Brock Stewart's expression doesn't look like he believes what just happened, either.The Dodgers just took two of three from the Cubs, the runaway best team in baseball, following a narrow 1-0 victory Sunday which was won "by a toenail" (see embedded video below; thanks to Vin Scully for that one) as well as an impressive shutout efforts from five pitchers, at least three of which most people didn't know at the start of this season.
Taking the series from the Cubs is honestly much better than I had ever expected we would do.
From David Schoenfield of ESPN.com:
2. Five Los Angeles Dodgers pitchers shut down the Chicago Cubs' potent offense: Led by left-handed starter Brock Stewart, who had allowed 15 earned runs in his three previous appearances this season, Los Angeles took two of three from the Cubs with a 1-0 victory Sunday. Stewart, 24, spun five shutout innings, allowing just two hits and striking out eight. He also picked up his first MLB hit. Four relievers combined to finish the job. Chicago came in ranked third in the majors with 655 runs scored. Los Angeles had a chance to sweep the series, had the new Kenley Jansen-Carlos Ruiz battery not failed in the opener Friday. Nevertheless, the Dodgers will take it. They have won four 1-0 games this season, according to ESPN Stats & Information, tied with the rival San Francisco Giants for the most in the majors.
The only run was scored as a result of a bang-bang play at second. With the bases loaded and two outs in the eighth, Adrian Gonzalez hit a grounder to third. Javier Baez tried to get the force, but Corey Seager slid in safely a fraction before Ben Zobrist touched the bag after receiving the throw. The play stood upon review. Dodgers announcer Vin Scully called it best, saying the final result came down to a “toenail.”
Baez could've gone to first for the easy out but had a mental lapse and threw to Zobrist, who was positioned in the shift and had far to go to reach the bag.
Look, it's not like the Dodgers exactly lit it up on offense this series, winning two games 1-0 (including Wednesday's game against the Giants), and almost getting no-hit by the Giants on Thursday. But wow, 4-2 on the homestand. That's pretty unexpected, and a pleasant surprise.
Dodgers lead SF by two games in the NL West. We play in Colorado for a quick three-game series starting today, before returning home this weekend.
photo: Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Getty Images