Rizzo hits winning single in 11th, Cubs beat Dodgers

CHICAGO – Anthony Rizzo sprinted toward the third-base dugout as his teammates tried to mob him. It was quite a scene – and quite a series.

A three-game sweep against the defending champions?

The Cubs will take it. Rizzo capped Chicago’s two-run 11th inning with an RBI single, and the Cubs beat the struggling Los Angeles Dodgers 6-5 on Wednesday night to complete the sweep.

Chicago’s Matt Duffy tied it when he drove in Willson Contreras with a two-out single against Garrett Cleavinger (0-3). Duffy stole third and pinch-hitter Tony Wolters walked before Rizzo – who entered the game in the 10th – singled on a sharp grounder to left.

He was mobbed by teammates as he ran off the field following the Cubs’ second game-ending hit in as many days. David Bote hit a winning single in the ninth the previous day in the nightcap of a doubleheader.

“Honestly, we’re just riding the roller coaster right now,” Rizzo said. “We’re up and down, up and down, up and down. When we’re down, we keep fighting to get back up. And when we’re up, we just keep grinding. I think for weeks now we’ve been showing on offense we’re gonna keep coming back.”

Alec Mills (2-0) got the win despite giving up two runs in two innings. Jake Marisnick homered, and the Cubs swept three from the Dodgers at Wrigley Field for the first time since 2008.

“The willingness to continue to fight, to continue to have the same at-bats, to continue to try to make pitches, to not let things spin out of control and get away from us,” manager David Ross said. “They came up with some big hits in big spots and then we came up with big hits in big spots. And it’s just backand-forth. Guys believing in one another.”

The Dodgers lost for the 13th time in 17 games since a 13-2 start. And manager Dave Roberts can sense the urgency in the clubhouse.

“I think there is,” he said. “And urgency is certainly different from panic. We just expect more of ourselves.”