• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Cubs use five-run eighth to beat Dodgers

Apr 24, 2011 - 6:25 AM Chicago, IL (Sports Network) - Jeff Baker hit a two-run double to cap the Cubs' five-run eighth inning, as Chicago came back to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 10-8, in the continuation of a three-game series.

Chicago faced an 8-5 deficit entering the inning, but got a two-run single from Starlin Castro and an RBI from Darwin Barney to tie the game. After Baker delivered the key hit, Carlos Marmol pitched a scoreless ninth to pick up his fifth save.

Castro and Barney both drove in three for the Cubs, who dropped the opener of this set by a 12-2 margin. Castro ended with four hits, while Barney had three to set the tone at the top of Chicago's lineup.

"We know the feeling of when you're up and lose the lead late," said Baker. "So hopefully we can use this to build some momentum and put a nice little streak together."

Their late rally prevented starter Ryan Dempster from taking the loss. The right-hander allowed seven runs on nine hits -- three of them homers -- and three walks in 5 2/3 innings. Jeff Samardzija (2-0) tossed 1 1/3 scoreless frames to pick up the win.

Casey Blake hit a two-run homer for the Dodgers, who had won their last three, while Matt Kemp and Rod Barajas added solo shots.

Los Angeles starter Ted Lilly allowed five runs on 11 hits and a walk in 4 1/3 frames, and scoreless appearances by Dodgers relievers Mike MacDougal and Vicente Padilla got them through the sixth.

"I believe that once I got behind I needed to keep the score down and we would have been able to come back," said Lilly. "I wasn't able to do that and I put the guys in a tough spot."

Matt Guerrier (1-1) pitched a 1-2-3 seventh for the Dodgers, but got into a huge jam in the eighth.

Alfonso Soriano led off with a single before Reed Johnson reached on a bunt single. Guerrier then walked pinch-hitter Kosuke Fukudome to load the bases and set the stage for Castro, who slapped a two-run base hit to center.

Barney followed by hitting a fielder's choice grounder to short, allowing Fukudome to race home and make it an 8-8 game.

Guerrier then fanned Marlon Byrd, but Aramis Ramirez's subsequent single put runners on the corners and forced a pitching change. The Dodgers brought in Blake Hawksworth, but he left a pitch up for Baker, who drove it to the wall in right-center.

Barney scored easily, and Ramirez chugged around the bases to establish the two-run lead. Marmol worked around a one-out walk in the ninth to end the game.

Ramirez's sacrifice fly in the first inning got the Cubs on the board, and Kemp's RBI single in the third tied the game.

But Barney had a run-scoring hit in the bottom half, and Chicago seemed to take control in the fourth. It got RBI hits from Johnson, Castro and Barney to build a 5-1 advantage.

However, the Dodgers responded over the middle innings.

Aaron Miles led off the fifth with a single before Blake blasted a homer to left-center. Kemp added his fifth homer of the season later in the inning.

Barajas led off the sixth with a homer, and Andre Ethier smacked a two-run double after Sean Marshall entered the game for Dempster. The double extended Ethier's hitting streak to 20 games and gave LA a 7-5 lead.

A fielder's choice grounder from Barajas in the seventh put the Dodgers up by three.

Game Notes

Chicago is 8-2 after losses this season...Ethier's streak is currently the longest in the majors...Lilly made his first start against the Cubs since they traded him to the Dodgers last summer.