Adbert Alzolay gets knocked out early and Anthony Rizzo exits with lower back tightness in the Chicago Cubs’ 7-1 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers
CHICAGO — Chicago Cubs right-hander Adbert Alzolay never got comfortable Sunday night at Dodger Stadium.
His command issues were apparent early in a first inning that saw the rookie throw more balls than strikes. The trend continued into the second, when the game got away from the Cubs. The Dodgers tagged Alzolay for six runs in the inning, including a grand slam, and the Cubs offense couldn’t chip away at the deficit in a 7-1 loss.
“He wasn’t sharp,” manager David Ross said. “I just felt like his rhythm in general, syncing up his mechanics, just leading to sporadic command. His slider really didn’t look like it had a lot of shape to it either. He was battling himself out there, trying to let him figure it out a little bit.”
After throwing a combined no-hitter in the series opener, the Cubs lost the next three. They head to Milwaukee unclear about Anthony Rizzo’s health after he exited in the sixth with lower back tightness.
Ross did not have a postgame update on Rizzo, who still was being evaluated. Ross indicated Rizzo’s back had not been bothering him before Sunday.
Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw struck out 13, his most in a start since July 2017, part of a 15-strikeout game for the Cubs offense.
“He’s Clayton Kershaw — he’s probably a Hall of Famer — so I think we just didn’t string enough together,” third baseman Patrick Wisdom said. “It’s just one of those games you tip your cap and move on.”
The three-inning start matched the shortest this season for Alzolay. He labored through the second, constantly struggling to command his slider and throw strikes. The first three Dodgers reached on a hit-by-pitch and two walks. Both walks came after Alzolay was ahead in the count (1-2 and 0-2). He then left a 1-1 slider too much over the plate, and Zach McKinstry smacked it for a grand slam.
“I felt like my body was slow to home plate,” Alzolay said. “I was throwing everything from back here at my head. I just couldn’t find that rhythm today in the game.”
Alzolay should have gotten out of the inning with the slam as the only damage. Instead, Javier Báez botched a potential inning-ending groundout, throwing low for an error as Rizzo couldn’t corral it. Cody Bellinger followed with a homer on a 2-0 fastball for a 6-0 Dodgers lead.
Báez’s homer in the fourth, his 18th this year, represented the Cubs’ lone run.
