September 10 – Cody Bellinger and Michael Bush hit home runs against their old team, leading the visiting Chicago Cubs to a 10–4 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday.
Bellinger played six seasons for the Dodgers and was the National League MVP in Los Angeles in 2019, with a two-run homer and an RBI single. Bush, who was traded to Chicago in January, had four hits, including a single, and three RBIs.
The Cubs (74-70) won for the third time in seven games and remained in contention for the final National League wild-card spot. Chicago is 5 1/2 games behind the New York Mets for the final wild-card spot.
Shohei Ohtani stole a base for the Dodgers (86-58) and scored 47 points this season. Ohtani, who also hit 46 home runs, is coming off the first 50-50 season in MLB history with 18 games remaining in the regular season.
Los Angeles right-hander Walker Buehler (1-5) allowed five runs on nine hits in five-plus innings. Mookie Betts hit a two-run homer, but the first-place Dodgers cut the gap on the idle San Diego Padres to 5 1/2 games.
Bellinger hit a two-run homer, his 16th, and Bush had an RBI single in the first inning. Those three runs were one more than Chicago scored in three games at home against the New York Yankees over the weekend, including two losses to the Cubs.
Ohtani loaded the bases in the third inning and took second with two outs. It was his 24th consecutive steal without being caught since July 23.
In the fourth quarter, Bush hit his 17th home run to the left field corner to give the team a 4–0 lead.
The Dodgers scored two runs in the fifth on Betts’s RBI single and Max Muncy’s sacrifice fly.
Chicago went up 7-2 in the sixth, including Bush’s RBI single. Miguel Amaya followed with a single and two out singles.
Betts hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning to help the Dodgers reach the score at 7-4. It was his 17th home run of the season. Bush hit a double in the eighth and then scored on Pete Crow-Armstrong’s sacrifice fly for an 8-4 lead, and Bellinger and Isaac Paredes scored in the ninth.
Cubs reliever Keegan Thompson (2-1) pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings to get the win.
Chicago starter Kyle Hendricks gave up two runs on four hits and allowed four bases in 4 1/3 innings. He had two strikeouts.
——Visual-level media