SAVE, GAME GET AWAY
Jansen blows save in the ninth, and Cubs’ Bryant hits two-run homer in the 10th.
Rarely do plans combust in such annoying fashion, as if the outcomes were scripted by a malevolent figure hoping to punish a front office for fiddling with a team’s chemistry.
On Thursday, hours after the Dodgers traded away beloved backup catcher A.J. Ellis, the club nearly limped into a no-hitter. A day later, Ellis’ replacement, former Phillies stalwart Carlos Ruiz, could not handle the darting cutters of closer Kenley Jansen, an awkwardness that led to a 6-4 defeat in 10 innings to the Cubs.
A verdict on a trade should not be rendered after two games. The coming days and weeks will provide a more complete picture about how Ruiz can enhance the Dodgers’ roster and how the rest of the club can move forward after Ellis’ departure. But the first 19 innings without Ellis have been cruel to his club.
Clinging to a one-run lead in the ninth, Jansen served up a leadoff double to outfielder Jason Heyward. Preoccupied with Heyward behind him, Jansen still
managed to strike out outfielder Jorge Soler. But the last pitch bounced past Ruiz, and Heyward strode into third base.
The extra 90 feet proved critical. Jansen pumped an elevated cutter to catcher Miguel Montero, well above the strike zone. Ruiz raised his glove to grab it. The baseball squirted loose and hit the backstop. Heyward crossed the plate.
An inning later, left-handed reliever Adam Liberatore yielded a two-run homer to third baseman Kris Bryant. It was Bryant’s second homer of the night, and it delighted a ballpark stocked with thousands of Cubs fans.
Those last two innings ruined what looked like a restorative victory. Instead the Dodgers (71-57) handed another game in the standings back to San Francisco. Los Angeles leads the National League West by one game. The matchups for this weekend favor the Giants. While the Dodgers tangle with the Cubs, San Francisco hosts the bottomdwelling Braves.
Bud Norris handed out four walks, but still restricted Chicago to one run in five innings. Joe Blanton breezed through the seventh inning, but surrendered a solo shot to Bryant in the eighth. Blanton recovered to collect all three outs in the eighth. Jansen blew his sixth save of the season.
Ruiz joined the team on Friday afternoon. Like Ellis, Ruiz had spent his entire career with the same team. The Phillies signed him out of Panama in 1998. He debuted in the majors eight years later, and spent a decade behind the plate in Philadelphia.
Ruiz loved his time as a Phillie. He re-signed there after the 2013 season, even as the team prepared to rebuild its core. But he welcomed the opportunity to compete once more in the playoffs.
“I can’t wait to play in October,” Ruiz said. “That’s my goal.”
On Friday, with lefthander Mike Montgomery starting for Chicago, Manager Dave Roberts put Ruiz in his starting lineup. Roberts stopped short of describing the catching situation as a platoon. Yasmani Grandal is the starter, Roberts insisted. But Ruiz should see consistent atbats against left-handed pitchers.
In a break from routine, Roberts did not stack his lineup with right-handed hitters on Friday. He slotted Chase Utley into second base and Josh Reddick into right field.
Chicago flaunts the most complete roster in the sport. MVP candidates like Bryant, Anthony Rizzo and Ben Zobrist power the offense. Jake Arrieta and Jon Lester anchor the rotation. The team acquired smokethrowing reliever Aroldis Chapman last month.
“They play hard,” Roberts said before the game. “They’re aggressive with the bats. They slug. They pitch. We’ve got to match that same intensity, and play a good baseball game.”
Norris quieted the Cubs for a while. At one point, he retired 10 batters in an 11-batter sequence. But he issued a leadoff walk in the fifth and walked Bryant with two outs. Rizzo punched an RBI single up the middle.
Up came Zobrist. He was inches away from tying the game, until Utley slid across the grass and stole a hit.