Cubs fans: File this 1-0 loss in Game 2 under Sometimes You Just Get Beat.
Even with the Cubs’ potent offense, there’s not much you can do when the other team’s best are dealing, and that’s what happened Sunday at Wrigley Field against the Dodgers. Now the series is tied, 1-1.
Game 3 is Tuesday in Los Angeles (7:08 p.m., Fox Sports 1).
3 UP
He did it again, folks
Seriously, Javier Baez’s brain is perfect for baseball. His latest fielding masterpiece came in the sixth inning Sunday.
The situation: The Dodgers have runners Josh Reddick at first and Adrian Gonzalez at second with one out and Joc Pederson at the plate.
The catalyst: Instead of fielding Pederson’s soft line drive in the air and taking one sure out, Baez fields it on one bounce at his second base position.
The genius: Baez throws to shortstop Addison Russell, who is covering second, to get the force out on Reddick. Baez then tells Russell to throw to third, as Gonzalez is slow to get there. He does, catching Gonzalez in a rundown. Third baseman Kris Bryant fires back to Russell after receiving the throw, and Russell tags out Gonzalez to end the inning. That’s how it’s done.
Clayton Kershaw
There were realistic concerns that the Dodgers ace might be off a bit after pitching Thursday in relief. Nuh uh. Kershaw was perfect through 4 2/3 innings before surrendering a single to Baez in the fifth. No Cubs runner even reached third base against him. He ended up pitching seven innings and allowed just two hits and one walk while striking out six. He was almost unhittable.
Kyle Hendricks
The Cubs righty was almost as good as Kershaw, giving up just one run in 5 1/3 innings. Good to see that forearm feels fine.
3 DOWN
Shot to the heart
After Game 1, we called out Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo for his struggles at the plate. Well, he still has just one hit this postseason after Sunday, and we’d be remiss if we didn’t point out that the Cubs’ Nos. 4 and 5 hitters, Ben Zobrist and Addison Russell, are struggling mightily as well. Both went hitless Sunday.
I got it! Oops, no I don’t!
The funniest moment Sunday was when Los Angeles catcher Yasmani Grandal strayed behind the plate to catch a popup by Ben Zobrist. Only Gonzalez ruined his concentration and Grandal couldn’t hang on. Lucky for him, Zobrist struck out later in the at-bat.
Get him a thesaurus, stat
Although we appreciate the insight of John Smoltz, a Hall of Fame pitcher now working for Fox Sports 1, we do have a small request. There has to be another adjective besides “firm” to describe the tight spin of breaking pitches. Use the travel day in the series to work on that, yeah? Okaythanksbye.
@redeyesportschi | chsosa@redeyechicago.com
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