The Chicago Cubs secured a 6-4 victory against the Los Angeles Dodgers, marking their tenth consecutive win. Dansby Swanson’s home run in the ninth inning sealed the comeback. The Cubs demonstrated the kind of resilience that would be at home on the October stage against the two-time defending champions.
Swanson’s Homer Caps Cubs’ Comeback
Dansby Swanson, one day after delivering his first walk-off hit as a Cub, hit a go-ahead, two-run homer off Dodgers lefty Tanner Scott in the ninth inning. This sent Chicago on its way to a 6-4 victory. The 10-game run marks the longest winning streak for the Cubs since an 11-game streak from July 31-Aug. 12, 2016. It is the longest winning streak in April for Chicago since the 1970 campaign.
“He’s always had the juice,” Cubs starter Jameson Taillon said. “But lately, it just seems like everything he’s hitting is on the nose, and he’s doing it against really good pitching, too.”
Swanson’s game-changing home run was the finishing touch on a six-run outburst for the Cubs over the final three innings. Swanson also delivered a two-run triple off Alex Vesia in a three-run push in the seventh, and made a diving catch up the middle to rob Kyle Tucker of a hit one frame earlier.
Bregman’s Blast Ties the Game
In the eighth inning, Alex Bregman hit a leadoff home run off Blake Treinen, tying the game at 4-4. “He’s been the kind of hitter that every team wants on their side,” Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner said, “and doesn’t want up against them in big moments. … He’s definitely the kind of guy you want up in that spot. It was a really cool moment. That had to feel really cool for him.”
Asked about how that home run felt, Bregman called it “amazing”. “Those kinds of moments are what you dream about, you know?” he said.
Cubs Overcome Dodgers’ Defence
Twice, the Dodgers’ defense had relays that threw out runners at the plate, but the Cubs kept the pressure on. “All the runs we scored we really earned,” Hoerner said. “We earned it on some really amazing swings from our guys. That made it that much more satisfying.”
Sheehan’s Strong Start for Dodgers
Prior to that comeback, the Cubs’ offense struggled to solve Dodgers righty Emmet Sheehan over his 6 1/3 innings. With a slider-led arsenal, Sheehan racked up 10 strikeouts and generated 21 swinging strikes, exiting with no runs scored while he was on the hill.
Taillon got the Cubs through five innings with three of the four runs he allowed coming via an opposite-field, three-run homer from Will Smith in the third. With his injury-marred bullpen running on fumes, Cubs manager Craig Counsell handed the ball to lefty Ryan Rolison, who had not pitched si