The seventh inning of the Cubs’ 3-2 win Sunday was threatening to spiral. Then, Cubs reliever Mark Leiter Jr. struck out Dodgers left-handed stars Freddie Freeman and Max Muncy to maintain the Cubs’ lead and end the Dodgers’ strongest push for a comeback.
“That split-finger is a legit weapon,” Cubs starter Drew Smyly said. “And he trusts in it. … Hitters don’t see it. It’s a wipeout pitch.”
The Cubs pitching staff had a strong series overall, limiting the Dodgers to two runs in each game. On Sunday, Smyly surrendered just one run in 5 ⅔ innings. Reliever Michael Fulmer bounced back from giving up the walk-off the day before, and he retired the side in order in the eighth inning. Then, Brad Boxburger struck out three batters to secure the save and series win.
Leiter entered the game at its most precarious point. The Dodgers had just pulled within one run of the Cubs in the seventh inning on a freak play. With one out, Mookie Betts had hit a fly ball to Cubs right fielder Seiya Suzuki, but as Suzuki tried to camp under it, he appeared to lose the ball in the sun. It dropped to the ground for a single.
The Dodgers would have scored on the play regardless – Chris Taylor was on third base ready to tag if the ball was caught. But now, the Dodgers had runners on first and second with one out.
Leiter, whose splitter has given him success against left-handed hitters as well as right-handers, came in to face Freeman. Leiter started Freeman off with a cutter and then threw three straight splitters to strike him out swinging.
“The at-bats gave me the opportunity to attack with it and it worked out where they were set up for it,” Leiter said. “Just executing is really what it was about.”
Then, Leiter got J.D. Martinez to hit a ground ball to the left side of the infield. Shortstop Dansby Swanson took an angle into the hole to backhand it – not an easy play, but one he usually makes. At the grass line, the hop got the best of Swanson, extending the inning yet again.
So, Leiter faced Muncy with the bases loaded. Again he leaned on his splitter, getting a whiff for strike three to end the inning. Leiter punctuated the moment with a shout back toward the Cubs dugout.
“He’s got that energy, that fight in him when he’s on the mound,” third baseman Patrick Wisdom said. “It’s a lot of fun to play behind him.”
Daily Wisdom
Wisdom homered for the third straight game on Sunday, bringing his season total to six.
“I wish I could just bottle it up and keep it in my locker,” Wisdom said of feeling so locked in. “But it’s just going out there and swinging at my pitches and putting controlled swings on it.”
Cody Bellinger followed Wisdom in the sixth inning with a home run of his own, capping a return to Dodger Stadium that already included a home run-robbing play in center field.
“You only come back for the first time one time,” Bellinger said. “And I really just wanted to soak in the moment and have a fun time with the fans.”
That home run, with an exit velocity of 108.1, was the hardest contact he’d made in play since 2020, according to Statcast.
Bellinger, expecting the birth of his second child any day now, is expected to go on paternity leave soon.
“We need to keep that [bun] in the oven and let that settle in while he’s rolling,” Ross joked.
CUBS AT ATHLETICS
Monday: Hayden Wesneski (0-0, 7.50) vs. Kyle Muller (0-0, 5.52), 8:40 p.m., Marquee 670-AM
Tuesday: Marcus Stroman (2-1, 1.00) vs. Ken Waldichuk (0-2, 10.20), 8:40 p.m., Marquee, 670-AM
Wednesday: Justin Steele (2-0, 1.42) vs. James Kaprielian (0-2, 12.15), 2:37 p.m., Marquee 670-AM