CHICAGO — If it was Bobby Miller’s birthday party, he was the piñata.
Miller turned 25 on Friday and celebrated by striking out the team in the first inning at Wrigley Field. That’s as far as the celebration went. Miller struck out only two more batters, didn’t make it out of the second inning and allowed the first five runs as the Chicago Cubs beat the Dodgers, 9-7, on a cold afternoon with temperatures never exceeding 40 degrees.
The Dodgers made a game of it, pulling within one run in the fifth inning, scoring at least five runs for the 10th straight game to start the season, a franchise record. Only seven other teams since 1880 have started a season with a streak of 10 or more games and no team has had a longer streak since the New York Yankees had 13 consecutive games of at least five runs to start the 1932 season.
The Dodgers had sufficient offense against the Cubs. Shohei Ohtani hit a double and a two-run homer, his second straight game with a home run. Will Smith had three hits. Just like Teoscar Hernández, who made four runs with his hits.
But the Dodgers (7-3) continued to give it back every time they gained ground.
Miller’s second-inning problems began with a one-out home run by Dansby Swanson. A walk, consecutive singles and a wild pitch produced two more runs. After a fly out and a walk, Seiya Suzuki doubled in two runs and Miller’s day ended early.
Dinelson Lamet relieved Miller and gave up a solo home run to former Dodger Michael Busch.
But the most costly damage came in the sixth inning when a poor call by Hernandez in right field led to two Cubs runs.
Michael Grove brought in two runners with a walk and a single before Ian Happ sent a line drive to right center field. Hernández surrounded him and dropped to his knees to try to catch the ball. He wasn’t very close and the ball went under his glove and past him for a two-run triple.
A sacrifice fly gave the Cubs a three-run inning. That held the difference in the match – with some help from the wind blowing off Lake Michigan.
Chris Taylor led off the eighth inning with a walk and moved to second base on a wild pitch. With two outs, Ohtani hit a drive to center field that left the bat at 110 mph and had the potential to tie the score. But it was swallowed up by Wrigley’s wind and fell into the glove of center fielder Cody Bellinger.
The Dodgers strung together the tying runs with no outs in the ninth and Max Muncy repeated Ohtani’s mistake, hitting a 101 mph drive off the tee, but also to center field immediately. After replay turned an infield single by Hernandez into a ground out, Busch made a diving play on a James Outman line drive to end the game.
More to come on this story.
Shohei Ohtani hits home runs in back-to-back games! 💣 pic.twitter.com/EfOHJJiQsp
– SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) April 5, 2024
California Daily Newspapers
