Chicago Cubs

Dodgers Beat Cubs, Claim 3-0 Series Lead

The Chicago Cubs’ woes against the Los Angeles Dodgers continued unabated on Tuesday night, as they fell in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series.

The loss means that the Cubs are just one defeat away from elimination, and the Dodgers now hold a commanding 3-0 series lead.

Chris Taylor and Andre Ethier both hit home runs for the Dodgers, and Yu Darvish pitched seven and a third innings of one-run ball. Kyle Schwarber had a first inning home run for the Cubs. 

The Cubs hoped to get on the board early against Yu Darvish, and that’s exactly what they did. With one out and no one on, Kyle Schwarber smacked an opposite field home run into the left field bleachers, giving the Cubs an early 1-0 lead.

Kris Bryant and Willson Contreras also got base hits in the frame, but they were stranded as Darvish managed to strike out Jon Jay to limit the damage.

That became a key in the top of the second, as the Dodgers quickly tied things up. Outfielder Andre Ethier, inserted into the lineup to face the crafty Hendricks, hit a low-flying home run just over the basket in right field, knotting up the game at 1-1.

The Dodgers then took the lead in the third inning, and once again it was a long ball that did the damage. This time it was Chris Taylor doing the honors, poking a line drive homer into the left field bleachers to give Los Angeles a 2-1 lead.

That lead stayed in place through the third and fourth innings, as the Cubs couldn’t capitalize on a few breaks, including an Addison Russell dribbler that somehow stayed fair and bounced off the third base bag. With two runners on, Hendricks struck out to end the fourth with the Cubs still down by a run.

The Dodgers extended their advantage in the top of the fifth, as once again Taylor came up big. After Joc Pederson led the inning off with a double, Taylor ripped a triple into the left field corner, scoring the run and bumping Los Angeles’ advantage up to 3-1.

Another run was tacked onto that lead as Carl Edwards Jr. came into the game in the sixth inning. With the bases loaded, Edwards walked Darvish on four pitches, forcing in a run and extending the Dodgers’ lead to three runs.

The misery continued for the Cubs in the eighth inning, as Logan Forsythe reached base on a walk and then got to third on an Austin Barnes single and a wild pitch by Mike Montgomery. When Charlie Culberson struck out, the ball got away from Willson Contreras and rolled into the Dodgers’ dugout, allowing Forsythe to score and make it a 5-1 game.

The Dodgers tacked on another run as Kyle Farmer lofted a sacrifice fly to center field, allowing Barnes to score a run to give the Dodgers a 6-1 lead.

The Cubs will look to stave off elimination on Wednesday night when the series resumes at Wrigley Field. First pitch is scheduled for 8:01 p.m. 

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