CHC@LAD: Cruz makes nice play at third to get Castro
LOS ANGELES — It appears to be all or nothing with the Dodgers these days. For the fourth time in the past two weeks, Los Angeles was part of a sweep, this time coming on the favorable end, thanks to a walk-off single by Hanley Ramirez in the ninth that gave the team a 7-6 victory over the Cubs on Sunday.
Matt Kemp worked a four-pitch walk with one out in the bottom of the inning and the center fielder advanced to third on a single into right field by Andre Ethier. With one out, Ramirez stroked a single into left that easily scored Kemp to give the Dodgers the win and send the dugout onto the field into a frenzy.
With the Dodgers leading by one in the ninth inning, thanks to a two-run double by Ethier in the seventh, Kanley Jansen couldn’t close out the game and served up a leadoff home run to Anthony Rizzo.
Joe Blanton threw six innings of two-run ball in his first start with the Dodgers and gave up a home run and a rare three walks while striking out five.
It was the fourth time in their last five series that the Dodgers either swept or were swept by their opponent. They have now swept the Mets, Giants and Cubs during the last two weeks with one at the hands of the D-backs coming before Chicago came to town.
After Blanton gave up a home run to Welington Castillo in the sixth to give the Cubs a 2-1 lead, pinch-hitter Juan Rivera tied it up with a bases-loaded walk, and Luis Cruz gave the Dodgers the lead with a two-run double.
With Blanton’s Dodgers debut over, relievers Brandon League and Randy Choate loaded the bases in the seventh to bring up Alfonso Soriano, who hit a two-run double off Javy Guerra.
After the Cubs got two quick outs in the bottom of the seventh, Mark Ellis drew a four-pitch walk and Kemp singled to put runners on the corners. Ethier, who was in a 3-for-22 slump, battled back from 0-2 and stroked a double off James Russell with the count full to give L.A. the lead.
Blanton didn’t factor into the final decision, but the newly acquired righty will play a key role for the Dodgers down the stretch this season with Ted Lilly’s return stalled indefinitely.
The dependable starter came to L.A. tied atop the National League in home runs allowed with 22. While he has given up his fair share of homers, he has done a good job keeping guys off base with the lowest walks-per-nine-innings average in the league with a 1.22 mark.
On Sunday, he struggled with his command to give up three walks for only the second time this season. One of those walks came against the first batter he faced, David DeJesus, who went on to score on a Rizzo single.
A.J. Ellis knocked in the Dodgers’ first run with a two-out double in the fifth that scored James Loney from first.
Alex Angert is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
