CHICAGO — For weeks, the Los Angeles Dodgers have longed to have situations like they experienced Wednesday. When Shohei Ohtani stepped to the plate with runners on second and third in the sixth inning against the Chicago Cubs, it marked just his 13th plate appearance this season with runners in scoring position. The reigning MVP watched a slider miss, then watched as another broke over the middle of the plate. When Cubs starter Matthew Boyd ran a fastball in on him, Ohtani popped up to end the inning.
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So often, Ohtani has been the Dodgers’ engine. This time, it marked the last true chance for the Dodgers over an exhausting two-game set against the Cubs. Ohtani swung over a Porter Hodge breaking ball in a one-run game in the ninth inning. He was about the only Dodgers player not to find something offensively these last two wild nights at Wrigley Field — the Dodgers combined to score 16 runs yet lost both games by a run after Wednesday’s 7-6 loss. Both felt like massive missed opportunities. Ohtani is 1-for-12 since returning from the paternity list and is hitting .226 (14-for-62) since the Dodgers’ 8-0 start to the season.
“Just got too big with the swing, where all you need is a base hit right there,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “If Shohei touches it, it’s a chance to slug it. … There was a little over-aggressiveness. The swing is a little bit longer than it typically is.”
It’s been a stumble. The Dodgers have bumbled their way through these past two games, in which the teams combined for 34 runs. The Dodgers issued seven walks Wednesday. The Cubs ran like mad on the basepaths with Austin Barnes behind the plate, collecting five stolen bases. The Dodgers’ bullpen game chain got knotted up in the middle innings. They made the Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong look like a superstar. They left a run on the basepaths. Roberts argued they should’ve won Tuesday’s heart-stopping roller coaster of a game; they were within one out of doing so. Wednesday felt like a giant missed opportunity even though they again didn’t play well.
“We made a lot of mistakes,” Roberts said.
The Cubs made things look like a track meet for two nights. Both times, the Dodgers stumbled. Wednesday, the devastating blow came in the fifth inning as the Dodgers looked to make up an early deficit. Barnes got picked off without anyone even holding him on first base. Mookie Betts immediately followed with a double that would’ve scored him and given the Dodgers the lead. Barnes said he thought the lead runner, Miguel Rojas, was going to break for third. He shuffled his feet. Michael Busch sneaked behind him at first base. Boyd threw over, and Barnes had no chance.
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“I just didn’t feel him behind me,” Barnes said. “Obviously, you can’t get picked off there.”
Teoscar Hernández followed with a two-run homer that gave the Dodgers the lead anyway. Rookie reliever Jack Dreyer, who has been a revelation, immediately gave it back. He walked three batters in a row, losing command of his fastball to load the bases before Dansby Swanson singled up the middle to tie the score. The four-run outing snapped a stretch of nine consecutive scoreless outings for the rookie, who was consoled by each member of this veteran bullpen in the cramped, sullen visiting clubhouse in Chicago.
“I wasn’t in the zone enough,” Dreyer said. “Put some guys on to beat myself. That can’t happen.”
An aggressive throw to third from center fielder Andy Pages allowed Swanson to take second base and eventually score two batters later to build Chicago’s lead to two. Pages’ homer a half-inning later cut that lead in half. It was as close as they’d get.
A moonshot from Andy. pic.twitter.com/cjTQQCgAIq
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) April 24, 2025
“Throwing to the wrong base, which ended up being a run, difference in the ballgame right there,” Roberts said. “Obviously, getting picked off where a rally could have started brewing … (against) a team that’s playing well, playing as well as they are, you just can’t afford to do that.”
So the Dodgers dropped another trip. Despite their 16-9 record, they have not looked the part of a dominant force. They went 2-3 on a litmus-test-level trip through Texas and Chicago.
The blows are starting to add up, too. If it’s starting to feel like 2024, for all its injuries, no one would blame you for saying it.
Blake Snell, the Dodgers’ prized $182 million free-agent signing, was set to throw his second bullpen session since landing on the injured list with left shoulder inflammation. That never happened Wednesday. Snell reported more discomfort after playing catch Tuesday. He’ll get another battery of tests.
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“Just didn’t feel great,” Roberts said.
That seems concerning, even after the initial MRI showed no structural damage.
“I wouldn’t say concerning. Because part of the messaging from us to Blake is it’s about later on in the season. And if there’s any type of discomfort, let’s not try to fight through it. So — I say this a lot — given where we’re at right now on the calendar, not concerned at all. And even talking to Blake yesterday, wasn’t concerned.”
At the very least, it’s a delay in having the two-time Cy Young winner back in the rotation. Tony Gonsolin should be back to take his spot, so long as he got through his outing in Oklahoma City on Wednesday without issue — he pitched into the sixth inning, allowing two runs on 79 pitches. Clayton Kershaw’s toe still isn’t 100 percent, but he’s nearing a return.
Then, franchise catcher Will Smith woke up Wednesday morning with a sore left wrist, the result of a firm tag he applied on the Cubs’ Ian Happ in the sixth inning of Tuesday night’s loss. He sat Wednesday and could go for imaging when the Dodgers travel back to Los Angeles on Thursday.
“See where it goes from there,” Roberts said.
The Dodgers would be well served to put Smith on a minimal stint on the injured list, at the very least. They have the depth for it, with Hunter Feduccia the obvious choice already on the 40-man roster along with Barnes. As with everything, the Dodgers will prioritize October over chasing wins in April. The last thing they’d need is for this to linger, as Smith’s ankle issue did last summer and broken rib did the summer before that.
Time and the schedule are their friends right now. After an off day Monday, they’ll have another Thursday. Then, the Pittsburgh Pirates and Miami Marlins come to Los Angeles. A chance, on paper, to get a foothold.
“I think this off day comes at a good time for all of us,” Roberts said.
(Photo of Shohei Ohtani: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
This news was originally published on this post .
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