First baseman Michael Busch already had homered against his former team in the third inning. But with the Cubs clinging to a two-run lead in the ninth and runners on second and third, Busch lunged to his right to make a diving catch and seal a 9-7 victory against the Dodgers on Friday at windy Wrigley Field.
“That’s a big thrill,” manager Craig Counsell said. “To hit your first — I know he had some home runs last year — but your first one as a Cub against your former team, that’s really cool. Great play at the end of the game. So happy for him.”
After doing a solid job inducing soft contact, right-hander Kyle Hendricks struggled against the top of the Dodgers’ lineup in the fifth inning, allowing three runs. Counsell called on Drew Smyly, who struck out the next three batters to maintain the Cubs’ 6-5 lead.
“It was better and on the right path, but still frustrating,” Hendricks said of his outing. “I was more of myself, executed a lot more, but just late in the fifth inning [threw] too many bad pitches.”
Mistakes against the Dodgers’ lineup can snowball, but the Cubs limited the damage with strong defense. The Dodgers went 3-for-16 with runners in scoring position.
Third baseman Nick Madrigal had a busy day. He made a good stop in the third inning and a reactive catch with runners on second and third in the fourth. Second baseman Nico Hoerner made an impressive diving stop to end that inning.
“It was unbelievable defense from pitch one,” Hendricks said. “[Hoerner] with what was a huge play in the game at that moment, but Madrigal, what he did today at third, he was all over the field and just got me out of so many jams.”
With four Gold Glove-caliber defenders, the Cubs’ foundation was built on defense. So it’s encouraging that the offense was able to outpace the Dodgers.
Shortstop Dansby Swanson’s solo home run in the second got the offense started, but Wrigley came alive when right fielder Seiya Suzuki connected on a fastball from Bobby Miller for a two-run double to cap a five-run inning.
“It was an inning with great at-bats,” Counsell said, “a whole bunch of foul balls. Guys before that just taking good at-bats and moving the line. We’ve done a really nice job of that, and it turned into a big inning.”
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts went to his bullpen after Suzuki’s hit. Miller lasted 1⅔ innings and faced 11 batters.
“We hit the ball really hard in Texas, too, that we didn’t get rewarded for, so consistency, the offense has been giving really good at-bats,” left fielder Ian Happ said. “Everybody is kind of stringing at-bats together, giving ourselves a chance.”
The Cubs have scored at least five runs in six consecutive games. They’re developing an identity as a team that strings together good at-bats and plays sound defense.
“It’s going to be a long season,” Hendricks said. “There’s going to be a lot of challenges, but this is fun and exciting. It’s a really good challenge early for us just to see where we stand.”
