Dodgers fight back after 13-0 embarrassment with win over Cubs |
CHICAGO - Although this may not be the same explosive Los Angeles Dodgers (11-11) that many fans are accustomed to, this is still a loaded team full of talent that will give you a battle every night. The Chicago Cubs (12-8) continued to find out the hard way just how pesky the Dodgers can be as their four-game set at Wrigley Field continued.
Coming off his best start of the season was right-hander Hayden Wesneski who was looking to build off of that performance. For whatever reason, the 2023 season has been a nightmare thus far for Wesneski as he has struggled with his command, leading to hard contact. Those struggles continued on Saturday as the right-hander labored through 4 1/3 innings of three-run five-hit ball. He walked one, struck out one, and now has an ERA of 6.23 on the season. At some point, you have to wonder if the Cubs will send him down for a mental reset, but that may not happen until Kyle Hendricks is healthy. Typically three runs is a good outing, but when you face the hard-throwing Dustin May, runs can be tough to come by. May has been excellent this season and has a 3.07 ERA and gave the Dodgers a much-needed five-plus inning start. He struck out six and allowed two hits as the Dodgers offense tacked on some late-game insurance runs off the Cubs pen for the 9-4 win. Not only has Wesneski been battling command issues all season, but he has struggled to settle in, which has led to some big first innings. With Mookie Betts starting things off with a leadoff single ahead of the Freddie Freeman double, the Dodgers were immediately in business while a walk loaded the bases with no outs. Wesneski managed to limit the damage by getting JD Martinez to ground into a double play, but the Dodgers still pushed a run across to make things 1-0. Similar to the Dodgers, the Cubs also loaded the bases, with Nico Hoerner extending his on-base streak with a single while a pair of walks followed that. Seiya Suzuki tied things up with an RBI forceout, but the Cubs wasted a golden opportunity for more and ended the frame tied 1-1. A big reason for the Dodgers success in the past decade has been their ability to turn young players into gold. James Outmen is the next in line for the Dodgers as his solo shot in the third put the Dodgers back in front 2-1. Outman continued his big game and series in the fourth by adding an RBI single to push the lead to 3-1. With May settling in on the mound, the Cubs knew they needed to strike fast if they wanted a chance to win. A leadoff hit by pitch to Suzuki helped set the tone, but the two-out Eric Hosmer double made things 3-2. That was as close as the Cubs would get as the Dodgers took a page out of the Cubs book by adding on against the pen. With Wesneski putting in another short effort and the bullpen being forced to work overtime, something had to give with Brandon Hughes on to work the sixth. What started with another leadoff walk turned into another run-scoring single, with Miguel Vargas extending the lead to 4-2. A Max Muncy homer in the seventh pushed that lead to 6-2 as Mark Leiter Jr was touched up for what seemed like the first time in forever. Coming from behind late has been in the Cubs DNA since the second half of last season, and with Yency Almonte on the mound, Edwin Rios worked a one-out walk to give the Cubs a much-needed base runner. One batter later saw the scorching hot Hoerner connect for his second homer in as many days to bring the Cubs back to within 6-4. Nico Hoerner - Chicago Cubs (2) pic.twitter.com/f3OMgmo8xV
Ian Happ and Nick Madrigal added singles in the next two innings, but the Cubs were unable to do much else. Los Angeles continued to add to their lead in the ninth inning with Muncy going deep for the solo shot while Outman added a two-run blast to make things 9-4. Muncy and Outman combined to hit four homers in the win while driving in seven as the Dodgers took care of business to pull the season series to an even 3-3. With five hits, there wasn't much offensive to get your juices flowing, but the two-hit, two-RBI afternoon from Hoerner led the way. Happ, Hosmer, and Madrigal had the other three hits as their offense was held in check. These teams will meet for the final time this season on Sunday in a classic pitcher's duel between left-hander Clayton Kershaw and right-hander Marcus Stroman. Stroman leads the majors in ERA at 0.75 while Kershaw is coming off career win No. 200. First pitch is set for 1:20. Nico Hoerner on how good he feels at the plate so far (2-for-4 today with a HR in 2nd straight day; .367): pic.twitter.com/TRoF1WVb4G