners on and no outs. Wicks recovered nicely and struck out the last two men he faced that inning to strand two runners in scoring position. Jordan Wicks, 2Ks in the 1st. pic.twitter.com/4eO7LuJWfJ The same bad fortune came the Cubs way in the bottom half of the first with with Ian Happ starting things off with a double before the walk to Seiya Suzuki and a single by Cody Bellinger loaded the bases with no outs. Anytime you have chances like that against this Dodgers team, you need to capitalize, and the Cubs couldn't as Yamamoto struck out the next three to kill the rally, and some might say that was the difference in this one. Both teams kept the pressure on in the second, with the Dodgers picking up two singles while the Cubs added a single and a walk, only to come away empty-handed again. Seiya saving runs, on the run! pic.twitter.com/robm4CbVyi The good news was that it forced both men to throw a ton of pitches, as this was going to come down to which pitcher would crack first. Technically speaking, Wicks cracked first in the top half of the fifth, although he wasn't the one allowing the runs. With Austin Barnes and Otani leading the fifth off with a single, Wicks came one out away from finishing the fifth, but was forced to exit due to a high pitch count and was replaced by Jose Cuas. Talk about a nightmare scenario for the Cubs. Cuas walked Teoscar Hernandez to load the bases before uncorking a wild pitch that gave the Dodgers the lead for good 1-0. Max Muncy followed that up with an RBI single to push two additional runs across as the Cubs faced a 3-0 deficit following that hit. Given how well the Cubs offense has played this season, a three-run hole may not seem like much, but this was a different animal on the mound and one that was mowing through the Cubs lineup after the second inning. His performance allowed Dave Roberts to get his pen lined up the way he wanted, with Ryan Braiser the first out in the sixth. A stretch from the legend himself, Pat Hughes!#LetsGetSomeRuns pic.twitter.com/TqkIjwnkoe Still facing a 3-0 deficit in the eighth, Craig Counsell sent former Dodger Yency Almonte to the mound as he looks to turn his rough start around. Of all the guys on a short leash right now, Almonte may be at the top of the list, as he hasn't looked good this season. Granted, he did look much better, but he was still charged with an unearned run, as a two-out error paved the way for the Miguel Rojas single to make things 4-0. Down to their final three outs, it was the Cubs offense looking to make things happen as they tried their luck against Evan Phillips. What better way to start a rally than having Dansby Swanson lead things off with a single while the Michael Busch double put runners on second and third with no outs. Hoping to avoid what had happened throughout the game, every time the Cubs had something going, it was the Dodgers who found a way to escape trouble, and they almost did again as the Miles Mastrobuoni groundout was the only run the Cubs would score in the 4-1 loss. After a slow start, the Cubs finished with seven hits, and Bellinger led the way with two. Chicago will look to take the series tomorrow as they turn to left-hander Shota Imanaga, who will face Gavin Stone at 1:20. “His value for us is going to be huge.”
Nico Hoerner on Jordan Wicks. pic.twitter.com/1N27HCO0A8
