LOS ANGELES (AP) — Cody Bellinger homered with two out in the ninth inning, and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs 3-2 Saturday night for their first walk-off victory of the season.
Bellinger, who came on as a late defensive substitution, crushed a 422-foot solo shot to center off Keegan Thompson (3-2), setting off a joyous celebration on the field for the defending World Series champions.
Max Muncy and Justin Turner each drove in a run in the first inning, and the Dodgers then made 26 outs before Bellinger ended it with the second homer of the 2019 NL MVP’s injury-plagued season. One night after snapping a four-game skid, Los Angeles won for the second time since four Cubs pitchers combined for a no-hitter at Dodger Stadium on Thursday night.
Anthony Rizzo homered for the Cubs, who had won their first four games of the season against Los Angeles before losing twice.
David Price (3-0) got two outs in the ninth while pitching for the third consecutive day for Los Angeles.
Julio Urías racked up a career-high 12 strikeouts while pitching five-hit ball into the sixth inning for the Dodgers.
Alec Mills yielded eight hits in four rocky innings for Chicago, but just two runs — none after his first three batters.
Mookie Betts led off the game with a double, and Muncy doubled him home before scoring on Turner’s single. The Dodgers had been outscored 10-0 in the opening frame in their previous five games.
Urías got off to an outstanding start to the season, but the Dodgers’ World Series-clinching hero came into Saturday hoping to end a decline in effectiveness over the past month.
The left-hander yielded just one hit in the first three innings, but Rizzo homered to right on Urías’ first pitch of the fourth, blistering a high fastball on the ninth anniversary of the three-time All-Star’s Cubs debut.
Ian Happ tied it with an RBI double in the fifth after batting for Mills.
TAYLOR (NOT SO) SWIFT
Chris Taylor was thrown at third base twice by Cubs catcher Willson Contreras in the first four innings. The LA veteran was nabbed trying to steal in the second, and he was picked off in the fourth. The second time cost the Dodgers a run, since Urías singled on the next pitch.
REVERSAL UNREVERSED
Cubs outfielder Jason Heyward thought he hit a tiebreaking homer in the seventh inning when his drive down the left-field line was initially ruled fair. The umpires then reversed themselves after a group consultation, and a video review didn’t reverse the reversal.
Heyward then singled to center, reaching base in his seventh consecutive plate appearance.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Cubs: INF Nico Hoerner (left hamstring strain) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Iowa on Sunday. … Matt Duffy (back) has resumed baseball activities, and he threw a baseball Friday for the first time in a month. The utilityman has been out since May 22.
Dodgers: Yoshi Tsutsugo (right calf strain) will get at least another week at Triple-A Oklahoma City before he is re-evaluated.
UP NEXT
Dodgers star Clayton Kershaw (8-7, 3.43 ERA) hopes to atone for the shortest start of his career May 4 at Wrigley Field when he pitches the series finale against Albert Alzolay (4-6, 4.19 ERA).
___
More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports