Dodgers finish off four-game sweep of Cubs
Brusdar Graterol tries to get a two-inning save. Ian Happ hit a one-hopper to second that Gavin Lux made a nice play on. One out. Patrick Wisdom struck out looking. Two out. Nico Hoerner grounded to third. Dodgers get a four-game sweep of the Cubs.
Final score: Dodgers 11, Cubs 9
Cubs close to 11-9 in the top of the eighth
The Cubs got a run in the top of the eighth when Nelson Velasquez led off with a homer off of David Price. David Bote then doubled to right-center. Seiya Suzuki walked. That’s it for Price. Brusdar Graterol now pitching. Rafael Ortega grounded to short, forcing Suzuki. First and third, one out. The runner on first is the tying run. Willson Contreras grounded into a 4-6-3 double play.
The Dodgers put runners on first and third with two out in the bottom of the eighth, but they were stranded when Gavin Lux grounded to second.
Score after eight: Dodgers 11, Cubs 9
Freddie Freeman drives in another run
The Dodgers added another run in the bottom of the seventh. Gavin Lux singled and took second on a wild pitch. Mookie Betts struck out looking. Trea Turner popped to short. Freddie Freeman singled to left, scoring Lux. Will Smith struck out.
Score after seven: Dodgers 11, Cubs 8
Dodgers extend lead on Freddie Freeman’s homer
The Dodgers increased their lead in the bottom of the sixth. Trea Turner flied to center, then Freddie Freeman homered to left-center. Will Smith flied to left. Justin Turner walked. Max Muncy walked. Cody Bellinger, batting for Trayce Thompson, fouled off five two-strike pitches and walked on the 10th pitch. Jake Lamb struck out swinging.
Score after six: Dodgers 10, Cubs 8
Clayton Kershaw, Tony Gonsolin named to NL All-Star team
Clayton Kershaw and Tony Gonsolin were named National League All-Star pitchers on Sunday.
This makes All-Star nod No. 9 for Kershaw, a perennial Cy Young candidate, and Gonsolin’s first — a more than deserving inclusion for the guy who’s become the ace of the Dodgers’ staff this season. Gonsolin so far this season is 11-0 with a thin 1.62 ERA.
The debate of late has been over which Dodger should be the rightful starter of this All-Star Game, hosted at Dodger Stadium for the first time since 1980: Kershaw, the Dodgers’ homegrown product from Dallas, or Gonsolin, who is in the middle of a breakout year.
“It’s at Dodger Stadium, I’ve been here a long time, I get all that,” Kershaw said last week, “but I don’t want to take anybody’s spot that’s more deserving than me … especially if that guy’s on my team.”
One notable snub, Julio Urías, was again not included in the list of All-Star pitchers, despite being in the midst of another exciting season.
Asked whether Urías deserves to be an All-Star — before Sunday’s final list was revealed and before his start against the Chicago Cubs — Dodger manager Dave Roberts said: “I really do. I just think that managers have a bias towards their own players… he got overlooked last year, and he followed that up with an even better year this year.”
Dodgers storm back to take a 9-8 lead
After an uneventful second inning, Phil Bickford came into the game in the top of the third for the Dodgers. He has not been as effective this season as he was last season.
Bickford struck out Patrick Wisdom, then gave up a single to Nico Hoerner and a walk to P.J. Higgins. Nelson Velasquez struck out, but David Bote homered to left to make it 8-3 Cubs. Andrelton Simmons walked, but Christopher Morel struck out to end the top of the third.
Freddie Freeman led off the bottom of the third with a double to deep center. And that is it for Drew Smyly. Right-hander Matt Swarmer is now pitching for the Cubs. Contreras let a ball get by him for a passed ball. Will Smith grounded to short, scoring Freeman. Justin Turner singled to right. Max Muncy doubled to right, Turner to third. Trayce Thompson walked to load the bases with one out. Jake Lamb, hitting for Hanser Alberto, struck out swinging. Gavin Lux walked, scoring Justin Turner. Bases remain loaded. And another pitcher comes in for the Cubs. Mark Leiter Jr., who started and got the loss against the Dodgers on Thursday, giving up four runs in five innings, comes in to pitch. Mookie Betts hit a grounder to third that Patrick Wisdom bounced past the first baseman for an error. Muncy and Thompson scored, Lux to third and Betts to second. Trea Turner singled to left, scoring both runners and giving the Dodgers the lead. Trea Turner stole second. Freddie Freeman grounded to second, but he beat the throw clearly. It was overturned on review. It’s first and third, two out. Will Smith struck out swinging. We have played three innings in a crisp 1 hour, 54 minutes.
Score after three innings: Dodgers 9, Cubs 8
Dodgers cut into Cubs’ lead with three runs in bottom of the first
The Dodgers sliced a considerable chunk off the Chicago Cubs’ five-run lead by scoring three runs in the bottom of the first off left-hander Drew Smyly, who needed 36 pitches to complete the inning.
Mookie Betts walked, Trea Turner singled to left, and Freddie Freeman lined out to center field. Will Smith hit an RBI double to left, Justin Turner followed with an RBI single to left, and Max Muncy’s sacrifice fly to the warning track in center made it 5-3.
Trayce Thompson struck out to end the inning, which took 44 minutes to complete.
Cubs take 5-0 lead over Dodgers with first-inning outburst
The top of the first inning couldn’t have gone much worse for Dodgers left-hander Julio Urias … and left fielder Gavin Lux.
The Chicago Cubs pounded Urias for five runs and three hits, including Nico Hoerner’s RBI single and P.J. Higgins’ first career slam, to take a 5-0 lead.
Urias struck out Christopher Morel to open the game before hitting Willson Contreras in the back foot with a 1-and-2 curveball. Ian Happ lined a double over the glove of the leaping Lux, a ball that had a catch probability of 90% according to Statcast.
Urias hit Patrick Wisdom in the back with another curve, this one on an 0-2 count, to load the bases with one out. Hoerner dropped a single in front of Lux for a run, another ball with a catch probability of 90%, and Higgins drove his grand slam to left field for a 5-0 lead.
Nelson Velazquez grounded out, David Bote walked, and Andrelton Simmons grounded out to an inning in which Urias threw 45 pitches.
After a busy first inning, Dodgers trail Cubs 5-3
Julio Urías is off to a shaky start for the Dodgers, with some assistance from Gavin Lux in left field.
Christopher Morel struck out to lead off the first. Willson Contreras was behind in the count, 1-2, when he was hit by a pitch. Ian Happ hit a liner to left, Lux ran over and mistimed his leap, with the ball going past his glove for a double, putting runners at second and third. Patrick Wisdom was hit by a pitch, loading the bases. Nico Hoerner singled to left on a ball that a confident left fielder could have come in and caught, one run scores, bases still loaded. P.J. Higgins then hit a full-count pitch over the fence in left to make it 5-0 Cubs. Nelson Velasquez grounded to third. David Bote walked. Andrelton Simmons grounded to short. Urías made 45 pitches in this inning. He looks very uncomfortable. You have to wonder if a possible All-Star selection today was a bit of a distraction. But, everyone is entitled to a bad game once in a while.
The Dodgers came back in the bottom of the first. Mookie Betts walked. Trea Turner golfed a ball into left to put runners at first and second. Freddie Freeman hit a shot to center, directly at the center fielder for an out. Will Smith doubled to left, scoring Betts. Justin Turner singled to left, scoring Betts. First and third, one out. It’s 5-2. Max Muncy hit a fly ball to the center field wall, scoring Smith. Trayce Thompson struck out looking. Cubs starter Drew Smyly, also looking shaky, made 36 pitches.
A 43-minute first inning. At this rate, a six-hour game.
Score after one: Cubs 5, Dodgers 3
Dodgers have a pair of All-Star Game starters
It’s official. Mookie Betts and Trea Turner of the Dodgers and Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani of the Angels are headed to the MLB All-Star Game on July 19 at Dodger Stadium as starters.
“The first is always the most special, but every All-Star Game is special,” Betts said Friday before the Dodgers’ game against the Chicago Cubs.
Trout and Betts were among the top-three vote-getters among outfielders in their respective leagues. The Midsummer Classic will be Trout’s first since 2019 — the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the 2020 event, and a right calf strain kept him out for most of last season.
“I always enjoy going and taking the field with the best,” Trout told reporters in Baltimore, where the Angels were in the middle of a series against the Orioles.
Clayton Kershaw shows All-Star form in win over Cubs
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts campaigned on his pitcher’s behalf before the game. His teammates endorsed his credentials in the clubhouse afterward.
But on Saturday night, in the Dodgers’ 4-2 win over the Chicago Cubs, the biggest boost to Clayton Kershaw’s All-Star Game candidacy came from what the 34-year-old left-hander did on the mound.
In 7⅔ stellar innings, Kershaw gave up only two runs, one earned.
Dotting his fastball and dominating with his slider, he had twice as many strikeouts (10) as hits surrendered (five).