CHICAGO — The Chicago Cubs have found a favorable exchange rate.
Travelmates in Tokyo just over a month ago, the Dodgers handled the Cubs fairly easily over there, coming back from Japan with a 2-0 record on their way to the best start ever by a defending World Series champion (8-0).
But the Cubs have found America to be a land of opportunity. They have won four of the five meetings on U.S. soil, including a two-game sweep of the Dodgers at Wrigley Field this week that concluded with a 7-6 win on Wednesday night.
“Yeah, I feel like we caught them when they’re playing some good baseball now,” Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes said. “That’s a pretty good offense. In Tokyo, I think they were still kind of finding their footing. They’ve got some guys who are swinging the bats pretty well now. They beat us twice here and at home too.”
Indeed. The Dodgers held the Cubs to four runs combined in the two games in Tokyo. Since then, the Cubs have scored 38 runs in five games against the Dodgers.
Kyle Tucker and Pete Crow-Armstrong went a combined 1 for 15 in Tokyo. In the five games against the Dodgers since then, Tucker is 7 for 18 and Crow-Armstrong has tormented them offensively – 10 for 22 with four home runs including one Wednesday – and defensively. The duo had three of the Cubs’ five stolen bases Wednesday.
“They are,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said when asked if the Cubs look like a different team since Japan. “It’s a really good defensive team. I think that when we played them in Tokyo, Tucker really was struggling. And Pete Crow-Armstrong has really killed us. So those two guys alone, and they’re just all swinging the bats. They pitch decent.
“But yeah, they’re just a much more confident team, and they’re a good club. We knew that going into the season.”
Going into the season, the Dodgers also thought they had stocked up on the deepest horde of starting pitchers in baseball. But all of those options are not ready yet. So a commitment to keeping Japanese right-handers Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki on a one-start-a-week schedule and Blake Snell’s ongoing shoulder issue put the Dodgers in a familiar predicament Wednesday – a bullpen game just 25 games into the season.
Noah Davis and Jack Dreyer were the weak links, combining to allow all seven runs in the fourth and fifth innings as the Cubs completed the sweep of one-run games at Wrigley.
“We’re just not pitching the way we’re capable of,” Roberts said. “I think we’re walking a lot of guys, giving free bases and having to be perfect to get out of jams. The pitch count with a lot of guys is up. And just giving guys opportunities.”
It started well enough with Ben Casparius retiring eight of the nine batters he faced and Anthony Banda keeping the Cubs scoreless into the fourth inning.
By then, Teoscar Hernandez had given the Dodgers a lead with a two-out, two-run single in the third inning off of Cubs lefty Matthew Boyd.
Davis took over for the Dodgers in the fourth inning, well-rested after throwing just one pitch to lose Tuesday’s game in the 10th inning. He stuck around longer in his second appearance for the Dodgers – and did more damage.
Davis gave up a three-run home run to Crow-Armstrong – which does not make him unique among Dodgers pitchers. The former Harvard-Westlake standout has five home runs this season. Four of them have come against the Dodgers.
But Boyd opened the door for the Dodgers in the top of the fifth inning when his errant throw on an easy double play led to three unearned runs – one on a double by Freddie Freeman and two more on a home run by Hernandez.
That put the Dodgers back in the lead, 5-3. They handed it to Dreyer for the fifth inning.
Added to the 40-man roster for the first time last fall, Dreyer made the team out of spring training with injuries to Evan Phillips and Michael Kopech having made room in the bullpen mix. He became a reliable piece, holding hitters to a .070 average (3 for 43) while striking out 17 in his first 13⅔ major-league innings.
That bubble burst at Wrigley Field.
Dreyer walked the bases loaded, gave up a two-run single to Dansby Swanson, a sacrifice fly to Nico Hoerner and an RBI single to that guy – Crow-Armstrong.
“At the end of the day you have to go out there and compete with what you have that day. I wasn’t in the zone enough. Put some guys on to beat myself. That can’t happen,” Dreyer said.
“At the end of the day you have to be in-zone with what you have that day. I didn’t have my best stuff, but no excuse. Just have to compete.”
Andy Pages made it a one-run game with a solo home run in the sixth inning, but the Dodgers offered little resistance from there. Barnes was picked off to keep the three-run fifth inning from being bigger.
Shohei Ohtani had a soft single in the third inning, his first hit since returning from paternity leave, but is 1 for 12 since rejoining the team. He came up with the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position in the sixth inning and popped out.
“He had a fastball to hit and just got too big with the swing. Where all you need is a base hit right there,” Roberts said. “I think a little bit this series, and even that last game in Texas when he came back, there was a little over-aggressiveness. The swing is a little bit longer than it typically is.
“I don’t know if he’s trying to do something, trying too hard. There’s a couple walks in there. But there’s other times where he’s getting himself out instead of taking a walk if given to him.”