After proven to be only deadly on the road, Los Angeles Dodgers will return to where they showed invincibility with the beginning of a home series against Chicago Cubs on Friday.
Dodgers opened the season 8-0 and then went 2-4 on a just completed trip to Philadelphia and Washington. Their undefeated driving to start the season, the longest ever for a defending champion, opened with a couple of victories over the kids in Japan.
These Tokyo-showdowns were technically Cub’s home games, with Dodgers who would play host now before another two-game series between the teams set to Chicago later this month.
Dodgers climbed for a 6-5 victory on Wednesday to avoid a swipe with citizens when Teoscar Hernandez hammered and drove in three runs for Los Angeles.
“We did not necessarily run the bases big, we played a little careless defense through the road,” said Dodgers’ Enrique Hernandez, who made an important defensive game at the first base in the ninth round. “We had a few moments offensively. … but I won’t sit here and do a big deal about it. We only had a tough week.”
Los Angeles will send the right hand Yoshinobu Yamamoto (1-1, 1.69 era) to Haugen on Friday to oppose Cub’s left-hander Matthew Boyd (1-0, 0.00).
Yamamoto did not give up a earned drive over six rounds last Friday towards Phillies, but an uneven driving in the first inning set him up with the loss in a 3-2 defeat. It was Dodger’s first season’s first setback.
In his season debut on March 18 against Cubs, Yamamoto gave a run of three hits over five rounds to win the victory. In three career starts against the kids, Yamamoto is 2-0 with a 0.64 and 20 strikes in 14 rounds.
After missing 11 of the first 14 games, first with Rib Cage Soreness since an ankle injury, Los Angele’s first bass man Freddie Freeman will come from the injured list Friday.
Cubs lost for just the second time in their last nine matches when they fell 6-2 at home against Texas Rangers on Wednesday. Seiya Suzuki and former Dodger Michael Busch were each in a run for Chicago.
Cubs had only two hits that went into the ninth, and their two runs matched their average per match in the opening series against Dodgers.
“It was a winning home, and it’s on the next challenge,” said Cub’s manager Craig Counsell. “There is always the next challenge ahead of you, and that’s how we have to look at it.”
Boyd has not allowed a run in any of its starts, with his latest excursion coming on Saturday in a 7-1 home victory over San Diego Padres. He went five pointless innings in his season debut on March 30 in Arizona.
Cubs will be forced to adjust its rotation during the visit to Los Angeles after the left hand Justin Steele was placed on the injured list with the elbow’s tendinitis. Steele would have been in line to meet Dodgers on Sunday.
While Thursday’s day off could allow Chicago to use the right hand Jameson Taillon on Sunday, they seem to be prone to let someone else fill the role.
“I think we are capable of just keeping all kinds at good rest,” Counsell said. “I don’t think we need to push anyone (up one day) right now. I think that’s how we think about it.”
-Field level media
