A two-run home run gave the Chicago Cubs a lead in the first inning for a second consecutive night, only for the Los Angeles Dodgers to once again rally for a win. Friday marked their 19th comeback win this season.
Matt Beaty erased the Dodgers’ deficit with a two-out, two-run home run in the second inning. The homer was Beaty’s first of his career and he went on to finish 2-for-4 with a double. While it was a memorable night, he put Kenley Jansen in a bit of a jam by committing a two-base error on a routine ground ball in the ninth inning.
After Kris Bryant’s leadoff homer in the third gave the Cubs another lead, Justin Turner responded with his 100th career home run in the bottom half of the inning to pull the Dodgers even. The home run was Turner’s seventh this season and first since May 11, which was the end of a stretch of five long balls in four games.
Turner’s blast also gave the Dodgers 13 consecutive runs scored via the homer. As the notion of being boom or bust continued to be pushed, Rich Hill broke it up with a two-out RBI single in the fourth inning.
The Dodgers then were gifted a run in the fifth when Javier Baez inexplicably threw to home plate instead of attempting to complete an inning-ending 3-6-3 double play. In Baez’s defense, his throw to home plate did beat Alex Verdugo, but Willson Contreras was late getting the tag down.
Hill kept the Cubs in check after allowing the early home runs, getting through seven innings with just the three runs allowed. He struck out seven, at one point retired 11 in a row, and set down 15 of the final 17 batters faced.
The Dodgers improved to 27-7 at home and are on pace for 64 wins at Dodger Stadium. That would shatter the Los Angeles franchise record of 57 home wins, set in 2017. The 1953 Brooklyn team, which won the National League pennant, holds the organization’s all-time record with 60 home wins.
