Cubs squander strong start by Keegan Thompson, lose to Dodgers in 10 innings

LOS ANGELES — Cubs left fielder Ian Happ charged hard, knowing he had to field the low line drive cleanly to keep the game going. But Dodgers cleanup hitter Will Smith’s RBI single evaded him and ended the game in a walk-off.

The Cubs lost to the Dodgers 4-3 in 10 innings, dropping the first two games of the series.

The Cubs scored first on shortstop Nico Hoerner’s solo home run leading off the fifth inning. They tacked on two more runs the next inning. David Bote led off with a single, and Christopher Morel laid down a textbook push bunt to get on base and move Bote into scoring position. They both advanced on a wild pitch before Ian Happ drove them in with a double up the left-field line.

Cubs starter Keegan Thompson didn’t allow an earned run in 5 ²⁄₃ innings. He leaned on his four-seam fastball, which generated 12 called strikes and 12 foul balls.

“It plays up in the zone,” he said “If I can locate it up in the zone ... I can get a lot of swing-and-miss or balls in the air with weak contact. So, it’s just pitching off the fastball and trusting it in the strike zone.”

It looked like Thompson had gotten out of the sixth inning with another scoreless frame as Smith lofted a fly ball into right field with two outs and a runner on second. But the ball glanced off of Cubs right fielder Seiya Suzuki’s mitt as he drifted under it, and the Dodgers’ first run scored on the error.

“Keegan threw the ball great,” Cubs manager David Ross said, “moved the ball around, should have threw them six scoreless. Very nice job.”

Veteran reliever Chris Martin replaced Thompson, who faced the minimum in four of the almost six innings he pitched.

Dodgers designated hitter Jake Lamb cut the Cubs’ lead to one with a solo shot in the seventh. Mookie Betts tied the score in the ninth with a bases-loaded sacrifice fly against closer David Robertson, sending the game into extra innings.