Eventually, someone was going to get to the Cubs’ dominant bullpen. It was unrealistic for the trio of Andrew Chafin, Ryan Tepera and Craig Kimbrel to not give up runs. 

It was AJ Pollock and the Dodgers who did it Friday night in Los Angeles. Pollock launched a 2-run home run off Tepera in the bottom of the 8^th inning that proved to be the game-winning hit in the Dodgers’ 6-2 win over the Cubs.

The Cubs had their chances to take control of the game.

Trailing 2-1 in the top of the 5^th, Jason Heyward and Jake Marisnick both reached to start the inning, but the Cubs weren’t able to push across any runs. Jake Arrieta struck out trying to bunt and Joc Pederson grounded into an inning-ending double play to end the inning.

In the 7^th, Heyward and Marisnick both reached to start the inning. Heyward scored a pair of batters later on a Pederson sacrifice fly. With Marisnick at third and two outs, Kris Bryant flew out to end the threat, though.

Arrieta turned in a solid performance on the mound after 2 straight losses. He struck out 4 and allowed just 2 runs on 5 hits in 5 innings of work.

“Things were crisp at times, but lacked the consistency throughout with the command of the fastball, especially in to lefties,” Arrieta said. “Made some pretty good pitches, but there was a lot of traffic and too many high-stress pitches throughout the game. Would have liked to pitch deeper into the game.” 

The Cubs gave Arrieta an early lead with a 1^st inning solo home run from Kris Bryant. It’s the second straight day the Cubs have had a 1^st inning home run.

Jason Heyward followed up his 2-hit day from Thursday reaching base 4 times on Friday on a pair of singles and two walks.

The Cubs are 4-1 against the Dodgers this season and will turn to Alec Mills in game 3 of the series Saturday.

Injury updates

David Ross had a brief moment of worry Friday night. 

With two outs in the 6^th, Willson Contreras took a 98-mile-per-hour fastball to the hand from Joe Kelly. Contreras grimaced in pain as Ross and the Cubs medical staff rushed onto the field. 

He told them he was OK and stayed in the game, but Ross did say he had a bruise on the hand. 

“That was a scary moment,” Ross admitted. “We’ll see how it presents afterwards. Let the trainers check it out again. But I think the good sign is he got through the game, was still able to compete at a high level.”

Ross had another quick moment of worry in the 8^th, when Javy Báez dropped his bat after taking a swing. Again, Ross and the trainer rushed onto the field. 

This time, though, the news was more positive from Báez. 

“He actually said that spot that had been bothering him a little bit, he felt it kinda pop and release,” Ross said. “I think it was actually a good thing rather than a bad thing.”