The Los Angeles Dodgers hit the road for the first time in 2024 as they dropped the opener of six games away from Dodger Stadium in a 9-7 loss against the Chicago Cubs, who extended their winning streak to five.
It was a cold and very windy game on Friday and the elements played a huge factor for both sides through the first two innings.
The Dodgers put pressure on Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks early, loading the bases thanks in part to a misplay on a Will Smith fly ball that was lost in sun. The Dodgers were in danger of leaving the bases loaded until Teoscar Hernández worked a great at-bat and came through with a single up the middle to give the Dodgers an early 2-0 lead.
That gave Hernández the MLB lead with 12 RBI season, a mark he would later add onto.
Bobby Miller picked up where he left off against the St. Louis Cardinals, striking out the side in the first inning. It was the ideal start for the 25-year-old on his birthday.
However, that didn’t last long as a mix of command troubles, falling behind in the count and conditions giving the Cubs extra chances at the plate all contributed to Miller allowing five runs and being chased in the second inning.
With Dinelson Lamet on the mound in the third inning, former Dodgers prospect Michael Busch extended the Cubs’ lead to 6-2 with his first homer of the season.
The Dodgers scored three runs in the fifth on a two-run homer from Shohei Ohtani and an RBI double from Smith to significantly cut into the deficit. It was Ohtani’s second home run in as many games and he has looked a lot more settled in at the plate since hitting his first against the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday.
The Cubs added three more runs off of Michael Grove in the bottom of the sixth to extend their lead to 9-5.
That proved costly as Hernández delivered for the Dodgers yet again by pulling a two-run single inside first base in the seventh inning.
L.A. had the tying runners reach with nobody out in the ninth inning but couldn’t take advantage and their four-game winning streak was snapped.
Dodgers extend scoring record
Despite the loss, the Dodgers kept their franchise record for the most consecutive games with five or more runs scored to begin the season at 10 games.
The MLB record for games scoring five runs or more to start the season is 13, held by the 1932 New York Yankees.
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows and giveaways, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
