‘We haven’t got it going.’ Dodgers’ offensive woes continue in loss to Cubs
It was former NFL coach Bill Parcells who coined the phrase, “You are what your record says you are,” a quote that perfectly fits an inconsistent and clearly flawed Dodgers team that suffered another frustrating loss Sunday, this one a 3-2 decision to the Chicago Cubs before 52,180 at Chavez Ravine.
The Dodgers, winners of 111 games last season, have lost six of their last nine games to fall to 8-8 on the season. They never know what they’re going to get from an offense that has scored eight runs or more in five wins and two runs or less in five losses.
Neither the rotation nor the bullpen is as deep or dominant as it has been in recent years. The defense has been a little spotty, as evidenced by an error that led to an unearned run in the fifth inning Sunday. Opponents have run wild on the Dodgers, stealing 23 bases in 25 attempts, including nine by the Cubs in this series.
Dodgers fall to Cubs with two botched strikeout calls in the ninth
⚾ Cubs 3, Dodgers 2 — FINAL
Bottom of the ninth: David Peralta, last night’s hero, was struck out by Cubs right-handed reliever Brad Boxberger to lead off the inning. Jason Heyward then took a called third strike on an inside pitch outside the zone. Mookie Betts followed with a single after Cubs first baseman Trey Mancini couldn’t handle an impressive throw from shortstop Dansby Swanson.
The game ended with Freddie Freeman taking a called third strike on a pitch below the zone. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and Heyward were visibly upset in the dugout after the call.
Freeman struck out four times, and the Dodgers left nine runners on base as they dropped two of three games against the Cubs this weekend.
Julio Urías took his first loss (3-1), giving up back-to-back home runs to Patrick Wisdom and Cody Bellinger in the sixth inning.
Chris Taylor homered in the third inning, and Betts drove in the Dodgers’ other run in the seventh after Cubs right fielder Seiya Suzuki lost what should have been a routine fly ball in the sun.
The Dodgers open a three-game series against the visiting New York Mets on Monday night.
Dodgers looking to stage comeback in the ninth
⚾ Cubs 3, Dodgers 2 — Bottom of the ninth
Top of the ninth: Dodgers reliever Evan Phillips got pinch hitter Eric Hosmer to line out to first before issuing a four-pitch walk to Nico Hoerner. Dansby Swanson reached base on a force out at second — a play that just missed on being an inning-ending 5-4-3 double play after a slight delay by Miguel Vargas on the throw to first.
Ian Happ followed with a flare single to left before Phillips struck out Seiya Suzuki.
Last night the Dodgers beat the Cubs on David Peralta’s two-run, walk-off single. Will we see more ninth-inning heroics today?
Dodgers trail by a run heading into the ninth
⚾ Cubs 3, Dodgers 2 — End of the eighth
Top of the eighth: Caleb Ferguson relieved Brusdar Graterol, striking out Trey Mancini before giving up a single to Patrick Wisdom on a liner to center. Cody Bellinger lined out to Freddie Freeman at first and Yan Gomes flied out to left.
Bottom of the eighth: Facing Cubs reliever Michael Fulmer, Trayce Thompson struck out, Miguel Vargas popped out to short and James Outman lined out to second.
Dodgers cut into Cubs’ lead after Seiya Suzuki loses ball in the sun
⚾ Cubs 3, Dodgers 2 — End of the seventh
Bottom of the seventh: Chris Taylor scored from third after Cubs right fielder Seiya Suzuki lost a routine fly ball from Mookie Betts in the sun, making it a one-run game.
The inning started with Cubs reliever Adbert Alzolay striking out James Outman before walking Taylor. Austin Barnes followed with a flare to center, advancing Taylor to third.
Freddie Freeman then struck out for the third time today before J.D. Martinez singled to short, loading the bases. Cubs reliever Mark Leiter Jr. struck out Max Muncy to stifle the rally.
Top of the seventh: After Nico Hoerner grounded out to Brusdar Graterol, Dansby Swanson doubled on a fly ball to right. Graterol then struck out Ian Happ and Suzuki to end the inning.
Cubs take the lead on back-to-back homers off Julio Urías
⚾ Cubs 3, Dodgers 1 — End of the sixth
Top of the sixth: Patrick Wisdom and Cody Bellinger hit back-to-back home runs off Julio Urías to give the Cubs their first lead of the game.
Wisdom hit a two-strike breaking ball over the left-field wall before Bellinger hit his third homer of the season on a 422-foot blast into the right-field pavilion. Yan Gomes followed with a single to left to end Urías’ afternoon on the mound.
Brusdar Graterol took over for Urías, who allowed eight hits, two earned runs, walked one and struck out six over 5 2/3 innings. Graterol struck out Luis Torrens to end the inning.
Bottom of the sixth: Adbert Alzolay taking over for Cubs starter Drew Smyly. He got J.D. Martinez and Max Muncy to ground out before walking Trayce Thompson. He then struck out Miguel Vargas.
Cubs’ Luis Torrens ties up game on run-scoring single
⚾ Cubs 1, Dodgers 1 — End of the fifth inning
Top of the fifth: Luis Torrens drove in Cody Bellinger from third on a lightly hit infield chopper to tie the game in the fifth.
Julio Urías struck out Patrick Wisdom before Bellinger reached first on a fielding error by second baseman Miguel Vargas. Bellinger promptly stole second and advanced to third on a ground out to first by Yan Gomes.
Torrens’ light hit was quickly fielded by a sliding Urías, but his throw to first was high and wide despite his heroic effort to make a play across the diamond from his knees.
Nico Hoerner and Dansby Swanson each singled to load the bases before Ian Happ grounded out to second for the final out.
Bottom of the fifth: James Outman drew a leadoff walk but was forced out at second on a Chris Taylor grounder to third. Austin Barnes grounded out to third and Freddie Freeman took a called third strike to strand two runners.
Dodgers hold onto slim lead heading into the fifth
⚾ Dodgers 1, Cubs 0 — End of the fourth inning
Top of the fourth: Dansby Swanson led off with a single to center. Ian Happ flied out to center and Seiya Suzuki struck out swinging before Trey Mancini grounded out to second.
Julio Urías has allowed two hits and one walk with five strikeouts over 54 pitches so far.
Bottom of the fourth: The Dodgers were retired in order — Max Muncy grounded out, Trayce Thompson flied out to center and Miguel Vargas lined out to third.
Chris Taylor home run gives Dodgers early lead in third
⚾ Dodgers 1, Cubs 0 — End of third inning
Bottom of the third: Chris Taylor led off with a home run off the left-field foul pole to give the Dodgers an early lead.
Taylor’s fourth homer of the season — and his second of the series — came off a 90-mph sinker from Drew Smyly.
After the home run, Austin Barnes flied out to center. Mookie Betts then doubled on a flare to shallow right field for his first hit of the series. Fredde Freeman struck out and J.D. Martinez grounded out to strand Betts.
Top of the third: Yan Gomes grounded out and Julio Urías struck out Luis Torrens for his fourth punchout. Nico Hoerner made it a 1-2-3 inning when he grounded out to short.
Dodgers and Cubs still scoreless heading into third
Cubs 0, Dodgers 0 — End of the second inning
Top of the second: Julio Urías struck out Trey Mancini for a third punchout of the game before Patrick Wisdom and Cody Bellinger each flied out to end the inning.
Bottom of the second: Max Muncy flied out to right before Cubs starter Drew Smyly struck out Trayce Thompson. Miguel Vargas followed with a single to left off an off-speed pitch. James Outman then flied out to right.
Dodgers and Cubs scoreless heading into second inning
⚾ Cubs 0, Dodgers 0 — End of the first
Top of the first: After allowing a single to Nico Hoerner, Dodgers starter Julio Urías struck out Dansby Swanson and Ian Happ. Hoerner was then thrown out by Austin Barnes while trying to steal second to cap the frame.
Bottom of the first: Mookie Betts popped out to short before Freddie Freeman singled on a sharp grounder to right field. J.D. Martinez then grounded into 1-5-3 double play.
Will Smith placed on seven-day concussion injured list; veteran Austin Wynns signed as backup catcher
The Dodgers gained some clarity on the illness slowing catcher Will Smith, who was placed on the seven-day injured list because of concussion-like symptoms before Sunday’s series finale against the Chicago Cubs in Chavez Ravine.
Smith was replaced on the roster by veteran backup catcher Austin Wynns, who signed a major league league contract with the Dodgers after being designated for assignment by the San Francisco Giants last Monday and electing free agency. Wynns took a 6 a.m. flight from Nashville to Los Angeles and will be available for Sunday’s game.
Smith took two hard foul balls off his face mask in San Francisco last week and felt too sick to play against the Cubs. Manager Dave Roberts said Smith passed a concussion test, but the Dodgers didn’t want to risk playing their No. 3 hitter at less than full strength.
“Symptomatically, he just doesn’t feel well,” Roberts said. “He felt uneasy and foggy, so coming into Friday we took him through the testing. In the ensuing days, he felt a little bit better, but we just want to be prudent and not run him out there.”
Smith, who hit .333 with three homers and 12 RBIs in 11 games, leaves a hole in the middle of a lineup that has struggled to hit and score runs consistently. Austin Barnes will take over as the primary catcher, but he does not pose the offensive threat that Smith does. Barnes is hitless in 16 at-bats entering Sunday.
“It’s a big loss,” Roberts said. “One thing with Will that I can appreciate is his consistency, on the defensive side but [also] in the batter’s box. I think that if you look at a lot of our guys — again, this is 15 games — it’s been very inconsistent, and Will is a consistent performer.”
Wynns, 32, hit .259 with three homers and 21 RBIs in 65 games for the Giants in 2022 but had only two at-bats this season. He was cooking dinner with his wife in their Nashville home on Saturday when the Dodgers called.
“It’s been a whirlwind, but I’m happy I’m here,” Wynns said while adjusting his shin guards before the game. “I know my role and will try to do the best I can.”
MLB has a process for avoiding pitch-clock violations like Cody Bellinger’s
The agent for Cody Bellinger called Major League Baseball deputy commissioner Dan Halem to complain about the pitch-clock violation that Bellinger received when the Chicago Cubs center fielder stepped out of the batter’s box in anticipation of a lengthy ovation before his first at-bat as a visitor in Chavez Ravine on Friday night.
“I called [Halem] and said, ‘Why do we not have provisions for this?’ And he goes, ‘We do,” agent Scott Boras said before Saturday night’s game between the Cubs and Dodgers. “It’s umpire discretion, and normally the clubs notify the umpires beforehand if they have any kind of special things.
“[Dodgers manager Dave Roberts] was even screaming from the dugout, ‘Hey, give him some time!’ You have the opposing manager trying to make sure a [visiting] player is appropriately welcomed. I couldn’t believe it. I was like, ‘Why are you not doing that?’ Unreal.”
David Peralta’s walk-off single lifts Dodgers over Cubs on Jackie Robinson Day
A Dodgers offense in need of a serious jolt of energy got the equivalent of a triple shot of espresso Saturday night, with the young and rested teaming up to produce a dramatic 2-1 walk-off victory over the Chicago Cubs before a Jackie Robinson Day crowd of 52,275 at Dodger Stadium.
The Dodgers managed a single in the first inning, a single in the second and went hitless over the next six innings against Cubs starter Jameson Taillon and relievers Mark Leiter Jr. and Keegan Thompson.
The closest the Dodgers came to scoring was a Jason Heyward drive that Cubs center fielder and former Dodger Cody Bellinger made a leaping catch of above the wall in the second, robbing Heyward of a two-run homer.
Dodgers TV schedule for the 2023 regular season
Here’s a look at the Dodgers TV schedule for the 2023 regular season. All times and broadcast/streaming options are subject to change.
