The Cubs won for the 82nd time on the season Friday night at Dodger Stadium. Kris Bryant sparked the comeback with a solo homer in the eighth and delivered the game winner, a two-run shot to right center in the 10th inning. A typically even-keeled Bryant was rather animated after his second home run gave the Cubs the lead. And the first extra innings home run of Bryant’s career led the Cubs to a 6-4 win over the Dodgers.
The Cubs are 5-2 on the current road trip and improved to a season-high 37 games over .500 with an 82-45 record.
Bryant took over the NL lead in home runs with his two blasts on Friday night. Bryant hit Nos. 34 and 35 at Dodger Stadium and is now hitting .303/.395/.587 with 30 doubles, a triple and 35 home runs for a .982 OPS. The pro-Cubs crowd at Dodger Stadium chanted ‘M-V-P’ for Bryant and his teammates continued the chant in the clubhouse after the game according to multiple reports.
Kris Bryant has gone yard seven times and is 18-for-38 in his last eight games.
In a stadium that was full of stars on Friday, Kris Bryant was the biggest one of them all for the team with the best record in baseball.
Joe Maddon passed on good news about John Lackey, Hector Rondon, Pedro Strop and Joe Smith before Friday’s game with the Dodgers. All four pitchers are progressing from their injuries. Three of the four are on track to come off the DL next week and Strop could return sooner than initially expected.
John Lackey
John Lackey completed a scheduled side session on Friday at Dodger Stadium. Unless there is a setback, Lackey is expected to be ready to come off the DL when the roster expands next week (Sept. 1).
Lackey has been on the 15-day disabled list since Aug. 19, retroactive to Aug. 15, with a right shoulder strain.
According to the Tribune, Lackey should be ready to be activated from the disabled list next week when the roster expands (Sept. 1) around the time of the four-game series with the Giants at Wrigley Field (Sept. 1-4).
Hector Rondon
Hector Rondon got his work in before Friday’s game at Dodger Stadium. Rondon had a long toss session Friday, as scheduled, and unless there is a setback he should be ready to come off the disabled list around the time the roster expands on Sept. 1 for the weekend series with the Giants at Wrigley Field.
Rondon has been on the disabled list since Aug. 19, retroactive to Aug. 17, with right triceps strain.
Pedro Strop
Pedro Strop may return from the DL closer to the four-week timeframe than the six weeks that many thought it would take for him to fully recover from arthroscopic surgery on his left knee.
Strop was placed on the disabled list Aug. 11 with a left meniscus tear. Strop had surgery the next day (Aug. 12). Strop posted a video on his Instagram account last week that showed him running on a treadmill. Strop is jogging and Maddon said Friday he “is getting great progress.”
Joe Smith
According to multiple reports, RHP Joe Smith will report to Triple-A Iowa and begin a rehab assignment on Saturday.
The Cubs placed Smith on the 15-day DL on Aug. 17 with a left hamstring strain. Smith has been dealing with the hamstring issue for a majority of the season.
Smith appeared in six games for the Cubs before landing on the DL and allowed three runs on six hits (three home runs) with four walks and a strikeout in 3 2/3 innings (7.36 ERA, 2.72 WHIP, 16.51 FIP).
Chris Coghlan – Tommy La Stella
Chris Coghlan and Tommy La Stella were in the starting lineup for Iowa in Friday’s 6-5 win over Omaha.
Coghlan hit second and was Marty Pevey’s designated hitter for the night. Coghlan went 2-for-4 with a run scored.
Tommy La Stella hit fifth and played third base, which moved the red-hot Jeimer Candelario to first base for the night. La Stella also had two hits. La Stella was 2-for-4 with a run scored.
Cubs-Dodgers Series
Comcast SportsNet announced Friday that the station will carry the audio of Vin Scully calling the third inning of Sunday’s Cubs-Dodgers game.
From Comcast SportsNet: To honor one of the greatest sports broadcasters in radio and television history, Comcast SportsNet Chicago will be carrying the live audio call for one inning featuring Los Angeles Dodgers legend Vin Scully’s final Dodgers-Cubs game on Sunday afternoon, Aug. 28. CSN will carry the SportsNet LA audio feed with Scully’s live game call during the entire 3rd inning.
The Cubs found out Friday the Dodgers will start left-hander Julio Urias on Saturday and right-hander Brock Stewart on Sunday.
The pitching matchups for the next two games will be RHP Jason Hammel versus LHP Julio Urias on Saturday (3:05pm CDT) and LHP Jon Lester versus RHP Brock Stewart on Sunday (3:10pm CDT). David Ross will be behind the plate for the Cubs final game of the regular season at Dodger Stadium.
News and Notes
• Paul Sullivan reported it was hardly a Hard Day’s Night for the Cubs on Beatles Night at Dodger Stadium.
• The Cubs paid their respects to Vin Scully at Dodger Stadium according to Comcast SportsNet.
• Comcast SportsNet explained how Mike Montgomery fits into big-picture plans for the Cubs.
• Kris Bryant’s career is off to a Hall of Fame start according to ESPN Chicago.
• Henry Schulman reported Friday that he is hearing the Giants might have a tough time calling up RHP Joe Nathan in September when the rosters expand. The Giants have a full 40-man roster. Nathan would have to be added to the roster before he could be called up from the minors. The Giants would like to have a spot on the roster for a third catcher, according to Schulman, and the team is “not keen on DFA’ing any prospects.”
• The White Sox traded veteran catcher Dioner Navarro to the Blue Jays for LHP Colton Turner.
• The Rays will release OF Desmond Jennings on Saturday according to multiple reports. In 65 games this season, Jennings hit only .200/.281/.350 with seven doubles, a triple and seven home runs for a .631 OPS.
• According to The Tribune, Joe Maddon supports Tim Tebow’s baseball bid. Maddon said Friday that he has seen video of Tim Tebow taking batting practice. The former football star has a workout scheduled next week as he tries to break in to baseball. The Tribune and Sun-Times have not been able to find out if the Cubs will have scouts attend Tebow’s workout.
This Day in Cubstory
2014 – Jorge Soler made his Major League debut. Soler went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI in a 7-5 loss in Cincinnati. Soler took Mat Latos deep in his first big league at bat.
2010 – The Reds Chris Valaika hit his first Major League home run off the Cubs Tom Gorzelanny
2005 – Cubs traded Matt Lawton to the Yankees for Justin Berg
2001 – Sammy Sosa tied Willie Mays’ NL mark for home runs in August with No. 17 of the month. Rudy York of the Tigers set the Major League record when he hit 18 home runs in 1937.
1999 – Cubs signed amateur free agent Ronny Cedeno
1989 – Josh Vitters, born
1988 – Mike Olt, born
1967 – Brian McRae, born
1960 – Ernie Banks drove in his 100th run with a groundout in the first inning. Banks ended his season with 117 RBI and was the last shortstop in the NL to drive in 100 runs until Hubie Brooks accomplished the feat in 1985 with the Expos.
1941 – Charlie Root became the first pitcher to win 200 games in a Cubs uniform. Root delivered a clutch single in the ninth inning as the Cubs scored three runs and beat the Boston Braves 6-4 at Braves Field. Root is the only pitcher to win 200 games in the history of the Chicago Cubs.
1935 – Ernie Broglio, born
1929 – Rogers Hornsby collected four hits and Sheriff Blake picked up the victory in the Cubs 4-1 win over the Reds. The Cubs increased its lead to 14 ½ games in the NL, the largest lead by a team in the National League at that stage of the season since the 1906 Cubs.
1917 – Peanuts Lowrey, born