After being swept by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the two-game Freeway Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers got back on track on Thursday night to earn a 7-3 come-from-behind victory over the Chicago Cubs in the opener of a four-game set at Dodger Stadium.
The Dodgers’ bats stayed relatively quiet for the entire Angels series, but they broke out in a big way against the Cubs, slugging four home runs en route to the win.
Two of them came off the bat of Cody Bellinger, who ended his mini-slump. Bellinger was just 2-for-17 in his last five games and hadn’t homered since May 28. That drought came to an end when he hit a two-run shot off Cubs starter Jon Lester in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Bellinger’s second home run of the night came in the bottom of the seventh inning and was a line drive that kept just fair until clearing the short fence down the right-field line. He finished the night 3-for-4 and now has 22 home runs on the season.
Two batters after Bellinger hit his first homer, Max Muncy also hit a two-run shot off Lester that went to almost the same exact spot in left-center field that Bellinger’s did. Muncy is the hottest hitter on the Dodgers at the moment, now with three home runs in his last two games to give him 16 on the season.
Another player who has been on a tear as of late is David Freese, who homered again on Thursday night in the bottom of the fifth inning to give him eight on the year.
Freese’s 2-for-4 night upped his season slash line to .308/.419/.635, which is as impressive as it gets considering the limited opportunities he has received.
Clayton Kershaw gave up a pair of home runs in the first two innings, leading to three early runs for the Cubs. He settled in from there though and got through six innings to earn his sixth victory of the season, striking out eight batters in the process.
