Cubs Beat Dodgers 2-0, Jason Hammel Exits Early With Leg Cramp
CHICAGO (AP) — Travis Wood and three other relievers combined for seven perfect innings after starter Jason Hammel left with cramps, and the Chicago Cubs held the Los Angeles Dodgers to one hit in a 2-0 victory Monday.
Hammel exited after his right hamstring cramped while warming up for the third inning. Wood (3-0) pitched four perfect innings in his longest stint of the season.
Justin Grimm, Pedro Strop and Hector Rondon pitched one inning each for the Cubs, with Rondon getting his ninth save. He has converted 20 straight save opportunities dating back to Aug. 14.
Ben Zobrist extended his hitting streak to a career-high-tying 16 games. He singled leading off the fifth and reached third when right fielder Yasiel Puig misplayed the ball. He scored on Jason Heyward's infield single.
Anthony Rizzo drove home Heyward with a double to right.
Zobrist has reached base in his last 35 starts, the longest streak by a Cub since Starlin Castro's 40 in 2011.
The Cubs (35-14) have the best record in baseball and are a season-high 21 games over .500. They have won six straight since dropping eight of 12.
They entered Monday 6 1/2 games in front of the second-place Pittsburgh Pirates in the NL Central.
The Dodgers had won six of seven entering this Memorial Day matinee. The Dodgers arrived at their Chicago hotel at 3:30 a.m. following a 4-2 win over Mets on Sunday in New York, but manager Dave Roberts said before the game that his team had no problem with the quick turnaround.
"It makes it a lot easier after you win a game like we did last night," he said. "To be here (at Wrigley Field) in this environment, it's pretty exciting. But it's kind of business as usual."
Dodgers starting pitcher Alex Wood (1-4) gave up two runs and seven hits in five innings.
MEMORIAL DAY LAMENT
Cubs manager Joe Maddon said his father, uncles and grandparents served in the military — and that his Uncle Buzz was a POW.
"The one regret I have in my own personal life is the fact that I never did serve," Maddon said. "At the time, it was very unpopular. The Vietnam War was going on, and I was in college. At the time, you really thought you were very fortunate not to have to do that. But retrospectively, that would be the one life experience that I missed out on. I wish I hadn't."
TRAINER'S ROOM
CUBS: Maddon did not start center fielder Dexter Fowler, who has a sore heel. Maddon said he hoped Fowler would return to the lineup Tuesday. Maddon moved Jason Heyward from right to center, shifted Ben Zobrist from second to right, and inserted Javier Baez at second. Zobrist also took Fowler's leadoff spot. Fowler entered Monday's game with a six-game hitting streak.
UP NEXT
CUBS: RHP Jake Arrieta (9-0, 1.72 ERA) will try to become the major league's first 10-game winner. He is the first Cubs starter to win his first nine decisions in a season since Kenny Holtzman in 1967. The only Cubs starter with a longer season-opening streak was Jim McCormick, who started 16-0 in 1886. Arrieta is 20-0 with a 0.98 ERA in 22 starts since Aug. 1, 2015.
DODGERS: LHP Scott Kazmir (4-3, 4.84) pitched for then-Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon's 2008 World Series team. He has a 1-0 career record and 2.53 ERA in two games against the Cubs. Kazmir is 3-1 in May with a 4.13 ERA.
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