David Peralta delivered a two-run, pinch-hit single with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Los Angeles Dodgers a dramatic 2-1 victory over the visiting Chicago Cubs on Saturday night.
Peralta grounded the first pitch he saw from Michael Fulmer (0-1) through the right side of the infield and just past the diving attempt of Chicago second baseman Nico Hoerner. James Outman easily scored from third base and Miguel Vargas beat the throw from Cubs right fielder Seiya Suzuki to score from second.
Vargas had two of Los Angeles’ five hits. Shelby Miller (1-0) pitched a scoreless ninth as the Dodgers won for just the third time in eight games.
Chicago took a 1-0 lead into the ninth thanks to Patrick Wisdom’s homer and Cody Bellinger’s defensive gem that saved two runs.
Bellinger, the former Los Angeles star who was National League MVP in 2019, became immediately disliked at Chavez Ravine with one play in the second inning.
Vargas led off the inning with a single and Jason Heyward followed and clubbed a 1-2 curveball to deep center. Bellinger went back to the fence, and his leap robbed Heyward of a two-run homer.
The game remained scoreless until Wisdom came up against Michael Grove with two out in the fifth inning. Grove threw a 1-1 fastball and Wisdom sent it flying 415 feet over the fence in center.
Jameson Taillon worked five shutout innings for the Cubs. He struck out seven and gave up two hits and two walks.
Chicago allowed just two hits in eight innings before Fulmer was touched for three in the ninth.
Outman singled to right center with one out in the ninth for Los Angeles’ first hit since the second inning. Vargas followed with a double just inside the third base line, before Fulmer fanned Heyward for the second out.
Peralta followed with his first big hit for Los Angeles since joining the club in the offseason.
Grove allowed one run and two hits over 5 2/3 innings. He struck out six and walked two.
Chicago had just four hits — Wisdom’s blast and three singles — while falling for just the third time in nine games.
The Cubs have slugged six homers in the first two games of the series.
–Field Level Media
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