Amo Béisbol y Chris Capuano es Muy Bueno en Cinco de Mayo

Dodgers 5 6 1

Cubs       1 5 2

WP- Capuano (4-0)

LP- Volstad (0-4)

The Dodgers snap a two-game losing streak with the help of a very strong outing by Chris Capuano. Cappy is now undefeated and has a 4-0 record. In fact all three Dodger lefty starters-Kershaw, Cappy, and Lilly are undefeated on the season. The Dodgers get cinco runs on this the fifth day of May, and I’m sure they will be attending a well-deserved fiesta tonight. Wait, do they even have Mexican food in Chicago?

The early morning game at Wrigley makes for a chilly 49°, foggy Chicago atmosphere. The Dodgers go down quickly in order in the first inning. Dee Gordon pops out, Mark Ellis lines out, and Matt Kemp flies out.

Chris Capuano, who has pitched surprisingly well-a refreshing surprise that is-goes to work in the bottom half of the first inning against the Cubs. David DeJesus reaches second on a really pathetic error by Dee Gordon and Jerry Hairston on a pop up. Dee Gordon calls it, but momentarily loses the ball in the air. Jerry Hairston moves in to the play, and their arms collide while the ball bounces off Dee’s glove. Wow, that was bad. Communication, guys? The error is charged to Dee, but it was really a co-error. Joe Mather flies out to Andre Ethier who comes in to make the catch after Mark Ellis has trouble with it. The wind and fog seems to be making things difficult out there. Starlin Castro singles into left field, and the Cubs have runners on first and third with one out. Bryan LaHair walks to load the bases up. Alfonso Soriano strikes out looking for the much-needed second out. Amazingly Cappy strikes out Ian Stewart looking, and the Cubs leave the bases loaded! Phew!

A leadoff walk to Andre Ethier starts off the second inning. Bobby Abreu makes his first start for the Dodgers batting fifth behind Ethier. Abreu smacks a double into left field for his first hit as a Dodger, and Ethier takes third. Hairston’s comebacker to Volstad is the first out of the inning. The Cubs intentionally walk James Loney which loads the bases up for Matt Treanor. Treanor’s sac fly scores Ethier for the first run of the game, 1-0 Dodgers. Cappy comes up and helps his own cause by solidly hitting a two-run double into the gap! 3-0 Dodgers now. That was Cappy’s first RBIs in five years. Dee Gordon makes the first out on a hopper to first.

Darwin Barney fouls out to James Loney who makes a good play over near the visitors’ bullpen. Geovany Soto strikes out swinging for Cappy’s third whiff of the game. Chris Volstad strikes out, and the Cubbies go down in order.

In the third, the Dodgers go down in order. Matt Kemp hits a deep ball past the warning track, but it just barely stays in the park. On his way back to the dugout we can hear Matt say “I hate this place.”

Capuano strikes out Mather for the second out in the bottom of the third in an easy 1-2-3 inning for the lefty. The Dodgers also go down quickly in the top of the fourth against Volstad.

Cappy walks LaHair to begin the bottom of the fourth, and Soriano grounds into a force play. Ian Stewart whiffs for the second out, and Barney flies out to end the frame.

Moving on to the fifth inning. Matt Treanor lines a leadoff single. Cappy bunts over Treanor to third on a sacrifice. Dee hits a nice double to bring in Treanor for the Dodgers fourth run of the game. Dee Steals second for his twelfth on the year. Mark Ellis draws a one-out walk. Dee Gordon scores on a Matt Kemp fly ball. Kemp now has 27 RBI, and the Dodgers are up 5-0 on Chicago. On a pickoff attempt, the throw hits Mark Ellis right in the side of the helmet as he is trying to get back to second. He takes second on the throwing error on Volstad. The Cubs are flustering, and Ethier reaches first base on another Chicago error. Castro bobbles a ground ball hit by Dre. With Abreu at bat, the plate umpire ejects someone from the Dodger dugout. We see that it’s Ted Lilly who gets ejected for yelling something out at the ump’s call on the strike to Abreu. Abreu strikes out to end the inning.

Cappy is in cruise control, and the Cubs go down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the fifth. He’s only allowed one base hit thus far back in the first inning.

Lendy Castillo comes in to pitch the sixth inning for Colorado to replace Volstad. Chris Volstad went 5 innings, allowing 4 hits, 5 runs, 3 walks, and 1 strikeout on 81 pitches. Castillo sends down the Dodgers quickly in order.

Starlin Castro singles with one-out in the bottom of the sixth. Castro has both of the Cubs’ only hits in the game. LaHair grounds into an inning-ending double play.

Cappy whiffs to begin the Dodger seventh. Mark Ellis gets a two-out single. Kemp flies out.

Ian Stewart singles with one out in the seventh. Gordon tries to swat at the ball with his glove, but he just pushes it further into right field. Barney chases after a bad ball and goes down on strikes. After Capuano gets the first two outs in the bottom of the seventh he officially completes his 1,000th career inning. Congrats, Cappy! Matt Kemp makes a marvelous catch in shallow center field to get Soto and the third out. The ball falls into his glove as he rolls forward. ¡Me gusta!

Carlos Marmol come in to pitch the eighth for the Cubs. He’s usually the closer for Chicago, but after many meltdowns he was demoted from his closing duties. Marmol walks Ethier to start off the inning. Dre takes second when the ball hits Abreu on the foot and bounces away. The ump calls it a wild pitch. Abreu grounds out. Hairston pops up for the second out. James Loney strikes out to end the eighth.

Chris Capuano pitches 7 solid innings, allowing just 3 hits, no runs, 2 walks, and 7 strikeouts on an even 100 pitches.

Ronald Belisario comes in to pitch the bottom of the eighth for the Dodgers for the first time since October 1, 2010. He gets former Dodger Blake DeWitt to ground out. DeJesus is narrowly thrown out on a grounder after Dee bobbles the ball. Luckily Loney is at the receiving end. Belly strikes out Mather, and he has a very nice 1-2-3 inning! Welcome back, Ronald.

Michael Bowden is the fourth Chicago pitcher of the game. Tony Gwynn Jr. strikes out, but Dee Gordon comes up with a one-out single in the ninth. Mark Ellis grounds into a force for the third out.

Jamey Wright is asked to pitch the ninth and preserve the shutout for the Dodgers. If successful, Kenley Jansen and Javy Guerra will get some extra rest. Castro comes up with his third hit of the game on a little blooper to right to lead off the inning. Castro advances to second on defensive indifference. LaHair chases a pitch down in the dirt and goes down on strikes for out number one. Soriano grounds out, and Castro advances to third with two outs. Stewart singles in Castro, and poof there goes the shutout. 5-1 Dodgers. Darwin Barney makes the final out, and the Dodgers win.

The Dodgers are now 18-9 on the season. Tomorrow morning at 11:20 AM, the Dodgers and Cubs will wrap up the series in game three. Aaron Harang will go to the mound for the Dodgers, and Matt Garza will pitch for the Cubs if he’s feeling better. Join us tomorrow for the Dodgers’ last game at Wrigley for the season. Adios amigos!

Be sure to follow us on Twitter @LasordasLair and yours truly @organicallyrude