LOS ANGELES — By the time the Chicago Cubs finished batting around in the ninth inning Saturday night at Dodger Stadium, they put the final touches on a historic blowout against the reigning World Series champions.
Eleven Cubs had at least one hit, three of whom had not been in the starting lineup, while Michael Busch, Carson Kelly and Miguel Amaya combined for six extra-base hits and nine RBIs in a 16-0 rout of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Cubs (10-7) handed the Dodgers their worst home shutout loss in franchise history. They scored 14 of their runs in the final three innings, including five off infielder Miguel Rojas, who pitched the eighth and ninth.
Kelly recorded his second career multihomer game with his previous also coming at Dodger Stadium (Aug. 9, 2019). His two-run blast off Rojas in the ninth was on a 39.6-mph pitch, the third-slowest in Statcast history (since 2015).
“A quick swing, not a big swing,” Kelly said with a grin. “Just finding the right timing of it, I guess.”
Busch continued to find success against his former team. He took Dodgers starter Roki Sasaki deep in the second inning to put the Cubs ahead and nearly connected for another in the third. Former minor-league teammate Andy Pages made a leaping grab near the 395-foot mark in center field to rob Busch of a grand slam. Busch still finished 4-for-6 with three RBIs.
“Didn’t want him to do it so we’re going to have to have a conversation about that later,” Busch said wryly. “It would have been nice to put up 5-0 instead of 1-0. We came away with the win, which is really all that I wanted and all I can ask for.”
Right-hander Ben Brown’s stellar outing should not be overshadowed by the offense’s performance. Brown bounced back from a tough game his last start to toss six shutout innings and limit the Dodgers to five hits, all singles, no walks and five strikeouts. It was a masterful effort against a challenging lineup.
“He turned it completely around and just attacked the strike zone, and I thought he pitched wonderfully,” manager Craig Counsell said. “Really proud of him because this is a tough team, and he we went after them, and that’s what you’ve got to do.”
Brown attributed his success to slowing the game down and executing pitch by pitch.
Cubs starter Ben Brown delivers against the Dodgers during the third inning on April 12, 2025, at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
“What we emphasize is when my stuff is there, we can get through lineups like that, and it definitely is a confidence boost,” Brown said. “Honestly, for me, just filling up the zone is the biggest confidence booster because I know when I can do that I can do a lot of really awesome things on the ball field.”
Losing designated hitter Seiya Suzuki early in the game Saturday didn’t hamper the Cubs offense. Suzuki exited the game because of right wrist pain and was replaced by Amaya in the fifth inning with two runners on as the Cubs holding a one-run lead.
Suzuki initially experienced discomfort in his wrist following a headfirst slide on a steal of second base Monday at Wrigley Field. He got slightly jammed on his hard lineout with the bases loaded in the third inning and wanted to be cautious when the pain resurfaced. Suzuki was still feeling symptomatic postgame.
“When I make perfect contact it’s fine,” Suzuki said through interpreter Edwin Stanberry. “Sometimes there’s a weird sensation with a swing and a miss or a foul ball if I get jammed a little bit.”
Counsell described Suzuki as day to day. He had been playing through some discomfort since Monday. Whether he will need time off to let his wrist heal was unclear Saturday night.
“I think that’s something I need to talk to the doctor, the trainers about,” Suzuki said. “If that’s something that I can keep playing through it and it doesn’t get worse, that’s fine. But if it does get worse, then talk to the doctors, talk to the trainers.”
Amaya came through two innings later in Suzuki’s spot, his RBI single part of a five-run seventh for the Cubs to extend their lead to 7-0.
Injuries have been an issue for Suzuki during his Cubs career. He missed five weeks in 2022 with a left ring finger sprain and oblique injuries the previous two seasons cost him between four to five weeks each time.
Suzuki, 30, is off to a great start, entering Saturday hitting .302 with a .400 on-base percentage, .956 OPS, four home runs and 15 RBIs predominately out of the No. 3 spot in the lineup. He had multiple hits in three of his last four games, though was 0-for-2 before leaving Saturday’s game.
Originally Published: April 12, 2025 at 10:16 PM CDT
