Having played the Cubs more than any other team in this regular season, the Dodgers have taken part in some energy-packed games going back to the Tokyo Series, but none quite like the 11-10 walk-off loss at Wrigley Field on Tuesday. One of the main issues for Los Angeles early on, aside from the bottom-of-the-order woes, has been the general ineffectiveness against left-handed pitching, hitting .202 against southpaws with an 87 wRC+. A lot of those lefty matchups have come against the southpaw-heavy rotation of the Cubs.
There are some positives to be taken away from the recent performance against Shota Imanaga, but it wasn’t as great as it could’ve been. Particularly not for a team that had him on the ropes, scoring four runs in the first two innings, and didn’t quite finish the job. In fact, the Dodgers allowed him to almost complete six full frames, and ultimately, he did only concede two earned runs as that first inning scoring was partially driven by poor fielding, a theme of that slugfest.
The Dodgers will now face Matthew Boyd for the second time this year. Although the three runs they scored in six innings against him a little more than a week ago don’t necessarily jump out at you, it represents 60 percent of all the earned runs he has given up in four starts in 2025.
Looking at the Cubs, Boyd is a perfect example of what has gone right for them this season. Kyle Tucker is doing what he was brought in to do and then some. Seiya Suzuki is mashing as well, but it’s the guys going the extra mile who have the Cubs comfortably leading the NL Central. From the likes of Carson Kelly and Pete Crow-Armstrong on the hitting side to Colin Rea and Boyd on the pitching side, Chicago has plenty of players outperforming their expectations early on.
A lot has been said about the bottom of the order failing to provide much of a spark for the Dodgers, and that mostly continues to be the case — 7-9 hitters are a collective .176/.256/.289 — but the superstars also warrant a look. Outside of Freddie Freeman, who has already missed more time than he usually does in a full year, Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts aren’t necessarily lighting the world on fire. One could even include Teoscar Hernández here, although he is clearly a different caliber of player. Amidst all that scoring in an 11-10 loss, Ohtani and Betts went hitless, and if the Dodgers are going to go where they want to this season, to say they’ll need these two is an understatement.
Wednesday game info
- Teams: Dodgers at Cubs
- Stadium: Wrigley Field, Chicago
- Start time: 4 p.m. PT
- TV: SportsNet LA, MLB Network (out of market)
- Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)
