Apr 4, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto (18) pitches against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images After proving to be mere mortals on the road, the Los Angeles Dodgers will return to where they showed invincibility with the start of a home series against the Chicago Cubs on Friday.
The Dodgers opened the season 8-0 then went 2-4 on a just-completed road trip to Philadelphia and Washington. Their undefeated run to start the season, the longest ever for a defending champion, opened with a pair of victories over the Cubs in Japan.
Those Tokyo showdowns were technically Cubs home games, with the Dodgers set to play host now before another two-game series between the teams set for Chicago later this month.
The Dodgers scrambled for a 6-5 victory on Wednesday to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Nationals as Teoscar Hernandez homered and drove in three runs for Los Angeles.
“We didn’t necessarily run the bases great, we played a little sloppy defense through the road trip,” said the Dodgers’ Enrique Hernandez, who made a key defensive play at first base in the ninth inning. “We had some moments offensively. … But I’m not going to sit here and make a big deal about it. We just had a tough week.”
Los Angeles is set to send right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto (1-1, 1.69 ERA) to the mound on Friday to oppose Cubs left-hander Matthew Boyd (1-0, 0.00).
Yamamoto did not give up an earned run over six innings last Friday against the Phillies, but an unearned run in the first inning set him up with the loss in a 3-2 defeat. It was the Dodgers’ first setback of the season.
In his season debut on March 18 against the Cubs, Yamamoto gave up one run on three hits over five innings to earn the win. In three career starts against the Cubs, Yamamoto is 2-0 with a 0.64 ERA and 20 strikeouts in 14 innings.
After missing 11 of the first 14 games, first with rib cage soreness then an ankle injury, Los Angeles first baseman Freddie Freeman is set to come off the injured list Friday.
The Cubs lost for just the second time in their last nine games when they fell 6-2 at home to the Texas Rangers on Wednesday. Seiya Suzuki and former Dodger Michael Busch each drove in a run for Chicago.
The Cubs had just two hits entering the ninth, and their two runs matched their average per game in the opening series against the Dodgers.
“It was a winning homestand, and it’s on to the next challenge,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “There’s always the next challenge ahead of you, and that’s how we’ve got to look at it.”
Boyd has not allowed a run in either of his starts, with his most recent outing coming Saturday in a 7-1 home victory over the San Diego Padres. He went five scoreless innings in his season debut on March 30 at Arizona.
The Cubs will be forced to adjust their rotation during the visit to Los Angeles after left-hander Justin Steele was placed on the injured list with elbow tendinitis. Steele would have been in line to face the Dodgers on Sunday.
While Thursday’s off day could allow Chicago to use right-hander Jameson Taillon on Sunday, they seem inclined to let somebody else fill the role.
“I think we’re in a position to just keep everybody kind of on good rest,” Counsell said. “I don’t think we need to push anybody (up a day) right now. I think that’s how we’ll think about it.”
–Field Level Media
