Dodgers’ early lead slips away as Hoerner, Cubs pull clear in 5-1 win

Dodgers strike first, then Cubs answer

Los Angeles opened the scoring Wednesday, August 5, 2026, but Chicago produced the next five runs in a 5-1 win over the Dodgers at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois.

Tucker put the Dodgers ahead in the second inning with a home run to left center, a 376-foot shot that made it 1-0. Chicago tied the game in the third when Swanson homered to left center, a 401-foot drive that brought the score to 1-1.

Those were two of the game’s three home runs. The other came from Hoerner, who also had the hit that gave the Cubs the lead.

Hoerner puts Chicago in front

The game remained tied until the sixth inning, when Hoerner reached on an infield single to second. Bregman scored on the play, and Busch moved to second, giving Chicago a 2-1 lead.

The Cubs added two more runs in the seventh. Crow-Armstrong singled to right, scoring Swanson for a 3-1 lead. Suzuki followed with a single to center that scored Crow-Armstrong and pushed Chicago ahead 4-1.

Hoerner added the final run in the eighth with a 381-foot home run to left center, making it 5-1. Chicago’s scoring came in four different innings after Los Angeles took the initial lead.

Chicago pitching closes it out

Javier Assad allowed 1 earned run on 4 hits in 5.2 innings for the Cubs, with 2 walks and 3 strikeouts. Ryan Rolison earned the win, improving to 6-1, after pitching 1.0 inning with no hits, no earned runs, no walks and 1 strikeout.

Tyler Ferguson recorded his fourth hold after 0.1 innings with no hits, no earned runs, no walks and no strikeouts. Ryan Zeferjahn followed with his 10th hold, pitching 1.0 inning with no hits, no earned runs, no walks and no strikeouts. Jacob Webb also pitched 1.0 inning with no hits, no earned runs, no walks and no strikeouts.

For Los Angeles, Tarik Skubal took the loss, falling to 7-6, after allowing 2 earned runs on 4 hits in 6.0 innings. He walked 2 and struck out 6.

The Cubs improved to 65-49. The Dodgers fell to 69-45. Attendance was 40,584.

Sources

https://www.espn.com/mlb/game/_/gameId/401816391