The Chicago Cubs may have just won the game of the year, for the second time in less than a week. After defeating the Arizona Diamondbacks last weekend, their flair for the dramatic sprouted up once again against the Los Angeles Dodgers in their 11-10 win in extras.
An exciting opening inning
The game started disastrously for Chicago. Newly promoted Gage Workman committed an error at third, which set up Tommy Edman with two men on. Against the Cubs, Edman has been Bonds-esque. He launched a three-run homer to deep center field against Cubs ace Shota Imanaga to give the Dodgers an early 3-0 lead. On a day when the wind did pitchers no favors, Imanaga’s defense let him down.
But as they’ve done all season, the Cubs would respond. They tattooed Dodgers starter Dustin May for a five-run first inning thanks to multiple hits and walks. Every Cub took an at-bat in the first.
After a chaotic first inning, Los Angeles would add another run in the top of the second to cut the Cubs’ lead in half.
The Cubs would add a couple of runs in the fifth after Pete Crow-Armstrong took May deep to start his night three for three. Crow-Armstrong has been on fire as of late and is growing into one of the game’s coming superstars.
Bullpen issues persist for Chicago
Unfortunately for the Cubs, their lead would not be safe from the defending champions. After adding a run in the fifth, the Dodgers would score five in the seventh. They would get after Brad Keller, who allowed four earned runs in just 0.1 innings of work. Wrigley Field was stunned as it appeared the Cubs’ bullpen let another game slip through its fingers.
Enter Kyle Tucker. With a three-run deficit and a man on first, the recently acquired superstar smashed a two-run homer to cut the lead down to one. Wrigley Field was electric.
That being said, the Cubs still had a one-run deficit and had to hold a potent Dodgers lineup.
Making his season debut, Gavin Hollowell did exactly that. He tossed two perfect innings for the Cubs to keep Chicago in the game.
Late game Heroics
But in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Dodgers were one batter away from ending any hope for a Cubs comeback. As Miguel Amaya stepped up to the plate, he would more than likely be the last out of the game. But he refused to go down and launched a homer to left-center field to tie the game and send it into extra innings.
After Porter Hodge’s scoreless 10th, Ian Happ wasted little time ending the game with his RBI single, which scored Vidal Brujan.
The Cubs have an opportunity to win the season series against the Dodgers on Wednesday night. This is significant for several reasons, but especially unlikely considering the Cubs dropped the first two against Los Angeles to begin the season in Tokyo.
The Cubs have raced out to a 15-10 start to the season, despite by far the hardest schedule in baseball.
Cubs beat Dodgers in Game of the Year – Game 25 Recap