Patrick Wisdom, Bellinger HRs lift Cubs to 3-2 win over Dodgers

LOS ANGELES – Patrick Wisdom homered for the third straight game, Cody Bellinger also went deep and the Chicago Cubs defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-2 on Sunday.

Wisdom and Bellinger connected back-to-back in the sixth inning, and the Cubs took two of three in the series. Drew Smyly (1-1) allowed one run and four hits in 5 2/3 innings.

“We all believe in there. Like, we’re nasty,” Smyly said. “We have a good team. … When you do start knocking off some series wins against opponents like this, like, I think it really just takes it to another level.”

Chris Taylor homered for the Dodgers, who scored six runs all weekend. Julio Urías (3-1) gave up two earned runs and eight hits in 5 2/3 innings, the first time this season he allowed multiple runs in a start.

“I felt good about my pitches,” Urías said through a translator. “I felt really good about everything I was doing. Obviously it’s baseball and things happen. … I made a mistake and I paid for it.”

With his parents in the stands for all three games, Wisdom became the third Cubs player to hit three home runs in a series at Dodger Stadium, joining Dave Kingman and Gary Matthews.

“I wish I could just bottle it up and keep it in my locker,” Wisdom said. “But, yeah, it’s just going out there and swinging at my pitches and putting controlled swings on it. And the staff has done a good job of putting my blinders on, if you will, to just stay in your zone.”

Bellinger then launched his third homer of the season, capping a memorable return to Los Angeles for the former Dodgers slugger after receiving a standing ovation on Frida y and snatching away a home run on Saturday.

“I know it’s a huge weekend for him coming back here,” Wisdom said. “He makes that (defensive) play the other night and, you know, good at-bats all around and then hits a big homer kind of to cap it off, so that was super fun to be a part of.”

ATTACK MODE

The Dodgers got their runs when Taylor nailed the left-field foul pole in the third and Chicago right fielder Seiya Suzuki lost Mookie Betts’ fly ball in the sun to allow Taylor to score in the seventh. Smyly said he wanted to take the fight to their lineup, and the feisty approach worked.

“They’re known to not really chase much and make pitchers work, so my mindset was let’s just come out as aggressive as can be. … Keep them on their heels,” he said.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Dodgers: C Will Smith was placed on the injured list because of a concussion. Smith, put on the seven-day IL retroactive to Thursday, missed the past two games because he hadn’t been feeling well. The Dodgers initially believed Smith was dealing with an illness before further testing led to the diagnosis of a head injury. With Smith unavailable, Los Angeles signed journeyman catcher Austin Wynns, and he will start on Monday.

UP NEXT

Cubs: RHP Hayden Wesneski (0-0) takes the mound Monday for the first of three games at Oakland. Wesneski lasted only 1 1/3 innings against Seattle on Tuesday, getting tagged for five hits with four walks before exiting the shortest start of his career.

Dodgers: RHP Dustin May (1-1) starts Monday to open a three-game series against the New York Mets. May, who allowed two runs in 5 1/3 innings at San Francisco on Tuesday, has yet to give up a home run in three starts this season.

LOS ANGELES – Despite battling injuries all season, the New York Yankees are still managing to pick up victories.

With AL MVP Aaron Judge sidelined after injuring his foot on Saturday, the Yankees got strong pitching and were able to use a little bit of small ball to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-1 Sunday and take two of three games in the weekend series.

“Just a really good all-around effort. A lot of winning things were happening in that game,” manager Aaron Boone said.

New York plated runs in the seventh and eighth innings on soft-contract grounders before Anthony Volpe provided some insurance with a two-run homer in the ninth.

J.D. Martinez homered for the Dodgers, who dropped the final two games in the series.

Clay Holmes (4-2) pitched one inning to pick up the win, and Wandy Peralta got the last four outs for his fourth save.

It was a pitchers’ duel for six innings between the Yankees’ Domingo Germán and Dodgers’ Bobby Miller. The right-handers matched zeroes as the teams combined for only four hits in the first six innings.

Dodgers’ rookie Miller allowed only one hit in his six innings, becoming the first Dodgers’ pitcher since at least 1901 to allow one hit or fewer within his first three big league starts. The 24-year old right-hander struck out seven and walked two in his third start.

Germán went 6 2/3 innings and allowed one run and four hits, including Martinez’s solo shot to tie it at 1-all in the seventh. The right-hander has limited opponents to one run or fewer in four of his last six starts.

Jake Bauers – who was playing right field in place of Judge – scored the game’s first run in the seventh on Kyle Higashioka‘s broken-bat grounder to short.

Bauers got aboard with a base hit then advanced to third when Brusdar Graterol threw the ball away on Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s bunt.

After Martinez’s homer, the Yankees retook the lead in the eighth against Evan Phillips (1-1). Oswaldo Cabrera drove in Anthony Rizzo with the go-ahead run with a slow roller that second baseman Miguel Vargas could only throw to first.

“It not being hit well helps when the fielders have to move a little. That’s what you’re selling out for. Good job by the base runners there,” Boone said.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said both balls could not have been placed any better by the Yankees’ batters.

“I don’t think they had a chance on both balls. The base runners had such a good jump. They were jam shots,” Roberts said. “There were a lot of things we did as far as giving away a couple bases on the defensive side.”

Volpe had two hits after being mired in a 3-for-38 slump his last 11 games. He extended the lead by driving Caleb Ferguson’s fastball over the wall in left-center in the ninth. It was Volpe’s ninth homer, which is second among AL rookies.

“We’ve got a lot of confidence,” said Volpe after the Yankees took four of six on the road trip.

BOMBS AWAY

Martinez evened it in the bottom of the inning with a solo shot to left-center. It was his 10th homer in the last 21 games.

Martinez has 20 homers against the Yankees, his third-most against any club. He has 35 against Baltimore and 23 vs. Cleveland. He is four homers away from 300 for his career.

MILLER TIME

Miller – the 29th overall pick in the 2020 amateur draft – looked like he might have a short outing after throwing 27 pitches in the first inning. He struck out three but also walked two.

Miller retired seven straight between the third and fifth innings before Volpe lined a base hit to center field with two out in the fifth.

“It felt really good. Been working on my slider a lot lately.,” said Miller, who threw 86 pitches, including 39 sliders. “They know I have a good fastball so I have to have my other pitches working as well.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Yankees: LHP Nestor Cortes is expected to be placed on the injured list Monday or Tuesday due to a shoulder issue. Manager Aaron Boone said Cortes has been slower to recover between starts and is likely to miss one or two starts. … LHP Carlos Rendon (left forearm strain) will face hitters on Wednesday.

Dodgers: OF Trayce Thompson was placed on the injured list with a left oblique strain. OF Johnny Deluca was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City.

UP NEXT

Yankees: Return home for six games starting Tuesday against the Chicago White Sox. RHP Clarke Schmidt (2-5, 5.01 ERA) has gone at least five innings in six of his last eight starts.

Dodgers: Hit the road starting Tuesday against Cincinnati. RHP Tony Gonsolin (3-1, 1.77 ERA) has gone 3-0 in his last four starts.