Michael Busch hit a three-run double, Shota Imanaga pitched four shutout innings and the host Chicago Cubs capitalized on the Los Angeles Dodgers’ sloppy defense to win 8-1 on Sunday in a game that included a three-hour rain delay.
Cody Bellinger added a solo home run for the Cubs, who took advantage of three Dodger errors to build a 6-0 lead before umpires called for the tarp with one out in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Seiya Suzuki’s sacrifice fly in the second inning was the only earned run charged to Los Angeles starter Gavin Stone (0-1), who allowed five runs on four hits over three innings. Stone struck out five and walked three.
Shohei Ohtani had two of the Dodgers’ season-low four hits as Los Angeles lost a series for the first time this season.
Imanaga struck out three and allowed two hits on Sunday after taking a no-hitter into the sixth inning of his MLB debut last Monday. The left-hander has logged 12 strikeouts without walking a batter in 10 innings this season.
Overcast skies gave way to rain that began in the top of the second inning and intensified over the next hour. Grounds crew members scattered extra dirt throughout the muddy infield during a 10-minute lull in the bottom of the fourth inning as the rain continued to pour.
Crew chief Laz Diaz called for the tarp after Miguel Rojas’ throwing error allowed Ian Happ to score and increase Chicago’s lead to 6-0.
Yency Almonte (1-0) relieved Imanaga after the delay as he and two other Cubs relievers held the Dodgers to their season-low run total. Daniel Palencia pitched the final three innings to earn his first save this season.
Five of the Cubs’ first six runs were unearned.
Happ reached on Freddie Freeman’s fielding error to lead off the first inning before Christopher Morel hit a two-out single and Dansby Swanson followed with a walk to load the bases for Busch. The former Dodger sliced a 2-2 pitch into the left-center-field gap for a bases-clearing double that put Chicago up 3-0.
The Cubs cashed in on another Dodgers miscue in the third inning. Nico Hoerner reached on Mookie Betts’ fielding error with two outs and nobody on and scored on Mike Tauchman’s RBI double off the left-field wall to make it 5-0.
Bellinger’s second home run of the season increased Chicago’s lead to 8-0 in the sixth inning. Ohtani rapped an RBI double in the eighth.
–Field Level Media
