Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (8/5/26): Cubs 7, Dodgers 6 – PCA Powers Team to Sweep
The Cubs came into Wednesday’s contest against the Dodgers with an opportunity to complete a sweep and got off to a terrific start thanks to MVP contender Pete Crow-Armstrong. The defending champions were not going to go quietly, however, storming back late and pulling within a single run before the home team slammed the door to finish the sweep.
Shohei Ohtani rudely greeted fellow countryman Shōta Imanaga with a solo home run to begin the game and give Los Angeles a 1-0 lead. Crow-Armstrong jumped on the first pitch he saw from Eric Lauer in the bottom of the 1st for a game-tying dinger.
Chicago went in front in the bottom of the 2nd when Dansby Swanson and PCA each hit RBI doubles to make it 3-1. The speedy center fielder was not done, connecting on a two-run homer in the 4th inning that was followed by an RBI single off the bat of Alex Bregman to increase the margin to 6-1.
Imanaga gave up some traffic on the bases but kept the Dodgers off the scoreboard after the leadoff home run. The North Siders added what turned out to be a critical insurance tally on an RBI double by Nico Hoerner that made the score 7-1 in the 7th.
LA roared back to life in the top of the 8th, beginning with Max Muncy crushing a three-run homer against Caleb Thielbar. Ryan Zeferjahn relieved him with one on and one out and got a strikeout before Ohtani victimized him with a two-run jack that reduced the Cubs’ edge to 7-6.
That was as close as the Dodgers would get, with Jacob Webb coming on and throwing a clean 9th inning to save the 7-6 Chicago win. (Box score)
Key Moment
Zeferjahn struck out Kiké Hernández to end the 8th inning and strand the potential tying run on second base.
Why the Cubs Won
Building up a big cushion early was just enough to hold off the hard-charging Dodgers.
Stats That Matter
- Imanaga limited damage against an extremely good lineup: 5 IP, 1 R, 8 H, 6 K, and 0 BB.
- Just another boring game with three extra-base hits and four RBI for PCA.
- Hoerner had three more hits and remains red hot.
- Carson Kelly joined in on the fun with three singles of his own.
Bottom Line
Sweeping the Dodgers is really tremendous work and certainly not something you were expecting going into the series. Ohtani demonstrated how good he is, but I think it’s pretty clear PCA is the current frontrunner for MVP. The Cubs got through a very difficult portion of their schedule in very good shape, and now they need to keep it up when the opponents get a little bit easier on paper.
On Deck
Chicago plays a makeup game against the Blue Jays at Wrigley Thursday afternoon at 1:20pm CT. David Peterson is on the mound against Dylan Cease in a matchup televised on Marquee with a radio feed on The Score.
