Shohei Ohtani snaps slump as Dodgers take heavyweight series from Cubs

As the defending two-time champions, the Dodgers don’t exactly need litmus tests.

Still, this weekend gave them a chance to size up one of their biggest fellow National League contenders — and reaffirm their own status as MLB’s foremost World Series threat once again.

After dropping a Friday night series opener to the Cubs that ran Chicago’s win streak to 10 games, the Dodgers bounced back the way title-winning teams are supposed to, cruising to back-to-back victories at Dodger Stadium to rally and take the three-game set.

The series was decided Sunday, in a 6-0 Dodgers win keyed by another pitching gem from Justin Wrobleski and another resurgent day from the club’s relentless lineup.

Wrobleski spun six scoreless innings in his start, despite battling poor command, heavy traffic and a high pitch count early.

The Dodgers (19-9) gave him plenty of support by striking for three runs in the first (including two on a Miguel Rojas double), two more after Wrobleski left the mound in the sixth (which was keyed by a double from Andy Pages and RBI single from Dalton Rushing), then another in the seventh when Shohei Ohtani snapped his two-week home run drought with an insurance blast to the opposite field.

Come October, these teams could wind up crossing paths again. Earlier this week, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts predicted the Cubs to “be in the mix” as his team goes for a third straight championship.

“They can really defend,” he said. “And they can really hit.”

But for now, the Dodgers’ supremacy remains undisputed. Even the hottest team in the majors couldn’t temporarily knock them from their perch.

What it means

For starters, that there was once again a postgame toast in the Dodgers’ clubhouse to celebrate a series win — their first since sweeping the Mets during their previous homestand.

Before these last two games, the Dodgers had lost five of seven, failing to win either series during their recent road trip to Denver and San Francisco. For the first time, there were fears they might enter their first true skid of the season, especially in the wake of Edwin Díaz’s injury.

Two days later, so much for all that.

The Dodgers are now one win behind the Braves for most in the majors. They are also 11-4 on their home field, having won four of the five series they’ve played at Chavez Ravine this year.

Who’s hot

For the first time in a little while, Ohtani.

Entering Sunday, the two-way star was 1-for-his-last-15, had gone six games without an extra-base hit and was mired in a two-week home run drought –– his longest since joining the Dodgers three years ago.

Then, he turned in one of his best offensive games of the season, going 3-for-3 with a walk, a double and his solo home run in the seventh.

It will take more such performances for the four-time MVP to get back to his typically atmospheric standards. Even after Sunday, he is batting .262 with an .876 OPS.

However, once Ohtani finds his swing, it usually doesn’t take long for him to heat up. The last couple weeks, the Dodgers have been waiting for it. Sunday, they will hope, is a sign that plenty more is soon to come.

Who’s not

Now that Ohtani has turned a corner, the Dodgers will count on their other superstar sluggers to do the same.

So far, it hasn’t happened for Freddie Freeman. 

Freeman went 0-for-4 Sunday and is now 4-for-23 in his last six games. The last four of those contests have been with Freeman batting second –– continuing the Dodgers’ season-long production problems from that spot in the lineup (which was previously occupied by Kyle Tucker, who has three doubles in four games since dropping down to the middle of the order).

Up next

The Dodgers open a three-game set against the Marlins on Monday night, with Yoshinobu Yamamoto (2-2, 2.48 ERA) facing Chris Paddack (0-4, 6.38 ERA). Ohtani will also start as a pitcher in the series on Tuesday — notable, because the Dodgers decided against pushing his outing back to Wednesday so he could pitch ahead of Thursday’s off day.

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