San Diego Padres pitching shut down the bats of the Chicago Cubs all day long, and Brian Dozier struck a final blow with a pinch-hit, three-run homer in the 12th inning as the Padres prevailed, 5-2, over the Cubs at Wednesday afternoon at Wrigley Field.
Padres arms struck out 21 batters and stranded 14 Chicago base runners as San Diego won for the third straight game and fourth time in five tries to move back over the .500 mark at 12-11. Dozier’s home run, his second of the year, came off Cubs reliever Pedro Strop and followed two-out singles by Tommy Pham and Fernando Tatis, Jr., in the 12th.
Dinelson Lamet started for the Padres, striking out nine in six innings, but he allowed solo home runs to Javier Baez and Kyle Schwarber. Four San Diego relievers came on to strike out 12 more Cubs batters over the final six innings. Matt Strahm, who whiffed six in his two innings of work, was credited with the victory. Kirby Yates retired the side in the bottom of the 12th to earn his fifth save.
Kyle Hendricks started for Chicago, allowing a run-scoring double to Manny Machado in the first and a sacrifice fly to Francisco Mejia in the sixth. Rowan Wick and Jeremy Jeffress quieted San Diego bats after that, but Cubs hitters could not break through, going 0-for-14 hitting with runners in scoring position.
