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Dodgers fall to Cubs in 10 innings in wild game at Wrigley Field

April 23, 2025

CHICAGO — The surrounding neighborhood has been thoroughly gentrified, but Wrigley Field can still show its rough side.

Nine innings were barely enough to contain one of the worst starts of Dustin May’s career, a five-run inning from each team and a game-tying home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. But one pitch in the bottom of the 10th inning put an end to it when Ian Happ stroked a walk-off RBI single that gave the Chicago Cubs an 11-10 victory over the Dodgers on Tuesday night.

The 10 runs are a season-high for the Dodgers – and it still wasn’t enough. Only a light wind (9 mph at game time) was blowing on a pleasant spring night in Wrigleyville, but it was blowing out and the two teams combined for 26 hits including 14 for extra bases – six home runs.

“I’ve played a lot of crazy games at Wrigley over the years, especially when the wind is blowing out like it was today,” said Dodgers utility man Tommy Edman, who visited frequently during his years with the St. Louis Cardinals. “I know this past week these guys have played a lot of wild games here so it’s kind of the expectation when you come in.”

The Cubs’ 13-11 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday must have made a strong impression on Edman. That was the only “wild” game during the first part of this homestand – until the Dodgers got to town.

Edman started it off with a three-run home run in the first inning off of Cubs left-hander Shota Imanaga. The home run was his third hit in six career at-bats against Imanaga, all home runs.

But hitting home runs is what Edman does now apparently. The three-run drive in the first inning Tuesday was his eighth home run of the season, tying San Diego’s Fernando Tatis Jr. for the National League lead. Edman has never hit more than 13 in a season but is seemingly on pace to reach that total sometime overnight.

May took the mound with the lead but not his command. He struggled to get his fastball over the plate, fell behind in counts and gave up hit after hit. The Cubs scored five times in the first inning on six hits. He gave up two more runs on a home run by Pete Crow-Armstrong in the fifth inning.

“We threw a lot of pitches in the middle of the hitting zone. A lot of good pitches to hit,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Obviously, wind blowing out, and we just didn’t give ourselves a chance tonight on the pitching side. They’re obviously an aggressive team. And they took a lot of good swings tonight.”

The feel-good story of May’s comeback season didn’t feel so good as he gave up a career-high 10 hits and a career-high-tying seven runs.

“Nothing was very good today,” May said, not going deep in the post-game either.

“He wasn’t getting his breaking ball to the lefties. He was working behind a lot,” Roberts said. “There was a lot of pitches that would miss middle. But he was also the victim of a lot of soft contact too. So that’s a part of it. And he just couldn’t put guys away when he had a chance to.”

The Dodgers stayed within striking distance thanks to solo home runs by Andy Pages in the second inning and Will Smith in the top of the sixth. They turned the tide on defense in the bottom of the sixth.

The Cubs put runners on second and third with one out against reliever Anthony Banda when Michael Busch lofted a fly ball to left field. It was deep enough for a sacrifice fly but Pages’ throw home and a quick tag by Smith made it a close play.

The original call was safe but the Dodgers challenged and it was overturned on replay, ending the inning.

“That was huge. Kept us in the ballgame,” Edman said. “They were trying to push the envelope a little bit. Everybody knows Andy’s got a great arm. He just did a good job throwing a strike to home and gave us a chance to come back.”

Pages started the big rally as well, leading off the seventh with a single. Back-to-back walks loaded the bases with no outs. Teoscar Hernandez bounced a ground ball down the third-base line that Cubs third baseman Gage Workman booted, allowing a run to score. Freddie Freeman drove in two with a double to left, reclaiming the lead. A sacrifice fly by Edman and an RBI double by Smith gave the Dodgers some distance.

Not enough distance.

Alex Vesia gave up a two-run home run to Kyle Tucker in the eighth inning to make it a one-run game. A walk and a stolen base put the tying run in scoring position before Kirby Yates struck out Dansby Swanson to end the eighth.

Tanner Scott came on in the ninth and was one out away from closing the game out when he grooved a fastball to Miguel Amaya. Amaya dropped a 388-foot fly ball into the basket that lines the front of the bleachers at Wrigley.

“The basket’s kind of annoying. If the basket isn’t there, it’s not a homer,” said Edman, giving chase from center field. “Just kind of a weird quirk of the ballpark. I thought I had a fairly good bead on it. Unfortunately it barely made it out.”

The solo home run hung a second blown save on Scott in his first 10 opportunities since signing with the Dodgers this past winter.

“Missed the location. That’s all it was. I missed the location,” Scott said. “Middle-middle is not very good in the big leagues.

“I thought he got a good piece of it. It went in the basket. Nothing I can do about it. I need to make a better pitch.”

The Dodgers failed to cash in their free runner in the top of the 10th. The Cubs wasted no time with theirs.

“I guess so. But we still had a chance to win it,” Roberts said when asked if it was a characteristic Wrigley thrill ride. “The conditions were the same (for both teams). Yeah, there were some balls that were hit that flew out. That’s baseball, and we had the same opportunities. We were one out away (in the ninth). We just couldn’t put them away.”

Orange County Register

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Dodgers fall to Cubs in 10 innings in wild game at Wrigley Field

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