CHICAGO — The Dodgers came away from the trade deadline with major wins — a two-time Cy Young Award winner in Tarik Skubal, necessary catching depth with Ben Rortvedt and Hunter Feduccia, and a 2025 All-Star in pitcher Kris Bubic.
All of that momentum, and the staggering amount of talent on the roster, have overshadowed the Dodgers’ recent poor play. A clean slate against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field was a chance to set a new tone after being swept by the Boston Red Sox at home. Instead, they lost 10-5, extending their losing streak to a season-high tying four games.
“This is a playoff-contending team,” manager Dave Roberts said of the Cubs before the game. “We’ve got to play well. Like I said [Sunday], we got outplayed. Outcompeted against. So we need to play better. We’re going to play better this series. I don’t know the results, but we will play with more urgency.”
The Dodgers (69-44) essentially played out that prophecy to begin the game. Against left-hander Matthew Boyd, Shohei Ohtani and Andy Pages hit back-to-back singles, and Tommy Edman roped a three-run homer to left.
Then Boyd settled in. He got out of the inning with three straight flyouts — Cubs fans enthusiastically booing Kyle Tucker, who was never expected to re-sign with the team when he hit free agency after one season in Chicago, when he flied out to right field.
Dodgers left-handed All-Star Justin Wrobleski struggled. For the second start in a row, he surrendered four home runs.
“It just seemed like they were on everything,” Roberts said. “Some balls that were executed decently, they still took good swings, and when he made good pitches, they spoiled. And when he did make mistakes, it just seemed like they went out of the ballpark. So we’ve got to dig into it. I know he’s prepared and doing what he can, but it’s just hard to defend the homer.”
When asked if he suspected Wrobleski was tipping his pitches, Roberts said that was something the team would look into.
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani, right, is tagged out by Chicago Cubs first baseman Michael Busch, left, on a pickoff at first base in the second inning Monday.
(David Banks / Associated Press)
The first three came with men on base, expediting the damage. And they came from all over the Cubs’ lineup. In the first inning, No. 2 hitter Seiya Suzuki lined a fastball into the stands for two runs. The next inning, it was No. 9 hitter Kevin Alcántara who put the Cubs (64-49) ahead with a two-run blast. In the third, cleanup hitter Carson Kelly jumped on a slider for a two-run shot.
Wrobleski finally threw a hitless fourth, working around a leadoff walk to briefly stymie the Cubs’ offensive push. Then in the fifth, he threw a sinker down the middle to left-handed hitter Michael Busch, who drove it out for a solo homer.
Busch, a former Dodger, coincidentally is part of the Skubal trade tree. The Cubs acquired him and reliever Yency Almonte for pitching prospect Jackson Ferris and outfield prospect Zyhir Hope. Hope was part of the trade package for Skubal.
Roberts pulled Wrobleski after Busch’s home run. The seven earned runs he gave up tied a season high. But this time, he only pitched 4⅓ innings, compared to the 8⅔ innings he threw against the Atlanta Braves on May 10.
“Overall, just didn’t throw the ball well enough today, obviously,” Wrobleski said. “I’ve been pretty frustrated these last two. So just continuing to work on things, get better and hopefully come back out and go on a run here and have a nice little scoreless streak.”
The Dodgers countered with a one-run rally in the fourth, and Teoscar Hernández hit a solo home run onto Waveland Avenue in the sixth inning.
The Cubs, however, squashed thoughts of a potential comeback with a three-run rally in the sixth. Edgardo Henriquez, after recording the last two outs of the previous inning, gave up a hit and issued three walks to open the inning. Tanner Scott replaced him, issued a bases-loaded walk to Carson Kelly and gave up a two-run single to Busch.
