MLB

Chicago Cubs at Los Angeles Dodgers

· Major League Baseball
Chicago Cubs
75-70, 37-37 Away
Final
6 - 3
Los Angeles Dodgers
86-59, 47-27 Home

Cubs beat Dodgers 6-3 in Yamamoto-Imanaga matchup as LA makes 3 errors in 5-run 8th inning

The NL West-leading Dodgers blew a 3-1 lead and lost to the Cubs for the second straight night, assuring their first series loss since Aug. 5-7 against visiting Philadelphia. Los Angeles' division lead was cut to 4 1/2 games over second-place San Diego.

“We've played wonderful defense this series,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said.

Chicago is four games back of Atlanta and the New York Mets, who are tied for the last NL wild card.

Center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong robbed Max Muncy of a potential two-run homer with two outs in the ninth.

“Honestly, it feels like he has some like Velcro or something in his glove because he keeps making these great plays,” designated hitter Seiya Suzuki said through an interpreter.

Crow-Armstrong made a terrific sliding catch on the warning track of Kiké Hernández to end the seventh at the ballpark where he attended games as a youngster.

“I love it,” Crow-Armstrong said. “It feels better winning these last two and going home tomorrow with some good momentum.”

A leadoff walk by Alex Vesia, a throwing error by catcher Austin Barnes, center fielder Tommy Edman’s errant throw that went into the camera well near the Dodgers dugout and a fielding error by second baseman Hernández helped the Cubs take a 6-3 lead.

“It was a frustrating way to lose that game,” Muncy said. “We made a lot of mental mistakes. We got to eliminate that.”

Yamamoto struck out his first four batters of his first start in nearly three months, facing off against Chicago’s Imanaga (13-3) in a matchup of former Japanese big league rivals pitching against each other for the first time in Major League Baseball.

“They’ve traveled halfway around the world and they’re still competing against each other,” Counsell said before the game. “That’s pretty cool.”

Imanaga allowed three runs and seven hits in seven innings, struck out four and walked none.

“Today I pitched well because I was going against him,” Imanaga said through an interpreter. “I had a limit and I kind of went past that. It was a good day.”

Porter Hodge pitched the ninth for his fifth save. He stepped off the mound with two outs to go, complaining that his heart was racing. He has experienced the issue before and was cleared to pitch, Counsell said.

Evan Phillips (3-1) allowed two runs and four hits in the eighth.

Yamamoto gave up one run and three hits in four innings of his first start since June 16 following an injured list trip caused by a rotator cuff strain. He struck out eight and walked none.

“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 getting hurt, Yamamoto was off to an impressive start in the major leagues. He was 6-2 with a 2.92 ERA while striking out 84 over 74 innings. He earned his first MLB victory 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 velo was there, the execution was there, so it was good to see. We just got to get his pitch count built back up and it's going to be really huge for us down the stretch.”

In front of 51,923, the game featured Imanaga and Suzuki against Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani. They were teammates for Japan in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, winning the title over the U.S., although Suzuki was hurt and didn’t play.

Suzuki finished 3 for 5 witha run. Ohtani was hitless in four at-bats. He remains four homers and three stolen bases from becoming the first player in major league history to achieve a 50-50 season.

“Yamamoto was doing a really good job, difficult to face him,” Suzuki said through an interpreter.

Edman homered twice on two pitches from Imanaga for a 2-1 lead.

Edman hit his first homer of the season into the lower left field seats on a 92-mph fastball leading off the third, tying the game 1-1. The center fielder went deep again in the fourth, sending a go-ahead shot into the left field pavilion on a 93-mph fastball.

The Dodgers extended the lead to 3-1 on Muncy's homer leading off the fifth.

Chicago led 1-0 on Crow-Armstrong's infield single to first that hit Freddie Freeman and bounced into foul territory, scoring Isaac Paredes, who singled.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Dodgers: LHP Anthony Banda went on the IL with a left hand fracture, the result of punching a wall after his outing on Monday. ... RHP Tyler Glasnow (tendonitis) used his entire pitch mix in a bullpen session. “He was ripping the fastball,” manager Dave Roberts said. Next up is facing hitters in a simulated game Friday in Atlanta. ... OF Teoscar Hernández (bruised foot) was available off the bench and is expected back in the lineup Wednesday.

UP NEXT

Cubs: LHP Jordan Wicks (2-3, 4.03 ERA) is 1-1 since coming off the IL on Sept. 1.

Dodgers: RHP Bobby Miller (2-4, 7.79) tries to avoid a second straight loss.

How can I watch Chicago Cubs vs. Los Angeles Dodgers?
  • TV Channel: Cubs at Dodgers 2022 MLB Baseball, is broadcasted on TBS.
  • Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Matchup Prediction

Dodgers: 59.5%
Cubs: 40.5%
*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

9th Inning Muncy flied out to center.
9th Inning Rojas to third on fielder's indifference.
9th Inning Rojas to second on fielder's indifference.
9th Inning Rojas walked.
9th Inning Smith lined out to shortstop.
9th Inning Edman grounded out to second.

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/chc.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originCHC https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/lad.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originLAD
1 Games Played 1
1 Team Games Played 1
0 Hit By Pitch 0
14 Ground Balls 10
10 Strikeouts 4
3 Runs Batted In 3
1 Sacrifice Hit 0
10 Hits 8
0 Stolen Bases 0
2 Walks 1
0 Catcher Interference 0
6 Runs 3
1 Ground Into Double Play 1
0 Sacrifice Flies 0
38 At Bats 33
0 Home Runs 3
0 Grand Slam Home Runs 0
18 Runners Left On Base 7
0 Triples 0
0 Game Winning RBIs 0
1 Intentional Walks 0
2 Doubles 0
15 Fly Balls 19
0 Caught Stealing 0
148 Pitches 121
0 Games Started 0
0 Pinch At Bats 1
0 Pinch Hits 0
0.0 Player Rating 0.0
1 Is Qualified 1
0 Is Qualified In Steals 0
12 Total Bases 17
41 Plate Appearances 34
0.0 Projected Home Runs 486.0
2 Extra Base Hits 3
3.3 Runs Created 4.3
.263 Batting Average .242
.000 Pinch Hit Average .000
.316 Slugging Percentage .515
.105 Secondary Average .303
.300 On Base Percentage .265
.616 OBP Pct + SLG Pct .780
0.9 Ground To Fly Ball Ratio 0.5
3.0 Runs Created Per 27 Outs 4.5
32.0 Batter Rating 29.0
0.0 At Bats Per Home Run 11.0
0.00 Stolen Base Percentage 0.00
3.61 Pitches Per Plate Appearance 3.56
.053 Isolated Power .273
0.20 Walk To Strikeout Ratio 0.25
.049 Walks Per Plate Appearance .029
-.158 Secondary Average Minus Batting Average .061
9.0 Runs Produced 6.0
0.5 Runs Ratio 1.0
0.4 Patience Ratio 0.5
0.4 Balls In Play Average 0.2
81.3 MLB Rating 83.0
0.0 Offensive Wins Above Replacement 0.0
0.0 Wins Above Replacement 0.0

Game Information

Dodger Stadium

Location: Los Angeles, California
Attendance: 51,923 | Capacity:

2024 National League Central Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Milwaukee 93 69 .574 - L1
St. Louis 83 79 .512 10 W1
Chicago 83 79 .512 10 L1
Cincinnati 77 85 .475 16 W1
Pittsburgh 76 86 .469 17 L1

2024 National League West Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Los Angeles 98 64 .605 - W5
San Diego 93 69 .574 5 L1
Arizona 89 73 .549 9 W1
San Francisco 80 82 .494 18 L1
Colorado 61 101 .377 37 L3
Full Standings