Zack Greinke leads Dodgers past Cubs, 6-2
And then order was restored. All was calm. They worked counts, came up with some timely hits, made no real miscues.
It hardly hurt any that the Dodgers had their hottest pitcher – nope, not Clayton Kershaw – on the mound, but they did more than enough right as a team to defeat the Chicago Cubs, 6-2, Monday night and snap their little two-game losing streak.
The pitching honors on this night went to the Dodgers’ other ace, and how long has it been since they could legitimately claim two?
Zack Greinke acted as the stopper, dominating a tired-looking Cubs team. He was one out away from a shutout when he gave up a two-run double in the ninth to Brian Bogusevic on his 122nd pitch.
Brian Wilson came in to get the final out.
Greinke was already on an impressive roll, and then the Cubs showed up with the second-worst record ( they’re now 55-76) in the National League. It just wasn’t a fair fight.
Greinke (13-3) was in complete control, allowing five hits, striking out nine and walking two. Supported by a pair of double plays, he faced only one batter over the minimum through seven innings.
Impressive stuff, but then he’s been on that kind of run for awhile now. Greinke is 5-0 with a 1.23 ERA in five August starts. Overall, he’s won 10 of his last 12 decisions.
And then, of course, he hits. Greinke drove in the Dodgers’ first run against right-hander Jake Arrieta in the fourth, driving an 0-2 pitch over leaping shortstop Starlin Castro for a single. Carl Crawford added an RBI double and the Dodgers had a 2-0 lead.
They added two more in the sixth after Mark Ellis walked, stole second and scored on a Nick Punto double. Greinke’s bunt sacrificed Punto to third and Crawford’s sacrifice fly got him home.
The Dodgers’ final runs were of the more direct variety. Hanley Ramirez drilled a solo home run that hit the left-field ribbon in the seventh off Carlos Villanueva, his 14th homer of the year.
Then Yasiel Puig got into the act with a solo home against Michael Bowden in the eighth. It was Puig’s 13th home run.
The Cubs played 15 innings in a 3-2 loss to the San Diego Padres on Sunday, using their entire bullpen.
Back to winning, the Dodgers are now 30-7 since the All-Star break.
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