The game flipped almost immediately in the bottom of the first, and it unraveled fast for us. After issuing multiple walks to load the bases, the Cubs capitalized without needing much contact. A two run single from Carson Kelly opened the scoring, and Nico Hoerner followed with a sacrifice fly to make it 3–0. All coming off just one hit in the inning.
It was a rough start defined more by control issues than hard contact, as we kinda essentially handed Chicago early momentum.
After a single and continued traffic put pressure back on the Angels’ pitching, the Cubs broke the game open in a big way. A two run single from Ballesteros brought in both Crow-Armstrong and Hoerner and moments later, Ian Happ crushed a three run homer to left-center, blowing the game wide open. What had been a manageable deficit quickly turned into a multi-run hole, with the Cubs stacking hits and finally delivering the big swing that the Angels had avoided early.
Our offense, meanwhile, never found much of a rhythm against Chicago’s pitching. Outside of scattered baserunners, the lineup struggled to string together quality at-bats, with multiple quick innings and limited hard contact through the middle frames.
Even when opportunities appeared, they couldn’t sustain any real pressure.
The Cubs continued to add on late, taking advantage of another opportunity in the seventh. Dansby Swanson delivered an RBI single to center, bringing home Hoerner and extending the lead even further. By that point, the game had fully shifted into Chicago’s control.
We did show some life late, finally breaking through with a swing that cut into the deficit. Moncada launched a two run homer to right, scoring Jorge and putting us on the board in a more meaningful way. It was one of the few moments of real offensive impact for Los Angeles in a game that had otherwise been dictated by the Cubs. 2-7 Cubs.
