Dodgers blank Cubs on Friday night |
LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Dodgers showed why they are one of the best teams in the National League as they blanked the Chicago Cubs 4-0 at Dodgers Stadium on Friday night. The Cubs could only produce two singles on the evening with supposedly one of the most talented lineups in the National League.
Cubs veteran Jake Arrieta went six innings giving up five hits, four runs, a walk while striking out nine batters. However, he gave up a two-run homer to Adrian Gonzalez (zero homers coming into the game) and a homer to Chase Utley to put the game out of reach with the lifeless Cubs offense. It was the fourth game in ten starts that Arrieta has given up two homers and his season record is now 5-4 with a high 4.92 ERA. Another interesting stat is that his fastball has dropped an alarming 2.5 MPH on the season from the same time last year. Dodgers lefty starter Alec Wood was the star of the evening throwing five shutout innings on 91 pitches. He now has a 25 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings streak which is the longest active streak in major league baseball. Another impressive statistic for Wood is that he is 6-0 on the season without a single loss. According to ESPN's Jesse Rogers, the Cubs hosted comedians Larry David and Bob Newhart in their luxury suite during the game, but it didn't bring any good luck on the evening. One of the few bright spots during the game for the Northsiders was a brilliant 6-4-3 double play as shortstop Addison Russell made a diving stop and threw it to Javy Baez who made a strong throw to first base to end the eighth inning. Russell and Baez make one helluva combo at shortstop and second base defensively. However, both need to make strides offensively with plate disciple to take the next step in their maturation process. Cubs had the heart of the lineup up with Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, and Ian Happ at the plate in the ninth inning but they couldn't muster a single hit, and the Dodgers won a relatively easy contest that could be a preview of the 2017 NLCS later in the year. The Cubs and Dodgers will be back at it on Saturday night at 6:15 CDT at Dodger Stadium.
