Cubs complete sweep of slumping Dodgers as Ohtani's two homers go to waste in 7-6 loss
Arash Markazi
Host · Writer
CHICAGO — The Dodgers showed signs of life Wednesday afternoon at Wrigley Field. They just couldn't stop the bleeding.
Despite two home runs from Shohei Ohtani and a five-run eighth inning that nearly erased a six-run deficit, the Dodgers fell to the Chicago Cubs, 7-6, as the Cubs completed a three-game sweep and handed Los Angeles its sixth consecutive loss.
The Dodgers (69-46) have now dropped eight of their last 10 games, matching their longest losing streak of the season, and head home searching for answers after another frustrating road trip.
"It's baseball," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said afterward. "I like the fight. It sucks to lose, it absolutely does, but we're going to win again. I thought the quality of the at-bats was really encouraging. There was no quitting."
The late rally prevented the afternoon from becoming a complete disaster.
Trailing 7-1 entering the eighth, Max Muncy launched a three-run homer before Ohtani crushed his second home run of the game, a two-run shot to left-center, cutting Chicago's lead to one. The comeback ultimately ended there as Jacob Webb recorded the final four outs for his sixth save.
Ohtani finished 3 for 5 with two home runs and three RBIs, recording the 24th multi-homer game of his career while extending his hitting streak to nine games. He now has 13 extra-base hits over his last 20 games. The offensive explosion, however, wasn't enough to keep the Dodgers from being swept. The game also featured an entertaining duel between Ohtani and Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, who answered with two home runs and four RBIs of his own.
Roberts acknowledged the two National League MVP contenders seemed to feed off one another.
"I do think they were going toe-to-toe," Roberts said. "Obviously there's a lot of talk about those two guys being the frontrunners for the MVP, so they both showed out. They hear what's being said about them and that was fun for the fans."
For Ohtani, however, the individual accomplishments meant little.
"It's more important for the team to win," Ohtani said through his interpreter. "There are a lot of ups and downs over the course of the season. Right now, the priority is stopping this losing streak and helping the team win."
The Dodgers dug themselves too deep a hole to climb out of.
Making his second start since being acquired from Toronto, left-hander Eric Lauer lasted just four innings, allowing six runs on 11 hits, including two home runs to Crow-Armstrong. Chicago piled up runs in the second and fourth innings before adding another in the seventh to take a commanding 7-1 lead.
Shota Imanaga held the Dodgers in check for five innings, allowing just one run while striking out six to earn his eighth victory of the season.
The loss also came with another injury scare.
Freddie Freeman was hit on the right hand by a pitch in the eighth inning but stayed in long enough to finish the at-bat before Roberts removed him as a precaution. X-rays were negative.
"I wasn't concerned," Freeman said. "It hit the bat first and then pinched my hand onto the bat. I could still swing. X-rays were negative, so I feel all right. I'll do some more treatment tomorrow and I should be good Friday."
Roberts said he expects Freeman to be available when the Dodgers open a crucial home series against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
"My expectation is yes," Roberts said.
The Dodgers did find positives late in the game, with Mookie Betts collecting four hits and the offense finally breaking through after scoring just five runs over the first two games of the series.
Freeman believes the late offensive surge can carry over after Thursday's off day.
"We showed some life," Freeman said. "Mookie had a great day, Max hit the home run, Shohei keeps getting extra-base hits. We haven't played well the last week, but we've got a really good team. It's a 162-game season. We just have to play better on Friday."
Roberts echoed that optimism despite the Dodgers' worst stretch of the season.
"We've lost six straight," Roberts said. "We've got to flush it. We have to put forth our best against another team that's playing for something. I do feel that eighth inning is something for us to build on."
