The Los Angeles Dodgers reached the conclusion of their seven-game road trip, needing a win over the Chicago Cubs on Thursday afternoon at Wrigley Field to finish above .500 before returning to Dodger Stadium.
Chase Utley opened the game with a leadoff single to center field, but was erased on a Corey Seager double play. Kyle Hendricks then struck out Justin Turner on a check swing to end a scoreless first inning.
Julio Urias’ second career Major League start began on a brighter note than his debut. Dexter Fowler did reach on a jam-shot single, but Urias was out of the inning two grounders later, with the latter of the two a double play.
Hendricks easily worked his way through the second inning, setting Adrian Gonzalez, Joc Pederson and Trayce Thompson down in order on a pair of groundouts and fly out.
Urias ran into some bad luck in the bottom of the second, getting squeezed on a couple of pitches to Anthony Rizzo, with the plate appearance ending in a leadoff walk. Jorge Soler then hit a slow chopper that got by Gonzalez for an infield single that left two on with no outs.
Javier Baez hit a one-out flare single into left-center field to give the Cubs a 1-0 lead. Pederson didn’t field the ball cleanly and his error allowed both runners to take an extra base. That proved key as Miguel Montero drove a run in with an RBI groundout.
CONTINUE READING: Cubs hammer Dodgers with long ball