CHICAGO — If this was Bobby Miller’s birthday party, he was the piñata.
Miller turned 25 on Friday and celebrated by striking out the side in the first inning at Wrigley Field. That’s as far as the celebration went. Miller retired just two more batters, didn’t get out of the second inning and gave up the first five runs as the Chicago Cubs beat the Dodgers, 9-7, on a cold afternoon with temperatures never leaving the 40s.
The Dodgers made a game of it, pulling within a run in the fifth inning, by scoring at least five runs for the 10th consecutive game to start the season, a franchise record. Only seven other teams since 1880 have started a season with a streak of 10 games or more and no team has had a longer streak since the New York Yankees ran off 13 consecutive games of at least five runs to start the 1932 season.
The Dodgers had ample offense against the Cubs. Shohei Ohtani had a double and a two-run home run, his second consecutive game with a homer. Will Smith had three hits. So did Teoscar Hernandez, who drove in four runs with his hits.
But the Dodgers (7-3) kept giving it back every time they gained ground.
Miller’s second-inning troubles started with a one-out home run by Dansby Swanson. A walk, back-to-back singles and a wild pitch produced two more runs. After a fly out and a walk, Seiya Suzuki doubled in two runs and Miller’s day was done early.
Dinelson Lamet relieved Miller and gave up a solo home run to former Dodger Michael Busch.
But the costliest damage came in the sixth inning when a poor decision by Hernandez in right field led to two Cubs runs.
Michael Grove put two runners on with a walk and a single before Ian Happ sent a sinking line drive into right center field. Hernandez surrounded it and went to his knees in an attempt to make a catch. He wasn’t very close and the ball skipped under his glove and past him for a two-run triple.
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A sacrifice fly made it a three-run inning for the Cubs. That held up for the difference in the game – with an assist from the wind blowing in off Lake Michigan.
Chris Taylor led off the eighth inning with a walk and moved to second base on a wild pitch. With two outs, Ohtani hit a drive to center field that left the bat at 110 mph and had the potential to tie the score. But it was swallowed up by the Wrigley wind and came down in the glove of center fielder Cody Bellinger.
The Dodgers put the tying runs on with no outs in the ninth and Max Muncy repeated Ohtani’s mistake, hitting a drive 101 mph off the bat but also to straightaway center field. After replay turned an infield single by Hernandez into a ground out, Busch made a diving play on a line drive by James Outman to end the game.
More to come on this story.
Shohei Ohtani homers in back-to-back games! pic.twitter.com/EfOHJJiQsp
— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) April 5, 2024
