After starting the season 8-0, the Dodgers have lost two of three games in all three series since.
“I think as a collective this past week offensively, we’re not taking as many team at-bats. Obviously the guys at the bottom have struggled to get on base,” manager Dave Roberts said before Sunday’s game. “I just think right now we haven’t been synced up, but I think it will be short-lived.”
Batters hitting seventh, eighth, or ninth this season for the Dodgers are hitting just .154/.230/.278, last in the majors in batting average and 28th in OPS. That’s led to Shohei Ohtani rarely batting with runners in scoring position — just three at-bats and four walks for him in those situations through 17 games — but at least on Sunday the bottom of the order was instrumental to the scoring.
Kiké Hernández, batting eighth, singled home the first run with a second-inning single, his first hit this season that wasn’t a home run. Max Muncy, hitting seventh, added a sacrifice fly in the sixth that briefly tied the score.
But that was it for the offense, which totaled just five runs in three games against the Cubs, and got two losses to show for it.
Ohtani did line out hard to deep right field once but was hitless in five at-bats on Sunday, and had one hit in 12 at-bats over the weekend.
Glasnow had an impressive bounce-back start after last Sunday’s debacle in the rain in Philadelphia. He walked and hit Carson Kelly, and struck out seven in six innings. Glasnow allowed only three hits, but two of them left the yard.
Pete Crow-Armstrong hit a solo shot in the third inning, and Michael Busch did the same in the sixth. Those were the only two runs off Glasnow, but he left trailing by a run, at least temporarily.
“In terms of mechanics and doing what I wanted to do, I just felt off,” Glasnow said. “But I got through it pretty well.”
“I think with Tyler sometimes — you’re not trying to strive for perfection. You’re not always going to feel perfect, and you’ve got to go out there and compete,” Roberts said. “For me, that’s what I saw today.”
Muncy’s sacrifice fly got Glasnow off the hook, but another Crow-Armstrong home run, this one off reliever Blake Treinen in the seventh innings, put Chicago back on top. Crow-Armstrong entered Sunday with no home runs in his first 73 plate appearances over 17 games. The Cubs outfielder added a triple in the ninth, joining Marlon Anderson (during the 4+1 game in 2006) as the only players with two home runs and a triple in a game at Dodger Stadium.
Chicago added an insurance run off Alex Vesia in the eighth inning, giving Chicago six consecutive innings scoring off the Dodgers bullpen to that point, dating back to Saturday.
Sunday particulars
Home runs: Pete Crow-Armstrong 2 (2), Michael Busch (3)
WP — Ethan Roberts (1-0): 2 up, 2 down
LP — Blake Treinen (0-2): 1 IP, 2 hits, 1 run, 3 strikeouts
Sv — Ryan Pressly (4): 1 IP, 1 strikeout
Up next
The Dodgers welcome the Rockies to town next, with Dustin May on the mound Monday night (7:10 p.m., SportsNet LA) against the worst offense in MLB. Antonio Senzatela is on the mound for Colorado.
