LOS ANGELES — A series win against the Dodgers, one of just two playoff-bound teams that was left on the Cubs’ schedule going into the week, was undeniably a good result. But a 10-8 loss Wednesday, with the Cubs so close to pulling off a comeback, was a painful way to wrap up the visit to Dodger Stadium.
“We played two excellent games on the bases and on defense,” manager Criag Counsell said. “Tonight, we played a really good game, but we made two mistakes on the bases. And that contributed to it just not being enough.”
So, the Cubs (75-71) again slipped to five games back of the Mets (80-66), who occupy the last National League wild-card spot.
The good news for the Cubs is, the surging Mets’ tough schedule includes seven games against the first-place Phillies the next couple weeks. And the Braves’ (79-67) injury problem keeps getting worse.
The bad news is, the Cubs still need to pass two teams with only 16 games left.
A sweep in L.A. may not have been expected, but the stakes made the wasted comeback effort sting.
“We had a great offensive night, the bullpen gave us a shot,” Counsell said. “The two mistakes on the bases – which are inexcusable, frankly — just is enough to not get past the team like that. And we can’t make those mistakes because the team on the other side is just too good.”
The Cubs had successfully limited the Dodgers’ biggest strength, their offense, through the first two games. But against lefty Jordan Wicks, whose misses drifted over the middle of the plate, the home team launched four home runs in the first inning to jump out to a 5-2 lead.
Wicks’ adjustments kept the Dodgers’ hits inside the park for the next two innings, but they’d tacked on two more runs by the time Wicks’ three-inning start was over.
“I think it says a lot about our team and a lot about the guys we have in the clubhouse that they didn’t lay down after that start,” Wicks said. “They fought their way back.”
With two Cubs runners on in the fifth inning, and Cody Bellinger up to bat, the wave ripped through the Dodger Stadium stands counter-clockwise. As it rolled to left-center field, Bellinger dropped a home run into the fray, cutting the Dodgers’ lead to one run.
The Cubs then tied the game on Pete Crow-Armstrong’s bases-loaded single into right field. But he turned and sped right toward second base, even as Michael Busch held at third and Nico Hoerner followed suit at second.
Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman cut off right fielder Mookie Betts’ throw and ran at Crow-Armstrong, who had nowhere to go. Busch took off, and Freeman threw home to catch him in a rundown, eliminating the lead runner.
That sequence represented the first of the Cubs’ baserunning mishaps.
The second came in the ninth inning.
The Cubs used five relievers after Wicks’ short start. Ethan Roberts, Keegan Thompson and Tyson Miller held the Dodgers at bay for a combined three hitless innings. The Dodgers then retook the lead in the seventh inning on Gavin Lux’ RBI single off Shawn Armstrong. And the next inning, Tommy Edman hit a two-run homer off Trey Wingenter, bringing Edman’s tally to four home runs in two days.
With a three-run lead, the Dodgers brought in Michael Kopech — who the White Sox sent to LA as part of a midseason three-team trade — to close the game. Kopech walked the bases loaded, and Isaac Paredes hit a sacrifice fly for what would end up being Cubs’ last run.
With just one out, Seiya Suzki stood on second base and Bellinger at first.
“[Kopech] had one rhythm, and I was timing him up,” Suzuki said through interpreter Edwin Stanberry. “And it looked like he wasn’t really paying attention too much to second base, focusing on the hitter. And I had the green light.”
Suzuki’s self-initiated steal attempt failed, and then Busch struck out to end the game.
“The team just never gives up,” said Suzuki, who also homered and drew two walks Wednesday. “And that was a mistake on my part. That changed the momentum of the game.”
The Cubs head to Colorado for the second half of the road trip, still refusing to accept their slim playoff odds as an inevitability.
“We’re playing baseball how we always expected to play,” Bellinger said. “And when things are rolling like that, you trust in each other, and you just keep on fighting.”