The Los Angeles Dodgers squandered a lead but were saved by Cody Bellinger hitting a home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to defeat the Chicago Cubs, 3-2, in the team’s first walk-off win this season.
The Dodgers reversed the trend over the past week by ending a streak of allowing a home run in the first inning at a franchise-record five consecutive games, and then taking an early lead on top of that.
After Mookie Betts’ drive to left field got by a diving Kris Bryant for a leadoff double, Max Muncy hit an RBI double off the wall in center. Justin Turner then made it a string of hits by beating the shift with an RBI single to right field.
Alec Mills endured a rough afternoon to the tune of eight hits and two walks in just four innings of work, but he managed to navigate through plenty of traffic and hold the Dodgers to just the two runs.
Mills was aided by Taylor twice making the second out of an inning on third base. In the first instance, he was thrown out trying to steal. Then Taylor was picked off by Willson Contreras in a costly out as Julio Urias singled to right field on the next pitch.
As for matters on the mound, Urias put a month’s worth of struggles behind him by pitching aggressively in the zone, which Dodgers manager Dave Robert said prior to the game he was hoping would be the case.
The Cubs didn’t have a hit until Jason Heyward’s leadoff single in the third inning, and were hold scoreless before Anthony Rizzo ambushed the first pitch he saw in the fourth for a solo home run.
Heyward set the table again in the fifth inning by leading off with a double through a vacated left side of the infield. Ian Happ then tied the game two batters later with a pinch-hit RBI double that similarly beat a shift.
Bellinger’s home run came in his second at-bat after entering off the bench.
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