The Los Angeles Dodgers lineup hit a lull Friday night but rallied to come away with a 4-3 win over the Chicago Cubs in 10 innings behind Will Smith’s walk-off RBI single. L.A. extended their winning streak to five games and are 8-1 on the homestand.
Fresh off being named All-Star Game starters for the National League, Mookie Betts and Trea Turner went a combined 0-for-9 with one RBI and four strikeouts. L.A. managed just two hits against Cubs starter Keegan Thompson.
The Dodgers put the first two runners on in the second inning and loaded the bases with one out, but Thompson wiggled out of the jam to keep the game locked in a scoreless tie. Thompson retired 13 batters in a row before Freddie Freeman dropped a hustle double into left field with two outs in the sixth inning.
That wound up leading to a run as Seiya Suzuki then dropped a routine fly ball in right field. The unearned run also marked the end of Thompson’s night.
He exited with a 3-0 lead thanks to the Cubs withstanding what was shaping up to be a dominant start by Anderson. He didn’t allow a baserunner until Patrick Wisdom’s check swing produced a dribbler that beat the shift to end the perfect game with two outs in the fourth inning.
Nothing came of it, but the Cubs took a lad when Nico Hoerner’s line drive hit off the top of the wall in left field and carried out for a leadoff home run in the fifth inning. Back-to-back base hits and a wild pitch in the sixth set the table for Ian Happ’s two-run double.
Happ later was caught in a rundown and attempted to bowl through Anderson at the plate, but he made the tag and gave the outfielder a shove that agitated some in the Cubs’ dugout. Happ didn’t appear to take issue and turned as though he apologized to Anderson.
Jake Lamb hit his first home run with the Dodgers in the seventh inning, and Betts’ sacrifice fly with the bases loaded tied the game in the ninth. Freeman was intentionally walked to begin the 10th, which set the stage for Smith’s fifth career walk-off hit.
Tyler Anderson leads Dodgers pitching staff
Despite beginning the season in the bullpen as a piggyback to Tony Gonsolin, Anderson now leads the Dodgers with 91.1 innings pitched.
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