Andre Ethier’s dominant performance helps Los Angeles Dodgers defeat Chicago Cubs 7-3 – MLB Update
Los Angeles Dodgers’ outfielder Andre Ethier shined as he went 1-for-2 in the club’s 7-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field in Chicago on April 24.
After winning the game, Ethier expressed his excitement as, “It's about going up there and executing and being confident. It's nice knowing I don't have to do too much with guys in front of me and behind me doing their jobs and picking me up. It makes my
job a lot easier.”
It was a relieving moment for the Dodgers as Ethier took his time and showed great momentum to stay at the plate. During the first inning, Ethier took an RBI single against Cubs’ starter Carlos Zambrano. Ethier also extended his hitting streak to more than
20 games, as he becomes the one of three players to hit in 21 back-to back games.
The Dodgers’ infielder Aaron Miles contributed equally with Ethier. Miles took three RBIs towards the right-field position and posted one run on three hits. Ethier posted a run on an infield single driven by Miles. The Dodgers’ starting pitcher Hiroki Kuroda
threw some economical pitching as he allowed just three runs on nine hits, which was an outstanding effort. He had seven strike-outs and did not give away a single walk.
Kuroda was satisfied with his performance. He said, “I had really good movement on the splitter today. With five runs of support, I felt responsible for winning this game.”
Casey Blake scored his first run on Miles’ hit. Matt Kemp forced two runs on two hits including one RBI on Jerry Sands’ double. Sands completed his single on the sacrifice fly of Rod Barajas. James Loney also participated well and hit two RBIs on five at-bats.
During the third inning, the Dodgers scored only one run with Kemp’s double and took the lead over the rivals when Loney singled with two-out towards the left-field area.
Barajas made a single against the Cubs’ reliever John Grabow in the sixth inning and led off the Dodgers with 7-2.
On the other side, Zambrano pitched quite poorly. He gave six runs on eight hits including six earned runs in only five inning pitches and struck out only four batters. Speaking to reporters, he said, "I knew sooner or later I was going to lose a game, unfortunately
it was today. I enjoyed the winning streak a lot, but it's over with. Let's get another win on my next time and I'll be ready for that.”
The Cubs scored at the end of the first inning. Carlos Pena and Starlin Castro added solo RBIs for the Cubs while most of their batters did not score runs which resulted in a loss.
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