Cubs traded two home games for Tokyo trip, but get revenge on Dodgers

The April obstacle course continued for the Cubs with a visit from the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday at Wrigley Field.

The Cubs have played the toughest schedule in MLB by far. But here's something else to keep in mind:

Those two games against the Dodgers in Japan were technically home games. The Cubs will play 79 at Wrigley this season, 81 on the road and 2 in Japan.

Would the two opening games have gone differently if played Monday and Thursday on the North Side, as opposed to March 18-19 at the Tokyo Dome?

The outlook Tuesday was bleak after a bullpen implosion in the seventh inning. But catcher Miguel Amaya saved the Cubs with a game-tying home run with two outs in the ninth off Dodgers closer Tanner Yates. The home run ball barely made it into the basket in left-center field.

Then, after Porter Hodge kept the Dodgers off the board in the top of the 10th, Ian Happ hit the first pitch in the bottom of the inning into right field for the game-winning single and the Cubs won 11-10.

“As soon as I hit it, I felt like, ‘It’s out,’” Amaya said. “But I saw center field get in position to catch it, then ‘Oh my God, I’ve got to run.’ It was enough to get out. Love those basket-balls.”

Added Happ, “What a swing. That’s not an easy guy (closer Tanner Scott) to hit in the air. I think he’s one of the best in the game and it’s a really hard fastball to get in the air for a right-handed hitter. So just a really impressive swing from Mig there.”

This was both a great escape and a game the Cubs should have won all along. The offense scored runs and the Cubs outhit the Dodgers 17-9, but they also failed to cash in with multiple runners on base and less than two outs. Another issue was third baseman Gage Workman, who hadn't played above Double-A before this year. He committed 2 errors, leading to 4 unearned runs.

Pete Crow-Armstrong's 2-run homer in the fifth put the Cubs ahead 7-4. Catcher Will Smith homered off Shota Imanaga in the sixth, then the Dodgers plated 5 runs in the seventh. That inning got off to a bad start when Brad Keller gave up a single and two walks. Workman then tried to turn Teoscar Hernandez's bouncer into a 5-3 double play, but the ball bounced off the heel of his glove for an error and Freddie Freeman followed with a 2-run double.

Kyle Tucker's seventh home run of the season, a rocket that landed just below the scoreboard in right, brought the Cubs within 10-9 in the bottom of the eighth.

Looking back at the trip to Japan, Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer had no regrets.

“The trip was good for camaraderie,” he said before the game. “Being together for seven days over there and eating a ton of meals together and all those different things, I think that part was good. I don't think the starting early helped or hurt.”

Hoyer liked the idea of getting two West Coast trips out of the way early. After Wednesday, the Cubs will be done with the Dodgers, San Diego and Arizona.

Hard to say if two extra home games would make a difference for the Cubs, since it's impossible to know if the travel adventure bonded the Cubs into a more successful group.

“Certainly it is a very daunting schedule,” Hoyer said. “I'm proud of the way our guys have responded to it so far. We have a ways to go. At the same time, I thought we had a really hard schedule last April. We grinded through that and then we struggled in May (and June).”

Speaking of May, Dodgers starter Dustin May, after missing nearly two full seasons with a variety of injuries, entered this game with a 1.06 ERA through three starts. The Cubs got to him quickly for 5 runs and 4 extra-base hits in the bottom of the first inning to take a 5-3 lead.

Tommy Edman hit a 3-run homer — his third against the Cubs this season and third of his career against Imanaga — in the top of the first. All 3 runs were unearned because the inning began with an error by Workman at third.

Happ finished 4-for-5 at the plate, Tucker was 3-for-4 and Crow-Armstrong 3-for-5 with 3 RBI. The Cubs finished with 3 home runs, 8 extra-base hits and 4 stolen bases.