Dodgers suffer rain-soaked defeat in Chicago – Orange County Register

CHICAGO — It was a miserable day trying to play baseball. And the Dodgers played accordingly.

Errors by Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts led to four unearned runs and Gavin Stone lasted only three innings, sending the Dodgers into a nearly three-hour six-run rain delay. When play resumed, the Chicago Cubs completed the formalities of an 8-1 loss to the Dodgers on Sunday afternoon at a soggy Wrigley Field.

A cold weekend with temperatures in the 40s came to a head with intermittent drizzle in the morning turning into steady rain shortly after the game. Things reached a breaking point in the bottom of the fourth inning after Dodgers reliever Gus Varland entered the game, gave up a double to Ian Happ and hit Seiya Suzuki with a pitch.

With most of the Dodgers standing in the rain, the umpires waved the field crew onto the field. For several minutes, they spread sand all around the infield to try to absorb the puddles that formed.

It was a wasted effort as rain continued to fall. When play resumed, Varland recovered two ground balls. One was handled by Freeman for an out, but the next one found its way to Miguel Rojas (making his first start at third base since 2020). Rojas’ throw was in the dirt – actually, in the mud – and Freeman couldn’t recover it.

A point was scored on the play and the officiating crew finally waved the grounds crew – and the tarp – onto the field.

As he left the field, Rojas – who slipped and fell while running out of the batter’s box during his third inning at bat – confronted the umpiring crew led by Laz Diaz, clearly expressing his displeasure with to their handling of the situation.

The first four runs given up by the Dodgers had less to do with weather conditions.

Freeman’s error helped the Cubs load the bases with two outs in the first inning and Stone gave up a three-run double to Michael Busch. In the second inning, a walk and a single allowed a sacrifice fly – the Cubs’ only earned run against Stone.

In the third, Betts failed to field a ground ball with two outs to his right. A wild pitch and double by Mike Tauchman turned that into another unearned run.