Chicago Cubs Recap: Lackey gives up early run as Cubs fall, 2-0 to the Dodgers

Chicago Cubs’ starter John Lackey had a rough first three batters, and it ended up being the difference. The Los Angeles Dodgers pitching held up with the help of the wind as they defeated the Cubs, 2-0.

It was a special night as the Chicago Cubs and the rest of the organization received their World Series championship rings. The night started with joy and excitement, but that seemed to turn around pretty quick.

It took just one pitch for the Cubs’ starter John Lackey to get fired up, and two more after that before he was going at it with home plate umpire Greg Gibson. After a leadoff home run by the Los Angeles Dodgers Andrew Toles, Lackey let Gibson know his feelings about the first pitch of the game. Cooler heads prevailed, but that was the only excitement for either offense–minus a few deep fly balls into the wind.

Lackey (1-1, 3.00) settled in after the first inning and ended up striking out 10 hitters over six innings. The Dodgers’ Brandon McCarthy shut the Cubs down over his six innings, drawing three walks but unable to pose any real threat to the Dodgers (5-4).

McCarthy (2-0, 1.50) forced the Cubs (5-3) to hit into three double plays which helped to extinguish any rally they tried to start. The Cubs did hit a couple of deep fly balls, but the wind was blowing in for most of the game and was no help to Willson Contreras or Anthony Rizzo.

To err is human–but not in the ninth

Heading into the top of the ninth, the Cubs still had a chance down just 1-0. But a strange play–and a poor throw by Contreras–led to a run on an error as the Dodgers increased their late lead to 2-0. After Toles struck out on a ball in the dirt, Contreras was a bit too casual and threw the ball off balance and into the dirt in front of Rizzo. The ball got away to allow Chase Utley to score, and to make matters worse Hector Rondon was forced to leave the game after the play at the plate.

The Dodgers turned to Kenley Jansen against the heart of the Cubs order in the bottom of the ninth. With the wind still keeping them at bay, the Cubs needed to play some small ball to get back in the game. A single by Rizzo kept the inning alive for Ben Zobrist and Addison Russell, but the Cubs couldn’t move him along as Jansen closed it out for the save.

Next: What you need to know about the ring ceremony

What’s Next

The Cubs and the Dodgers will meet in the rubber match on Thursday at 1:20 p.m. CT. Cubs starter Brett Anderson will face Hyun-Jin Ryu of the Dodgers as the Cubs look to keep their season perfect by winning their third consecutive series to start the year.