David Peralta’s walk-off single lifts Dodgers over Cubs on Jackie Robinson Day
A Dodgers offense in need of a serious jolt of energy got the equivalent of a triple shot of espresso Saturday night, with the young and rested teaming up to produce a dramatic 2-1 walk-off victory over the Chicago Cubs before a Jackie Robinson Day crowd of 52,275 at Dodger Stadium.
The Dodgers managed a single in the first inning, a single in the second and went hitless over the next six innings against Cubs starter Jameson Taillon and relievers Mark Leiter Jr. and Keegan Thompson.
The closest the Dodgers came to scoring was a Jason Heyward drive that Cubs center fielder and former Dodger Cody Bellinger made a leaping catch of above the wall in the second, robbing Heyward of a two-run homer.
But the Dodgers came to life in the ninth with a rally sparked by rookies James Outman, who lined a one-out single to right-center field off Cubs closer Michael Fulmer, and Miguel Vargas, who doubled to left to put runners on second and third. Fulmer struck out Heyward for the second out.
But David Peralta, a 35-year-old veteran who hadn’t played since Wednesday night, grounded Fulmer’s first pitch into right field for a single to score Outman and Vargas, who barely beat Seiya Suzuki’s throw home.
The Dodgers swarmed onto the field to mob Peralta and pandemonium filled the stadium after the team’s first walk-off win of the season.
MLB has a process in place where players can still take in an ovation or milestone and not get hit with a pitch-clock violation as Cody Bellinger did.
“It’s something we had hoped for with the young guys, giving James an opportunity in leverage and for Miguel to take the big at-bat, and to come through, those are things that young players are going to remember,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.
“And for a guy who hasn’t played in three days, I think, David, to stay ready when called upon and come up with the big knock … that’s kind of what we thought about in putting this roster together, and for it to manifest tonight, there’s a lot of happy people in there.”
The comeback win would not have been possible if not for some stout relief by left-hander Caleb Ferguson, who replaced Yency Almonte with the bases loaded and one out in the top of the eighth and struck out No. 3 batter Ian Happ and cleanup man Suzuki.
“We definitely gained a lot of momentum from that,” Outman said of Ferguson’s escape act. “I think it kind of told the whole team that, ‘Hey, we’re in this, let’s scratch across a couple of runs.’”
Shelby Miller threw a scoreless top of the ninth to keep the deficit at 1-0. Outman sparked a rally with his hit, and Vargas, who entered Saturday with a .179 average, put two runners in scoring position with his double down the left-field line.
“It was cool,” Outman said of the youngster’s role in the rally. “When Vargy hit the double, he looked into the dugout and got everybody fired up a little bit. I think it gave us the extra boost we needed to get the big hit, and then David came through.”
Roberts summoned the left-handed-hitting Peralta. With first base open and No. 9 batter Austin Barnes on deck, Cubs manager David Ross elected to pitch to Peralta, probably fearing that Will Smith might pinch-hit for Barnes.
Cody Bellinger deserves a special place in Dodgers history, but his return to Dodger Stadium serves as a reminder of what went wrong.
But the Dodgers catcher missed his second straight game because of illness and was unavailable, his condition serious enough that he will undergo tests Sunday to determine the cause of his illness and will sit out the series finale against the Cubs.
“The whole game, I was ready for the opportunity — I told Dave I’ll be ready when you need me,” Peralta said. “I’m not going to lie, the emotion and adrenaline get really high, but I was trying to take a deep breath and slow everything down, not think about anything and be ready to hit.”
Dodgers right-hander Michael Grove, who gave up 12 runs and 14 hits in 7 1/3 innings of his first two starts for a 14.73 ERA while he battled the lingering effects of strep throat, rebounded with a strong game Saturday night, giving up one run and two hits in 5 2/3 innings, striking out six and walking two.
His only mistake was a fastball to Patrick Wisdom, who lined it over the center-field wall for a solo homer and a 1-0 Cubs lead in the fifth inning.
“You’ve got to give a lot of credit to Michael,” Roberts said. “His first two outings, he was under the weather, but he went out there and put his best foot forward tonight.”
The ninth-inning rally then put a happy ending to a day that began with Roberts gathering the team in front of the Jackie Robinson statue in the center-field plaza to discuss the legacy of the Hall of Famer who broke baseball’s color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947.
“Seeing a packed Dodger Stadium, seeing the No. 42s everywhere, the Dodgers and Cubs, two storied franchises and getting a Dodger win,” Roberts said. “I think Jackie would have been proud.”
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