The Los Angeles Dodgers saw their four-game winning streak snapped on Tuesday night as they fell to the Chicago Cubs, 9-4, at Dodger Stadium. The win ended snapped Chicago’s five-game losing streak.
A big reason for that Cubs victory was the play of Javier Baez, who went 4-for-5 with two home runs, one of which was a grand slam, while driving in five runs. Baez hit a home run, a double and a single off Dodgers starter Ross Stripling.
With that, he improved to 5-for-5 overall against Stripling in his young career. Stripling knows he has not had much success against Baez thus far, but he is hoping to face him again in the postseason to get a chance at redemption, via Andy McCullough of the L.A. Times:
“I threw the kitchen sink at him,” Stripling said. “And he hit it all. We’ll hopefully play them in October, and I’ll get him out then.”
The Dodgers and the Cubs have met in each of the last two National League Championship Seres, and with both teams once again in the thick of their respective division races, it looks as if they could be on a collision course to face one another for a third straight year.
If that is the case then Stripling would likely be a big part of that series as he is having a breakout season. He had another solid performance on Tuesday against Chicago despite Baez’s three hits.
Stripling gave up seven hits and one run in five innings, striking out four while walking just one. Overall in 22 games (11 starts) this season, he is 6-2 with a 1.98 ERA, 2.61 FIP and 1.07 WHIP with 89 strikeouts and 12 walks in 77.1 innings.
Baez is also having a breakout season, slashing .276/.315/.555 with 16 home runs and 56 RBI. While Stripling is looking forward to facing him in the postseason, the pair will first likely be teammates this summer on the National League All-Star team.
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