Dodgers end winning homestand with biggest comeback victory of the year
by Cary Osborne
Forty-five minutes into the 11th and final game of the Dodgers’ homestand, things were already wild.
Sixteen batters had seen 81 pitches and eight runs crossed the plate. It was about to get wilder.
The Dodgers trailed by five before their first at-bat, came back to score three, then trailed again by five runs after the top of the third. But for the third time in four games against the Cubs in this series, they came from behind to win a game.
The Dodgers’ six-run bottom of the third, with four runs crossing the plate without a hit, keyed the turnaround in an 11–9 win at Dodger Stadium on Sunday.
The Dodgers have won seven straight games. They went 10–1 on the homestand — the lone loss being a blown save on July 3.
“This homestand is the best baseball we’ve played — the last couple of weeks. This is Dodger baseball,” said manager Dave Roberts.
Freddie Freeman went 4-for-5 and drove in the final two runs of the game — a solo home run in the sixth inning and an RBI-single in the seventh. He is now batting .304 with an .875 OPS, 11 home runs and 54 RBI.
“You just get down 5–0, you just want to come back and make a game of it. For the offense to come and do that and grind it all the way to the end, that’s what special teams do,” Freeman said.
Justin Turner reached base three times in the game and went 2-for-4. He began the homestand batting .217 with a .634 OPS. He went 17-for-35 on the homestand to raise his average to .250 and OPS to .720.
Gavin Lux went 2-for-3 with an RBI. He is 10 for his last 20 and at .304 has his highest batting average since April 17.
The Dodgers were in a deep hole early.
Julio Urías threw 45 pitches in the first inning — the most pitches a Dodger pitcher has thrown in any inning this season. He hit two batters in the frame with a pitch and rookie P.J. Higgins hit a grand slam in the Cubs’ five-run first.
After retiring the side in order in the second inning, his day was done.
“I had a brief conversation with Julio, he said he understood why I’m taking him out, and he said, ‘We’re going to come back and win this game,’” Roberts said.
The Dodgers cut the lead to 5–3 in the bottom of the first beginning with an RBI double by Will Smith off Cubs starter Drew Smyly. Turner drove in a run with a single and Max Muncy hit an RBI-sacrifice fly.
The Cubs added three more in the third on a three-run homer by David Bote off Phil Bickford.
But the Dodgers scored six times in the bottom of the third to take a 9–8 lead.
The Dodgers’ only run-scoring hit of the third was a two-run single by Trea Turner. Turner came up after Mookie Betts reached on a throwing error by third baseman Patrick Widsom that scored two Dodgers.
Dodgers Yency Almonte, Caleb Ferguson, Alex Vesia and Brusdar Graterol all put up zeroes in relief work, with Graterol taking down the final two innings for his third save of the year.
This is the Dodgers’ 25th comeback win of the year. The five-run deficit is the largest they’ve overcome in a victory this season.
