Cubs miss out on scoring chances in 9-4 loss to Dodgers
Bases loaded. Nobody out.
That's how both the Dodgers and Cubs began Saturday's game at Wrigley Field.
After Cubs starter Hayden Wesneski wiggled out of his jam by allowing a lone run, the 35,076 on hand had to be thinking David Ross' squad would take at least a 3-1 or 4-1 lead - especially considering they'd seen the North Siders score 45 times in the previous five games.
But no.
Dodgers starter Dustin May, who owns some of the best stuff in the majors, got Seiya Suzuki to ground into a fielder's choice (which did score Nico Hoerner), struck out Cody Bellinger and popped out Patrick Wisdom.
After that, May settled in and the Dodgers went on to claim a 9-4 victory.
"We did such a good job on the road trip and (Friday) when we got guys on base," said left fielder Ian Happ, who went 1-for-2 with a pair of walks. "At some point you're not going to take advantage of all those opportunities."
The Dodgers' Max Muncy and James Outman both homered twice. Muncy's were a 2-run shot off Mark Leiter Jr. in the seventh and a solo bomb to right field off Brad Boxberger. Muncy's 10 homers are tied for the league lead with the Mets' Pete Alonso. Nine of Muncy's have come in the last 12 games.
Outman's 7 home runs in March and April are the most in Dodgers (11-11) franchise history by a rookie. Four have come against the Cubs (12-8) in this series.
"Gotta get out the guys in front of them and around them," Ross said. "When guys are like that in the lineup it's just really important to limit those to solos."
Wesneski (1-1, 6.23 ERA) allowed 3 runs on 5 hits and walked one in 4⅓ innings. The 25-year-old isn't happy with how his slider is spinning and is hoping more work will get it to where it needs to be.
He's also aware that any player's roster status is in jeopardy if they don't produce consistently.
"I think about it all the time," Wesneski said. "It's one of those things that I could come up here and lie to you and say it doesn't cross my mind.
"But at the end of the day all I can worry about is throwing one pitch at a time and getting outs. I've just got to compete and get after it a little bit more. And we're close. We're not far off."
Perhaps the biggest at-bat of that first inning was Cody Bellinger's. The former Dodgers outfielder came up after Suzuki's RBI groundout with a chance to extend the lead, but he went down looking on an 85-mph curveball on an 0-2 count.
"He's got probably some of the better stuff in the big leagues," Bellinger said of May. "Obviously I just wanted to get the job done. Missed a few pitches early and he spun me a pretty good curve ball that just froze me."
Trailing 4-2 heading to the bottom of the sixth, the Cubs threatened when Happ and Bellinger walked and executed a double steal. There was just one out, but Wisdom couldn't take advantage, popping up to the first baseman on a 2-2 pitch. Pinch-hitter Nick Madrigal struck out to end the inning.
The Dodgers went ahead 6-2 when reliever Mark Leiter Jr. gave up a one-out single to Freddie Freeman and Muncy hit his first home run to right-center field.
Hoerner hit a 2-run homer in the bottom of the seventh, but the Dodgers added three more in the ninth to put the game away.
"Just weren't able to get that big knock across," Ross said. "But kept it close. Guys fought. That big home run from Nico to get us back within two. ...
"They just made pitches when they had to."