Game Sixty-Eight – Cubs 4, Dodgers 2
WP – Travis Wood (4-3) LP – Clayton Kershaw (5-5) Save – Jason Motte (2)
Kris Bryant hit two home runs, a two-run shot to right off Clayton Kershaw in the third and a solo blast to left in the eighth inning. And Matt Szczur took Kershaw deep in the seventh as the Cubs beat the Dodgers on a stormy night at Wrigley Field.
The Cubs scored all four of their runs Monday night via the longball.
With the Dodgers leading 1-0 in the bottom of the third, Kris Bryant (2-for-3 with two home runs, three RBI and a walk) snapped a 0-for-15 slump in a big way. Bryant went with a Clayton Kershaw curveball (1-2 pitch) and drove it into the bleachers in right field, the first home run off a Kershaw curveball since May 11, 2014. Bryant’s two-run blast gave the Cubs a 2-1 lead.
Matt Szczur (1-for-3 with a home run) was recalled from Triple-A Iowa prior to Monday’s game, inserted into the starting lineup against Kershaw and responded with a solo home run in the seventh inning. Szczur’s first big league homer of the season gave the Cubs a 3-1 lead.
Kris Bryant delivered a little insurance in the eighth, a mammoth homer (2-1 pitch) to left off Adam Liberatore. And Bryant made his first curtain call.
The Cubs managed only five hits but out-homered the Dodgers 3-2 on Monday night. And what will be lost in Kris Bryant’s first multi-homer game of his career is the performance turned in by the bullpen.
Tsuyoshi Wada had to leave the game in the third inning due to cramping in his left shoulder. The Cubs bullpen covered seven innings and allowed only one run, a solo homer by Joc Pederson in the ninth inning.
Travis Wood picked up the win after tossing 3 1/3 innings of scoreless ball. Wood walked three batters but allowed just one hit while striking out four. David Ross threw out two runners at second base (Yasiel Puig and Kike Hernandez) while Wood was on the mound that helped keep him out of trouble and end two innings.
James Russell recorded the last two outs in the sixth when he induced a double play off the bat of Joc Pederson to end the inning, just the second double play the rookie has grounded into this season.
Pedro Strop struck out two of the four batters he faced in the seventh. And Hector Rondon quietly retired the side in order in the eighth.
Jason Motte, celebrating his 33rd birthday, served up the solo homer to Joc Pederson in the ninth. After Adrian Gonzalez singled with two outs, Motte retired Howie Kendrick on a grounder to Addison Russell to end the game.
Tsuyoshi Wada left in the third inning after giving up a solo home run to Kike Hernandez and a single to A.J. Ellis. Chris Bosio and P.J. Mainville went to check on Wada before Joe Maddon was summoned. After a brief discussion, Wada left the game. Travis Wood replaced him with one on and no outs in third.
The Cubs announced Wada was dealing with cramping in his left deltoid muscle (shoulder) and will be evaluated Tuesday.
Dexter Fowler was lifted from the game in the bottom of the fifth inning. Fowler suffered a left ankle sprain in the third inning running the bases. Fowler reached on a single to right with one out in the third. Anthony Rizzo hit a fly ball to center that Joc Pederson misplayed then had to run in and make a diving catch. Fowler appeared to twist his ankle when he stopped between first and second. Fowler stayed in and played in the field in the fourth inning. Chris Coghlan hit for him in the bottom of the fifth.
Joe Maddon said after the game that Fowler was having X-rays done on his left ankle. Fowler is officially day-to-day.
The game was delay in the bottom of the sixth for 10 minutes after the lights flashed at Wrigley due to the storms in the area. The lights did not go off, but several banks went down temporarily. Joe Maddon did not want the game to continue until all of the lights were back on. The umpires decided there was enough light to resume play. Maddon did not agree and the Cubs played the remainder of the game under protest.
With Monday’s win, the Cubs improved to 38-30 on the season.
Play-by-Play and Box Score from Yahoo Sports
Jason Hammel and Zack Greinke are scheduled for Tuesday night (7:05pm CDT) in game two of the series.