• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Dodgers turn to Ryu seeking to even set with Cubs

Aug 2, 2014 - 3:14 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - Hyun-Jin Ryu will try to get the Los Angeles Dodgers back into the win column on Saturday night in the second of three straight meetings with the Chicago Cubs.

Ryu is riding a three-start winning streak and last pitched on Sunday versus the San Francisco Giants. He claimed a 4-3 decision, giving up all three runs on six hits and a walk with seven strikeouts over six frames.

The left-hander improved to 12-5 with a 3.44 earned run average on the season and tonight will try to join teammate Clayton Kershaw as one of a handful of 13-game winners across baseball.

Ryu, 27, faces the Cubs for the only other time in his career exactly one year ago in Chicago. He picked up a win, but had to work around a pair of runs and 11 hits over 5 1/3 innings.

Ryu is pitching on an extra day of rest as the Dodgers gave Dan Haren the start in Friday's opener instead of skipping his turn in the rotation as originally planned.

The move didn't pay off as Haren allowed six earned runs over 4 1/3 innings to suffer his career-worst fifth straight loss.

The Dodgers had their six-game overall winning streak snapped and their five- game home winning streak halted in the setback. They do still lead the Giants by 2 1/2 games for first place in the NL West.

"There were a lot of things that were not very good," said Dodgers manager Don Mattingly. "We'll give our guys a pass tonight. We just couldn't stop them early."

Mattingly also got hit with a rash of injuries in the loss, with first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, outfielder Yasiel Puig and reliever Paul Maholm all exiting early.

Gonzalez (right knee contusion) and Puig (left hamstring strain) are day-to- day, though Maholm's injury appears a bit more serious as he heard a pop in his right knee while covering first base in the seventh inning.

The game was much more positive for Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks in his homecoming.

Hendricks, who was born in Newport Beach, California and attended nearby Capistrano Valley High School, allowed two runs -- one earned -- on four hits over seven innings in front of family and friends at Chavez Ravine.

"It was easier to focus against a good team," said Hendricks. "As the game went on, I felt stronger and stronger. I'm getting more comfortable every day because of the guys in the clubhouse."

Luis Valbuena homered and knocked in a pair of runs for the Cubs, who have won four of their last five. Starlin Castro went 3-for-5 with three runs scored.

The Cubs try to lock up a series victory tonight behind left-hander Tsuyoshi Wada, who will make his fourth career start and is coming off his first win.

Wada claimed a 4-1 decision over Colorado on Monday, holding the Rockies to a run on five hits and a walk. The 33-year-old also struck out six and moved to 1-1 with a 3.38 ERA.

"I thought he had a really good mix of pitches out there," said Chicago manager Rick Renteria about Wada. "He was using his fastball effectively and his secondary pitches were locating really well."

The Dodgers have won nine of their last 11 against the Cubs, going 5-2 at home in that span.