It wasn’t easy, but the Dodgers pulled through after blowing a lead to beat the Chicago Cubs, 10-8, and avoid the series sweep.
Bobby Miller was back on the mound, and the results continued to disappoint in what has been a struggle all season for him. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was looking for the right-hander to take a step forward, but he once again left his team behind.
“Just some consistency,” Roberts said before the game. “I think we all know the ceiling of what Bobby can do. There’s a lot of stuff that he can do, and any given night he has the ability to dominate a game. I just think it’s the consistency of the performance.
“But each time I see him on the mound I feel good about it. Like I said, I think he’s primed to have a good one tonight.”
Miller was able to record the first two outs of the game, showing a promising start. But from there, things went downhill quickly.
Miller proceeded to walk two straight batters before a single from Isaac Paredes gave the Cubs a 1-0 lead. Michael Busch then doubled home another run to make it 2-0 Cubs.
Seyia Suzuki homered in the third to score the Cubs’ third run and cut into the Dodgers’ then 5-2 Dodgers lead. With the Dodgers up 7-3 in the fifth, more disaster struck.
Ian Happ singled, Dansby Swanson walked and Cody Bellinger blasted a three-run homer to make it a 7-6 game. That ended Miller’s night as he finished his outing with 4.1 innings pitched, giving up six runs on five hits with two strikeouts and four walks.
Miller’s season ERA now sits at 8.17 in 54 innings.
The Dodgers offense did show up, started by Ohtani’s solo home run to start them off in the first inning. After a single from Teoscar Hernández with two outs, Tommy Edman also homered.
It was Edman’s third homer in the previous two games after he blasted two on Tuesday night.
That was followed by another home run, this time off the bat of Will Smith, and Max Muncy capped off the inning with a third-straight homer, giving the Dodgers a 5-2 lead.
It was the first time in history that the Dodgers hit four home runs in the first inning of a game. It was also the second time this season they’ve hit four homers in an inning with their last time coming on June 11 in a 15-2 win against the Texas Rangers.
Ohtani added onto their lead in the third with a two-RBI single, scoring Max Muncy and Miguel Rojas, who reached on a walk and a single, respectively.
With the game all tied up, 7-7 in the seventh, the Dodgers came back to take the lead. Will Smith started them off with a double and he ended up scoring on a two-out single from Gavin Lux.
Just for some insurance, Edman homered again in the eighth inning. That gave him two-homer games in consecutive days, along with giving the Dodgers a 10-7 lead.
Evan Phillips pitched a perfect eighth inning and Michael Kopech closed it out in the ninth, but not without more drama.
Kopech walked the first three batters he faced before getting an out on a sacrifice fly. The next out was recorded via a caught stealing and Kopech struck out the last hitter he faced.
Shohei Ohtani moves closer to history with Dodgers
Ohtani’s first inning blast was his 47th home run of the season, giving him MLB’s first 47-47 season ever. It also moved him within three homers of setting the Dodgers’ single-season record and two of setting the record for most by an Asian-born player in MLB history.
In the second, he went on to steal second base, giving him his 48th of the year. In addition, that became his 12th game of the season with at least one homer and one stolen base.
Only Rickey Henderson in 1986 did that more than Ohtani, with 13 in that season, and he tied Ronald Acuña Jr. last season and Barry Bonds in 1973 as the only other players to complete the feat.
Earlier this season, Ohtani became the only player to ever reach both 43 home runs and 43 stolen bases in a single season. Every time he reaches a new mark, it continues to add onto his milestone.
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