Wrobleski scoreless – Justin Wrobleski delivered six scoreless innings and Shohei Ohtani’s seventh-inning homer helped the Dodgers beat the Cubs 6-0 in the series finale.
LOS ANGELES — A controlled, low-friction start from Justin Wrobleski set the tone, and the Dodgers turned that momentum into a clean 6-0 win over the Chicago Cubs on Sunday in the series finale.
Wrobleski tossed six scoreless innings to become the first Dodgers pitcher since 2009 to win his first four starts. and he did it by keeping damage to a minimum while working through traffic.. The left-hander struck out six and allowed four hits. but what stood out was how often he limited the Cubs when innings started to get messy.. For Dodgers fans watching the focus tighten pitch by pitch. the message was clear: even when the Cubs had chances. they couldn’t push runs across the plate.
The early picture was chaotic in small ways.. Wrobleski and Cubs starter Shota Imanaga both struggled with command through the first two innings. throwing a combined 100 pitches before the game settled.. Still. neither side gave the other a true breakthrough—at least not until the Dodgers started manufacturing offense in ways that didn’t rely on perfect contact.
In the first inning, Los Angeles opened the scoring with patience and opportunism.. Shohei Ohtani drew a walk, stole second, and reached third after a throwing misstep by catcher Carson Kelly.. Andy Pages then delivered a sacrifice fly to bring Ohtani home. and Miguel Rojas followed with a two-run double with two outs to make it 3-0.. It wasn’t one big hit that did the damage; it was sequence after sequence—base-running pressure. defensive mistakes. and timely swing-and-miss consequences.
The Dodgers extended their cushion further in the sixth when the pressure finally converted into runs.. Dalton Rushing drove in a run with an RBI single. and Kyle Tucker added to the scoreboard by walking and scoring on a pickoff error after Santiago Espinal whiffed on a bunt.. From there. it was mostly about preventing the Cubs from changing the game’s shape. even as Chicago reached leadoff base repeatedly.
Wrobleski’s run ended up feeling more impressive when you remember how often the Cubs put runners in uncomfortable spots.. Chicago got leadoff runners aboard in six of nine innings. yet finished 0-for-20 with runners on base and left 12 stranded—an away-season high for the Cubs.. That kind of stat line doesn’t just reflect poor luck.. It points to a consistent inability to capitalize, inning after inning, when the margin tightened.
And then came the moment the game effectively tilted.. In the seventh. Shohei Ohtani homered to left-center on an opposite-field swing off Hoby Milner’s first pitch. stretching the Dodgers’ lead to 6-0.. The ball traveled 382 feet, cutting through a gusty wind, and it snapped Ohtani’s 12-game homerless streak.. Ohtani finished 3-for-4 with a walk and scored twice. adding yet another reminder that when the Dodgers’ tempo is right. his at-bats become the kind of threat that forces opponents into damage control.
What mattered even beyond the final score was how the Dodgers handled a starter-versus-starter matchup that could have swung in either direction.. Imanaga, typically a steady presence, ran into trouble as he surrendered five runs and six hits in 5.1 innings.. He struck out six and walked three. but the damage was uneven—he could miss bats. yet couldn’t always keep the inning from turning.. His continued difficulty against Freddie Freeman was notable, with Freeman going 0-for-?. and striking out five times, underscoring the Cubs’ plan to limit damage through specific matchup tactics.
The larger takeaway for Los Angeles is that this win wasn’t built on one heroic moment.. It was constructed through a reliable pitching floor from Wrobleski. disciplined offensive sequencing early. and a late dagger when Ohtani finally delivered the long ball.. For a team that often needs to balance starting-pitch dominance with timely scoring, Sunday’s game offered a clean blueprint.
Looking ahead. the Dodgers now shift to a new chapter with Yoshinobu Yamamoto scheduled to start the series opener against the Miami Marlins on Monday.. Miami counters with Chris Paddack.. For Chicago. Matthew Boyd begins the next series opener in San Diego against the Padres. where Randy Vásquez is set to pitch.