LOS ANGELES — It was a tale of two Cubs center fielders at Dodger Stadium, where the Cubs’ 10-game winning streak succumbed to gravity and the two-time defending World Series champion Dodgers — not necessarily in that order — in a 12-4 loss.
The Dodgers, stung Friday when they lost for the first time this season in a game they led by four runs after six innings, brought the Cubs back down to earth before a sellout crowd of 53,397, lured in part by Roki Sasaki Bobblehead Night.
The Dodgers sent 11 men to the plate in the fourth inning against two Cubs pitchers, starter Colin Rea and reliever Javier Assad, scoring six runs on five singles, a double, two walks and a wild pitch. Coming back was not in the cards in a game in which Sasaki entered to the music of ‘‘Bailalo Rocky,’’ which sounds more like ‘‘Roki’’ than the name of the fighter who ran up the steps in the movie.
Before the game, there were only cheers for ex-Cubs center fielder Rick Monday. He was celebrated for his act of patriotism 50 years ago to the day, when he snatched the U.S. flag away from two trespassers who had parked themselves on the Dodger Stadium lawn with the intention of setting it on fire. A bad idea, especially when Monday also served six years in the U.S. Marine Reserves.
Meanwhile, incumbent Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong was serenaded with boos every time he came to the plate. PCA, who grew up in suburban Los Angeles, overnight rivals third baseman Alex Bregman for villainy in the eyes of the locals.
It was a tough night to be the bad guys. Bergman hit into a double play, struck out and grounded out in three at-bats. PCA struck out four times, once with the bases loaded, and missed a fly ball he normally catches.
Bergman’s transgression is deeply embedded in the collective memory of Dodgers fans who haven’t forgiven him for his role in the Astros’ trash-can-banging, sign-stealing chicanery in 2017 that they believe cost their team a World Series title.
What did homeboy PCA do? Well, he dared suggest that Dodgers fans are not particularly invested in watching the game, that seeing the game is less important than being seen at the game.
Crow-Armstrong dissed the Dodgers’ fans in a story published before the season in Chicago magazine.
‘‘I love Chicago more and more,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s just an incredible city. The people are great; they give a [expletive]. They aren’t just baseball fans who go to the games, like Dodger fans, to take pictures and whatever. They are paying attention. They care.’’
Crow-Armstrong hasn’t backed down from those remarks, including Saturday.
‘‘That’s what I expect out of this fan base,’’ Crow-Armstrong said of the boos. ‘‘They’re all on their high horse after back-to-back [Series titles]. [Winning] year in and out, I’d probably be carrying myself the same way.’’
Happy anniversary
The Cubs were playing on the 150th anniversary of the first game in franchise history. ‘‘A Handsome Victory Over the Louisville Nine’’ is how one headline described the 4-0 triumph by the White Stockings, which was the original name of the National League franchise that became the Cubs.