While it was Donovan Solano’s sacrifice fly that lifted the Los Angeles Dodgers to a walk-off victory over the Chicago Cubs, their comeback effort was sparked by Kiké Hernandez.
His error in the top of the first inning played a role in the Cubs jumping out to an early 1-0 lead. That was quickly erased, however, as Chris Taylor and Andrew Toles combined for back-to-back doubles in the bottom of the first.
Yasiel Puig’s opposite-field RBI single then gave the Dodgers a 2-1 lead before Luke Farrell could get out of the inning. The Cubs mounted a two-out rally on Pedro Baez for a three-run inning in the fifth.
Chris Pieters’ RBI double in the seventh inning extended their lead to 5-2, but the Dodgers again made quick work in erasing their deficit.
Joc Pederson led off the bottom of the seventh with a base hit, which was followed by a Kyle Farmer walk that put two on with nobody out. Hernandez then went to right-center field for a game-tying three-run home run.
Although on a much smaller stage and with nothing at stake, it was reminiscent of his three-home run performance at Wrigley Field in a clinching Game 5 of the 2017 National League Championship Series.
Just another day at the office for Rich Hill. #DodgersST pic.twitter.com/eNO5O1kvM2
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) March 11, 2018
As for the pitching staff, Rich Hill allowed just the one run and one hit, while collecting four strikeouts across four innings. Walker Buehler entered in the eighth inning for his 2018 Spring Training debut and was thoroughly impressive, if not dominant.
He retired six of seven batters faced, racking up five strikeouts in the process. Buehler struck out the side in the ninth inning after allowing a leadoff single, putting the Dodgers in position to earn a walk-off win.
5 Ks through two shutout innings tonight for @buehlersdayoff in his Cactus League debut. 🔥 #DodgersST pic.twitter.com/86nthk81dy
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) March 11, 2018
