The Los Angeles Dodgers had a game to forget as nearly everything went wrong in a 8-1 rubber match loss to the Chicago Cubs.
The fourth inning featured a nearly three hour rain delay, but the game required another inning to become official. The umpires tried to push through the game, which led to some anger from Miguel Rojas, who was arguing with the umpires after he slipped at home plate and made a throwing error.
Overall, the Dodgers made three errors, all of which came from three of their top defenders in Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts and Rojas. Each of them led to the Cubs scoring runs.
Gavin Stone made the start and allowed three runs in the first inning, all of which were unearned due to Freeman’s error. He struggled with his control while pitching through the conditions and failed to help himself as he let the jam spiral out of control.
Stone ended up pitching three innings, giving up four hits and three walks while allowing five runs (one earned) with five strikeouts.
Gus Varland took over in the fourth inning and gave up a double and hit a batter before a run came around to score on a ground ball to third base, which led to Rojas’ throwing error to put runners back at the corners.
That is when the game was finally put into a rain delay. When the Dodgers and Cubs resumed play almost three hours later, Ryan Yarbrough took over on the mound.
He allowed one of the runs to cross on the fielder’s choice, which was credited to Varland.
Yarbrough ended up allowing a home run to Cody Bellinger, but went on to finish out the game with 4.2 innings pitched and just the lone run given up. Yarbrough’s performance was much-needed to preserve the bullpen and keeps the Dodgers in a good place moving forward.
Perhaps the only other positive for the Dodgers in the game was Shohei Ohtani, who hit his first triple with his new club. Later in the game, Ohtani doubled to drive in Betts as well, breaking the shut out.
It also marked the first game of the season the Dodgers failed to score at least four runs.
Dodgers fail to figure out Shota Imanaga
Shota Imanaga continued to impress, throwing four shutout innings with three strikeouts while giving up just two hits. He has now thrown 10 consecutive scoreless innings to begin his MLB career.
The Dodgers have struggled against left-handed pitching, and that trend did not change today. However, the Cubs’ bullpen also proved to be effective, almost shutting down the Dodgers’ offense.
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