Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (9/9/24): Cubs 10, Dodgers 4 – The Michael Busch Revenge Game

Apparently, all the Cubs needed to get them hitting again was to leave Wrigley Field. Chicago was able to put up 10 runs on the mighty Dodgers in Los Angeles Monday night to win the first game of the series 10-4. The big story in this one was first baseman Michael Busch getting revenge on the organization that traded him with four hits.

Another ex-Dodger, Cody Bellinger, got the North Siders on the board in the top of the 1st when he hit a two-run home run off of Walker Buehler. Busch had an RBI single in that frame and then added a solo homer in the 4th that put the road team ahead 4-0.

Kyle Hendricks looked more like vintage Professor to start Monday, not giving up any runs the first four innings. The veteran righty ran into problems in the 5th, however, giving up an RBI single to Mookie Betts and getting pulled with the bases loaded and one out. Keegan Thompson took over in relief and gave up a sacrifice fly to Max Muncy before escaping the jam with the Cubs still on top 4-2.

Chicago tallied some important insurance in the 6th inning, starting with Busch getting his second run-scoring single against lefty reliever Anthony Banda. Later in the frame, Miguel Amaya knocked in runners from second and third with a base hit that made it 7-2.

Los Angeles did not go away that easily, with Betts hitting a two-run homer off of Drew Smyly in the 7th to cut the margin to 7-4. The Cubs tacked on three insurance runs in the final two innings on a pair of sac flies and a Bellinger RBI single to make it a comfortable win. (Box score)

Key Moment

It was big for Chicago to score three runs immediately after the Dodgers cut the lead to just 4-2. LA has a relentless offense and no lead is safe, so continuing to pad the advantage was very important.

Why the Cubs Won

The lineup roared back to life after vanishing for the last week and that made the difference. The pitching did pretty well considering the quality of their opponent.

Stats That Matter

• Hendricks was better than he has been recently and just didn’t last long enough to get win: 4.1 IP, 2 R, 4 H, 2 K, and 4 BB.
• Busch was in a bit of a slump so it’s good to see him come out of it.
• Pete Crow-Armstrong had two hits, a sacrifice fly, and made a couple of really amazing catches in center.
• Bellinger reached base three times and had three RBI.

Bottom Line

It’s probably just statistical noise, but the Cubs really do seem to hit more on the road in 2024. They can be a pretty difficult team to beat when the bats are going, so hopefully they do it more often next year. Probably the most promising thing for 2025 is PCA becoming more and more of an impact player. The arrow is pointing very firmly up for the speedy centerfielder.

On Deck

The second matchup of the series is Tuesday night at 9:10pm CT. It’s an outstanding pitching matchup between Shōta Imanaga and Yoshinobu Yamamoto with coverage on TBS, Marquee, and 670 The Score.