CHICAGO—James Outman hit a tiebreaking grand slam in the ninth inning for his second homer of the game, and the Los Angeles Dodgers cooled off the Chicago Cubs with a 6–2 victory on Thursday night, April 20.
Max Muncy also homered for the banged-up Dodgers, who had dropped three of four. David Peralta and Miguel Vargas each had two hits.
It was the first career grand slam and multihomer game for the 25-year-old Outman. The rookie outfielder also threw out a runner at the plate.
Chicago had won a season-high four straight. Cody Bellinger homered against his former team for the second time this season, but Michael Fulmer (0–2) struggled with his location in the ninth.
With runners on first and second and one out, pinch-hitter Jason Heyward reached on a nine-pitch walk after falling behind 1–2 in the count. Outman then drove a full-count pitch deep to right for his fifth homer of the season.
It was Heyward’s first game at Wrigley Field since he was released by the Cubs in November.
Caleb Ferguson (1–0) pitched a scoreless inning for the win.
Javier Assad pitched three innings of two-run ball in his first start of the season for Chicago. Assad was brought up from Triple-A Iowa after right-hander Jameson Taillon went on the 15-day injured list with a left groin strain.
Muncy connected in the second, hitting a drive to right for his eighth homer. After Bellinger responded in the bottom half for Chicago, Outman made it 2–1 with another leadoff shot in the third.
The Cubs had runners on second and third with no outs in the fourth when Dodgers right-hander Michael Grove departed with a right groin strain.
Making Moves
The Dodgers activated outfielder Mookie Betts from the paternity list and recalled right-hander Andre Jackson from Triple-A Oklahoma City. Right-hander Evan Phillips was placed on the paternity list, and infielder Yonny Hernández was optioned to the team’s top farm club. Betts’ wife gave birth to their second child Tuesday.
