The Chicago Cubs had one of those ‘savor the moment’ games Saturday night…and it came at the expense of, arguably, the best team in baseball.
Up until last night’s 16-0 rout, the Dodgers appeared to have the Cubs’ number, winning the first three of their season encounters and shutting Chicago out just the night before. And, for the first five innings of Saturday’s game at Dodger Stadium, with 23-year-old Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki on the mound, the story wasn’t deviating too far from the script.
Sasaki had allowed just one earned run in five innings, reaching the fifth frame for the first time in his young major league career. The showing had to be a feel good moment for the Dodgers, who had seen their rookie free agent struggle at times in his three previous starts, never making it past the third inning.
The Chicago Cubs Busted Things Open
Then, of course, the flood gates opened and the rest of the evening’s feel good moments belonged to the Cubs.
With the previously untouchable Ben Casparius in relief, the Cubs delivered what would turn out to be a historic beatdown of the defending World Series champs.
Casparius would allow six earned runs in just 1.2 innings, kept in the game through a thrashing because of the Dodgers’ desire to rest a strained bullpen. At some point in the Cubs’ five-run seventh and four-run eighth, the Dodgers simply conceded defeat and took their lumps, putting utility infielder Miguel Rojas on the mound to close out the lost evening.
As mentioned, there was a bit of history mixed up in the 16-0 annihilation.
History Is Made
The loss will go down as one of the most comprehensive beatings in franchise history. Not only was it tied for the team’s largest run deficiency at Dodger Stadium, it also marked just the 16th time in franchise history that they have lost by 16 or more runs. It’ll also be registered as the first time since 1965 that they lost by such a wide margin while being shut out.
Data analysis company OptaSTATS went even deeper in their analysis of the one-sided beating.
Per the company’s Twitter/X account:
“The @Cubs’ 16-0 win tonight is the largest shutout win in MLB history against a team that entered the game with a .700+ win pct (min. 10 games into the season).”
For the Cubs, the night was full of highlights and offensive heroes.
So Many Heroes…
First baseman Michael Busch, a former prospect in the Dodgers system, went 4-for-6, with a home run and 3 RBIs. Catcher Carson Kelly went 3-for-3 with 2 home runs and 3 RBIs. Miguel Amaya, who was used as a pinch hitter and a replacement for designated hitter Seiya Suzuki, had a 2-for-3 evening, with a home run and 3 RBIs. Right fielder Kyle Tucker had another good night, going 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs.
All in all, eight different Cubs had at least one RBI Saturday night and all but two Cubs finished the game with at least one hit.
Arguably the best news of the night, though, came on the pitching end of the game as sophomore talent Ben Brown pitched six mostly stellar scoreless innings, allowing five hits and no walks.
The only bad news of the evening came in the fifth inning when DH Suzuki left the game with right wrist pain. Cubs manager Craig Counsell has since said that the Japanese slugger is day-to-day.
But, all in all, yes, Saturday was a very fine day to be a Cub and a Cubs fan. Enjoy. Things are hardly ever that fun.
Chicago Cubs star left-handed pitcher done for the 2025 season
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