The Cubs scored five runs in the eighth inning to pull ahead and defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-3 on Tuesday night. During that inning, the Dodgers made three errors, which allowed Chicago to secure the win. The game featured a pitching duel between Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shota Imanaga.
The Dodgers, who lead the NL West, lost their second straight game to the Cubs. This marked their first series loss since early August when they faced the Philadelphia Phillies. The Dodgers’ lead in their division was reduced to 4 1/2 games ahead of the San Diego Padres.
Cubs manager Craig Counsell praised the team’s defense, saying they played exceptionally well throughout the series.
The Cubs are now four games behind the Atlanta Braves and the New York Mets, who are tied for the last NL wild card spot.
In the ninth inning, center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong made a spectacular catch, taking away a possible two-run homer from Max Muncy. Crow-Armstrong also made a great sliding catch on Kiké Hernández’s hit to end the seventh inning.
“I love it,” Crow-Armstrong said. “It feels better winning these last two and going home tomorrow with some good momentum.”
The Dodgers’ mistakes in the eighth inning included a leadoff walk by Alex Vesia, a throwing error by catcher Austin Barnes, a misthrow by center fielder Tommy Edman into the camera well, and a fielding error by second baseman Hernández, which allowed the Cubs to score and take the lead.
“It was a frustrating way to lose that game,” Muncy said. “We made a lot of mental mistakes. We’ve got to eliminate that.”
Yamamoto struck out the first four batters he faced in his first start in nearly three months. He and Imanaga, who has a 13-3 record, were facing each other for the first time in Major League Baseball after competing against each other in Japan.
Imanaga pitched seven innings, giving up three runs and seven hits, while striking out four and walking none.
“Today I pitched well because I was facing him,” Imanaga said through an interpreter. “I had a limit and kind of exceeded it. It was a good day.”
Porter Hodge closed out the game with his fifth save. He had to step off the mound with two outs remaining because he felt his heart racing. He has had this issue before but was cleared to pitch, according to Counsell.
Evan Phillips (3-1) gave up two runs and four hits in the eighth inning.
Yamamoto allowed one run and three hits in four innings during his first start since June 16, following an injury that kept him out due to a rotator cuff strain. He struck out eight and did not walk any batters.
“Today was pretty close to the best of the year,” Yamamoto said through an interpreter. “Today’s outing turned out much better than I expected.”
Before his injury, Yamamoto had an impressive start to the season. He was 6-2 with a 2.92 ERA and had struck out 84 batters in 74 innings. He won his first MLB game against the Cubs at Wrigley Field on April 6. Yamamoto signed a $325 million, 12-year contract with the Dodgers last offseason.
“It was good to see Yoshi back,” Muncy said. “His stuff looked really sharp, his velocity was there, and his execution was solid, so it was good to see. We just need to get his pitch count up, and he’ll be very important for us going forward.”
In front of 51,923 fans, the game featured Imanaga and Suzuki facing off against Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani. They were teammates for Japan in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, winning the title against the U.S., though Suzuki was injured and did not play.
Suzuki went 3 for 5 with a run, while Ohtani went hitless in four at-bats. He remains four home runs and three stolen bases short of becoming the first player in major league history to achieve a 50-50 season.
