Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (8/4/26): Cubs 5, Dodgers 1 – Decisive Victory to Take Series

The Cubs and Dodgers tangled on Tuesday night at Wrigley Field in newly acquired ace Tarik Skubal‘s debut performance. The home team decided to spoil the party for the visitors with a great starting pitching effort of their own and some timely hitting to grab a series victory.

Javier Assad was very sharp, with his only mistake coming on a solo home run by old friend Kyle Tucker in the top of the 2nd that gave Los Angeles a 1-0 advantage. Chicago answered back against Skubal when Dansby Swanson hit a solo shot in the bottom of the 3rd.

The game remained even until the bottom of the 6th when Nico Hoerner beat out a high chopper with a runner on third for a go-ahead RBI infield single. The North Siders added a pair of insurance runs against the Dodgers bullpen via singles from Pete Crow-Armstrong and Seiya Suzuki that made the margin 4-1 in the 7th.

Hoerner put some icing on top of the cookie with a solo homer off Edwin Diaz in the 8th as the Cubs went on to win 5-1. (Box score)

Key Moment

The insurance runs made things way more comfortable against the explosive Dodgers lineup in the final couple of innings.

Why the Cubs Won

Terrific work by the entire pitching staff, and three big hits with runners in scoring position made the difference.

Stats That Matter

• Tremendous work by Assad in his final start before heading to the bullpen: 5.2 IP, 1 R, 4 H, 3 K, and 2 BB.
• Swanson had a single and a double to go with the home run.
• Hoerner suddenly has three home runs in the last week.
• Ryan Zeferjahn had a perfect 8th inning in his first appearance for Chicago.

Bottom Line

The Cubs have done a great job so far against the best team in baseball. It’s very hard to prove a direct connection, but it certainly didn’t hurt that the front office demonstrated their belief in the squad with a very aggressive trade deadline. I think it is safe to say Chicago is a legit contender in the National League.

On Deck

The Cubs attempt to complete the sweep Wednesday afternoon at 1:20pm CT. Shōta Imanaga faces off against Eric Lauer in a game available on MLB Network and Marquee with a radio feed on The Score