hawaiitribune_herald
The Los Angeles Dodgers' acquisition of two-time AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal did not yield a win in his debut, as the Chicago Cubs secured a 5-1 victory on Tuesday. Dansby Swanson went 3-for-4 with a homer and a double for the Cubs, who spoiled Skubal's first appearance with his new team.
Nico Hoerner contributed a single and a home run, while Pete Crow-Armstrong added two hits, an RBI, and a run for Chicago, which had won the series opener 10-5 on Monday. Cubs starter Javier Assad allowed one run and four hits over 5 2/3 innings, striking out three and walking two. Ryan Rolison (6-1) retired all three batters he faced in relief.
Skubal (7-6), acquired from the Detroit Tigers on Saturday, pitched six innings, giving up two runs on four hits while walking two and striking out six. Kyle Tucker homered for the Dodgers, who have now lost a season-high five consecutive games. The Cubs improved to 8-4 in their last 12 contests.
Key Moments
The game was tied at 1-1 in the sixth inning when Chicago's Seiya Suzuki walked on four pitches with one out. Alex Bregman then doubled off the wall in right, just out of Tucker's reach, putting runners on second and third. Michael Busch hit a grounder to Tommy Edman, who threw out Suzuki at the plate. However, Hoerner followed with a high chopper over the mound for an infield single, scoring Bregman to give the Cubs a 2-1 lead.
In the seventh, reliever Alex Vesia gave up a leadoff double to Swanson, and Crow-Armstrong's two-out RBI single extended the lead to 3-1. Evan Phillips then took over and allowed a run-scoring single to Suzuki. Hoerner added a solo homer in the eighth to make it 5-1. Ryan Zeferjahn pitched a perfect eighth in his Cubs debut, a day after being acquired from the Los Angeles Angels.
Tucker opened the scoring in the second inning with an opposite-field homer off a sinker from Cubs starter Javier Assad, giving the Dodgers a 1-0 lead. But Swanson tied it in the third with a leadoff homer to left-center off Skubal.
The Cubs' victory was their eighth in 12 games, while the Dodgers' losing streak reached five, their longest of the season.
Originally reported by hawaiitribune_herald.