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The Cubs lost one of their most important players at a very inopportune time.

Shortstop Dansby Swanson was placed on the 10-day IL after an early exit from the team’s 11-4 loss to the Cardinals at Wrigley Field on Sunday.

Swanson, 32, left the game in the third inning after an awkward swing and miss on the first pitch from St. Louis starter Hunter Dobbins before immediately heading toward the dugout.

It was revealed after the game to be an oblique injury that could easily cost him the rest of the regular season with a traditional four- to six-week recovery.

He will undergo imaging on Monday, the team said.

“I just felt like my left side kind of tightened up on me,” Swanson told reporters after the game.

Rookie James Triantos finished the at-bat by drawing a walk before Nico Hoerner moved from second to short.

Hoerner will likely make that move permanently with Swanson out. 

The Cubs are in a battle for playoff positioning, five games behind the Brewers in the NL Central race and 5 ½ games ahead while sitting in the top NL wild-card spot after back-to-back losses.

Swanson, a two-time Gold Glove winner, was hitting 216/.300/.404 with 18 home runs, 16 doubles, 66 RBIs and 17 stolen bases this season.

Defensively, he has made just six errors this season and ranked eighth in all of baseball in Fielding Run Value (12), according to Baseball Savant. 

“He’s critical to our defense,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said during the ESPN broadcast. “He’s one of the better shortstops in the game. Hopefully, it’s not too bad.”

This is Swanson’s first IL stint since May 2024. 

After the great win last night and a three hour, ten minute rain delay to start the game, the Guardians were shut out for the eleventh time and for the fifth straight series loss.

Tanner Bibee had a quality start and really push through some early struggles. In the top of the second, back-to-back solo home runs put the Padres up 2-0. In the top of the fourth, the lead off hitter drew a walk. A groundout and a wild pitch put the runner on third, allowing him to score on a two-out single. In the top of the sixth, Bibee worked himself into a bases loaded situation. Vogt did visit the mound, but Bibee remained in the game and got an inning-ending double play to retire the side.

Bibee fell to 4-13 on the season with the loss. He finished the game having gone 6.0 innings, allowing three runs on seven hits and three walks. He struck out three batters. Matt Festa came on in the seventh inning and gave up a hit before the side was retired, with the help of a killer catch from José Ramírez.

Tim Herrin started the eighth inning, but gave up a solo home run and recorded only two outs. Logan T. Allen finished the eighth and started the ninth. LTA also gave up a solo home run. Vogt brought in Cade Smith for two pitches to retire the side.

You can’t expect to win games when the offense only records three hits and three walks in nine innings. José accounted for two of the three hits, Nathaniel Lowe the other, but the offense looked lifeless.

Chase DeLauter was pulled in the top of the third inning for left hamstring tightness. The Guards have an off day tomorrow before welcoming the San Francisco Giants to town for a three game series.

Because Tarik Skubal returned to the Detroit Tigers’ spring training camp after making just one start in the World Baseball Classic this year, Clayton Kershaw didn’t spend as much time with him as he did with Team USA’s other players.

But in the little more than a week in which they shared a clubhouse, Kershaw said Skubal made it obvious what he was about.

“He wants to be great,” Kershaw told The California Post.

Kershaw, who temporarily came out of retirement to be on Team USA, said everything Skubal did reflected the scale of his ambition.

“I think that comes out in how he talks and how he prepares,” Kershaw said. “You can tell he wants to be the best.”

Something else: Skubal asked a lot of questions.

“He’s very confident in what he does well, but he really likes to ask guys and hear how other people do it,” Kershaw said. “I just think it’s a really good quality to be interested in what other people are doing.”

From Skubal’s vantage point, Kershaw was a former Most Valuable Player, a three-time Cy Young Award winner and a three-time World Series champion. Why wouldn’t Skubal use him as a resource?

“He’s the best left-hander ever, right?” said Skubal, himself a two-time Cy Young Award winner. “Obviously, that was a great opportunity for me to pick [his] brain and talk about what made him tick, what made him so good, his process, all that kind of stuff. I want to accomplish all the same things he’s been able to accomplish. I’ll probably keep most of what we talked about between me and him, but as far as the questions that I asked, they were very much [about] how to be great, how to be like him.”

Skubal pitched six innings in a 6-2 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday in his third start for the Dodgers, who acquired him two days before the trade deadline.

He wasn’t great.

Skubal gave up seven hits and walked two. His pitch count was at 48 after just two innings, departing with a 2-1 deficit and ultimately falling to 0-2 as a Dodger.

But on a day in which he wasn’t at his best, he limited the damage to two runs, of which only one was earned. He competed.

Which is what Kershaw was known to do.

“He competes his ass off,” Skubal said.

Last year, in his final major league season, Kershaw threw a fastball with an average velocity of 89.0 mph. He managed to finish with an 11-2 record and 3.36 earned-run average.

“I think what I admire about all the really good players in this game is that longevity and consistency, year in and year out, of who he was even towards the end of his career,” Skubal said. “He was incredible from start to finish. That consistency is pretty impressive to watch. That’s what I admire.”

Kershaw was in the major leagues for 18 seasons. Skubal’s former Tigers teammate, three-time Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander, is now in his 21st season.

“Guys could have a good season, or a good first half, or a good second half, but the really good players, the great, great players in this game are season after season after season after season after season. And then you look up and it’s like, damn, he’s been the best pitcher in baseball for eight years. Not that having a good month or having a good half isn’t impressive. It’s all impressive. This is the best league in the world. But being able to do it for 10, 12, 13, 14 [years], it’s just different.”

That’s how the 29-year-old Skubal would like for his career to unfold. 

“I’m going to play this game as long as I can,” he said. “I feel like I can help a team win, I’m gonna play. If I feel like I can’t help a team win anymore, then I’m probably done playing.

Conversations with the likes of Kershaw and Verlander reinforced Skubal’s belief in the importance of what he does between starts.

“I think I’m the most prepared player on the field every time I take the field,” Skubal said exclusively to The Post. “If I’m going to lose a game, I want it to be in my hands. I can wear the loss just because I know I prepare really well and I go out there and I don’t really leave anything on the table. I give this game everything I’ve got.”

Kershaw and Verlander continually pushed their limits, and Skubal said he is determined to do the same. The reigning two-time Cy Young winner is in unfamiliar territory now, playing for a team that is expected to win the World Series based in the country’s second-largest media market.

Kershaw said he should be up for it.

“I think he’s ready to do that,” Kershaw said. “He’s got the temperament and mentality. 

“From what I saw, he puts the work in to be great.”

Prior to the trade deadline on Aug. 3, Mets catcher Luis Torrens had just two home runs over his first 67 games of the season.

But since then, Torrens has found a new burst of power with four home runs in his last six games, including a go-ahead two-run homer in Sunday's 4-3 win over the Washington Nationals. 

Overall this month, Torrens is hitting .381 with the four home runs and 10 RBI. When asked about Torrens' hot stretch at the plate, interim manager Andy Green said it's been enjoyable to watch and highlighted the catcher's "intelligent hitting."

"It's fun, I know that much," Green said. "He's always driven the ball well in that direction. I thought for a bit he was enjoying some of the parks we played in on the road, smaller right field, intelligent hitting. That ball was crushed today, the ball does not go out easily there. 105 (mph) in the oppo gap, impressive. Thrilled to see it. He called a good game too. He's been really good for us."

When Torrens came up to bat in the bottom of the fourth inning on Sunday, Jorge Polanco had just cut the Nats' lead to 2-1. Looking to keep the rally going, Torrens told reporters that he was trying to be "aggressive" at the plate with a runner on base. The approach worked, blasting a two-run HR to put the team up 3-2.

"I was aggressive there at home. Trying to do some damage on the play there, trying to help the team out," Torrens said through an interpreter.

The 30-year-old has also seen an increase in playing time as of late, noting that the more consistent at-bats have helped him lock-in offensively.

"It's easier when you have more opportunity to play," Torrens said. "You have to take advantage of it when you do get that opportunity to play more."

Starter Christian Scott, who pitched into the seventh inning, said having Torrens step up offensively has been big for the team. He added that the two were in sync against the Nationals, as Scott struck out seven and held them to just three runs. 

"It's awesome, especially when he gets to catch me at the end of it," Scott said. "He had a great game today. We were on the same page the whole time, I don't really think I shook at all. Just be able to have him, be able to contribute offensively too, it helps our lineup a lot. He's having a great year, excited to have him."

With their win on Sunday, the Mets have won nine of their last 12 games. Torrens' spark is just one of the reasons for the winning stretch, as he said the team is just "having fun" on the field and "staying together" as a unit.

"We're just trying to go out there and play baseball the right way. And thankfully right now, things are going well," Torrens said. "I think for us, the most important thing is that we're staying together. We're just going out there and having fun, trying to play well."

Torrens and the Mets will look to keep the good vibes going when they begin a three-game series against the San Diego Padres on Monday.

The Rockies and Giants found themselves in a tight ball game through five.

Then the Rockies pulled away.

Colorado overcame a poor start from Gabriel Hughes, drew 10 walks and scored nine runs over the final five innings to beat the San Francisco Giants 13-7 at Oracle Park.

The Rockies improved to 50-74, while San Francisco fell to 51-73. Colorado won the rubber match, took the season series and finished its nine-game road trip with a winning record.

Nick Frasso earned the win to improve to 1-1, while Sam Hentges took the loss and fell to 1-5.

Adael Amador reached three times and hit his first home run of the season. Mickey Moniak drove in three runs, Brett Sullivan added a three-run homer and Cole Carrigg drove in two. But it was Zac Veen who supplied the play of the day.

Hughes throws more strikes, but Giants keep getting to him

Gabriel Hughes threw more strikes Sunday.

The results were still poor.

Hughes allowed seven runs on eight hits over 4.0 innings, with one walk and two strikeouts. He threw 81 pitches before leaving after walking Bryce Eldridge to open the fifth. That inherited runner eventually scored.

Notably, Hughes used his four-seam fastball 44% of the time, down from his season rate of roughly 57%, while increasing his sinker usage to 15%. He continued to mix four other secondary pitches around them.

His four-seamer averaged 92.5 mph.

Visually, the pitch looked flat. More importantly, the arsenal did not miss enough bats.

Hughes generated six whiffs on 38 swings, a 16% rate. His 53% zone rate was an improvement from his previous two starts, but the Giants kept making contact and extending plate appearances.

The first inning offered an early example of how the contact did not always need to be authoritative.

Rafael Devers lifted an opposite-field pop that dropped just fair in front of Jordan Beck, then hustled into second with a headfirst slide just ahead of the tag. Bryce Eldridge followed with a soft single to center to score him. Hughes recovered to end the inning with a strikeout.

The second inning was much worse.

All four San Francisco runs came with two outs.

Hughes struck out Christian Koss for the second out with two runners aboard, then immediately got Drew Gilbert into an 0-2 count with a slider and changeup for called strikes.

Gilbert fouled off a 94.2 mph four-seamer before lining another four-seamer into center for an RBI single.

Hughes had leverage.

Devers added on in a big way.

Hughes fell behind 2-0 before working the count back even. Devers fouled off a curveball and slider, took a sinker to run the count full and then went down to get an 81.4 mph curveball only 0.91 feet off the ground.

The pitch was below the zone and in.

Devers still hit it 105.5 mph at a 25-degree launch angle and sent it 380 feet into McCovey Cove on the fly for his 25th home run.

The three-run shot turned a 4-2 Rockies lead into a 5-4 deficit.

Devers deserves credit. Hughes did not hang a curveball over the middle of the plate.

But the problem for Hughes was broader than one swing. He repeatedly reached counts where he needed a pitch capable of producing a miss, foul ball or manageable contact, and the Giants kept getting the bat to the ball.

That included the fastball.

Hughes allowed five hits on 10 balls in play against his four-seamer despite an average exit velocity of only 78.2 mph and just one hard-hit ball.

The pitch avoided loud contact. It did not avoid hits.

The pattern continued in the third.

Jung Hoo Lee worked from a 3-1 count to full, fouled off multiple pitches and drove a ball deep to right-center before Veen made a jumping catch just shy of the wall.

Osleivis Basabe then doubled down the left-field line after an unusual sequence in which Hughes elected to let a check-swing dribbler roll foul rather than attempt a play.

After Hughes recorded the second out, Turner Hill lined a 92.2 mph four-seamer off the plate into right for his first MLB hit and second RBI.

It was another two-out run.

Hughes finally posted a zero in the fourth.

Troy Johnston committed his fourth error on a slow chopper, losing the ball on the exchange while Hughes covered first. Hughes helped erase the mistake by catching Gilbert too far off first, and Johnston chased him down between first and second for the tag.

Devers grounded out to second to finish Hughes’ first scoreless inning.

Hughes returned for the fifth after Colorado tied the game 6-6, but fell behind Eldridge 3-0 and eventually walked him on five pitches.

That ended his start.

The strike-throwing was better than it had been recently.

The putaway quality was not.

Rockies stay patient against Tidwell

Blade Tidwell had a different problem.

The Rockies did not hit him particularly hard.

They also refused to chase enough to let him control the game.

Tidwell allowed six runs on three hits over 4.1 innings with five walks and one strikeout. He generated only three whiffs on 25 swings, while Colorado chased just 22% of his pitches outside the zone.

His sweeper remained his most-used pitch at 33%, but produced only two whiffs. His four-seamer averaged 94.1 mph, 1.7 mph below his season average, and his slider and curveball showed less depth than their season averages.

Colorado produced four hard-hit balls against him and averaged 85.4 mph on 13 balls in play.

The Rockies did a much better job controlling their swing decisions.

The first inning ended when Mickey Moniak lined into an unassisted double play.

The second brought another unfortunate double play.

Willi Castro walked, Johnston singled and Veen beat out a slow grounder to second to tie the game.

Jordan Beck then hit a line drive glove-side toward shortstop Christian Koss at about head level. Koss got his glove on it, but the ball kicked away.

Johnston had started back toward second because the ball appeared catchable. The Giants recovered to retire Veen at second and tag Johnston at third.

Colorado kept the inning alive.

Sullivan walked, bringing Amador to the plate.

Amador had been recalled several days earlier but had only pinch-hit Saturday before receiving his first start Sunday.

He needed one pitch.

Tidwell threw a 94.8 mph four-seamer up and in, and Amador turned on it.

The ball left his bat at 102.3 mph with a 36-degree launch angle and traveled 374 feet. It landed on the concourse in right and took one large bounce into McCovey Cove. It was Amador’s first home run of 2026, and the three-run shot gave Colorado a 4-1 lead.

Tidwell recovered well.

He retired Jake McCarthy to finish the second, then worked 1-2-3 innings in the third and fourth to retire seven straight.

His fourth-inning matchup with Beck showed how the sweeper could work when Colorado expanded.

Tidwell threw Beck four consecutive sweepers. The first was a called strike, Beck fouled off the second, took the third outside and chased the fourth well off the plate for strike three.

But Tidwell eventually lost the zone.

Amador walked with one out in the fifth. McCarthy followed with another walk, ending Tidwell’s afternoon.

San Francisco brought in the left-handed Hentges, flipping Carrigg to the right side, and he skipped a double down the third-base line to score Amador and cut the deficit to 6-5.

Moniak followed in a left-on-left matchup.

He fell behind 0-2 but lifted a fly ball deep enough to center to score McCarthy for his 55th RBI and tie the game.

Colorado had turned Tidwell’s two fifth-inning walks into two runs.

That became a recurring theme.

Veen sets the tone as the Rockies take over

The Giants briefly took the lead back in the bottom of the fifth.

Hughes walked Eldridge before leaving, and Nick Frasso entered with nobody out. Frasso’s fastball-changeup combination immediately stood out. Against Hill, he threw four consecutive changeups, showed a 98.4 mph four-seamer, then returned to an 83.1 mph changeup for a swinging strikeout.

The command was less consistent.

Frasso hit Basabe and allowed a single to Drew Cavanaugh to load the bases. After striking out Hill for the second out, Frasso got Buddy Kennedy into an 0-2 count.

Then he missed with four straight pitches.

The bases-loaded walk forced home Eldridge and gave San Francisco a 7-6 lead. Frasso came back to strike out Koss on three pitches, finishing him with an 83.2 mph changeup.

Colorado answered immediately.

Johnston walked to open the sixth. Veen attempted to bunt him over, but Cavanaugh pounced on the ball in front of the plate and cut Johnston down at second.

Beck walked, and Sullivan grounded out to move Veen to third and Beck to second.

Then came the play of the game.

JT Brubaker buried a pitch in the dirt to Amador. Cavanaugh blocked it and kept the ball underneath him, but could not locate it.

Veen never hesitated.

He broke immediately and dove headfirst across the plate before San Francisco could recover.

Tie game.

The ball barely got away from the catcher.

Veen saw enough.

That was the best example of the energy and edge Colorado’s young players brought to the game.

Amador walked.

McCarthy walked.

With the bases loaded, Brubaker spiked another pitch and hit Carrigg on the foot. Beck scored and Colorado took an 8-7 lead.

San Francisco went to left-hander Reiver Sanmartin to face Moniak.

Moniak won the matchup.

He lined a two-run single into left. Turner Hill bobbled the ball as Amador and McCarthy scored, and Moniak reached second.

Colorado led 10-7.

At that point, the Rockies had scored 10 runs on five hits.

They were not overwhelming Giants pitchers with hard contact.

They were putting runners on base and forcing San Francisco to keep pitching under pressure.

Parker Mushinski worked around a walk in the sixth. Jimmy Herget followed with a scoreless seventh, getting Kennedy to swing through a sweeper to finish the inning.
Then Colorado added three more.

Connor Norby, who had entered as part of the defensive changes, lined a 100.9 mph single to left and stole second for his eighth stolen base.

Beck appeared to strike out, but Colorado challenged the call.

The ruling was overturned.

Beck walked.

That brought Sullivan to the plate.

Sullivan fell behind 0-2 against Keaton Winn, fought off another pitch and then turned on a 95.4 mph four-seamer on the inner half.

He lifted it high down the right-field line and over the tall wall for his seventh homer.

The three-run shot made it 13-7.

The successful challenge kept the inning alive. Sullivan made it count.

Zach Agnos handled the final two innings.

Colorado’s defense contributed to the sloppiness at points, but also recovered.

In the eighth, a sharply hit ball went glove-side on Castro, caught the edge of his web and kicked toward short. Ezequiel Tovar recovered and threw to first, but Koss beat it out for a single.

Norby immediately started a 4-6-3 double play.

Agnos returned for the ninth and finished it with a strikeout, another strikeout and a soft grounder after allowing a one-out single.

Colorado’s relievers allowed no runs of their own over the final 5.0 innings. The only Giants run after Hughes left belonged to Hughes after Frasso allowed the inherited runner to score.

Final thoughts

This was not a clean game. There were defensive mistakes, command problems, a failed bunt and plenty of opportunities created by poor execution.

Amador finished 1-for-1 with his first homer of the season, three runs, three RBI and two walks.

Veen went 1-for-3 with an RBI, but his box-score line misses his biggest contribution. His sixth-inning dash home changed the inning. The pitch never got far from Cavanaugh. Veen simply recognized that the catcher did not know where the ball was and committed immediately.

Beck scored three times and walked twice.

Carrigg reached three times and drove in two.

Sullivan drove in three with his seventh-inning homer.

Colorado finished 5-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left only four runners on base.

The Rockies also drew 10 walks, and eight of those walks eventually scored.

Colorado did not consistently hit the ball hard, but it controlled the zone, accepted the free bases and converted most of them.

The Rockies’ younger players kept playing with an edge, with Veen’s run home providing the clearest example.

Frasso getting the win also says plenty about the usefulness of pitcher wins as an individual stat.

He entered a 6-6 game, allowed Hughes’ inherited runner to score on a bases-loaded walk, then became the pitcher of record when Colorado scored four times in the next half-inning.

The Rockies did not need a clean game Sunday.

They just needed to keep answering.

Up next

The Rockies and Dodgers open a three-game series Monday night at Coors Field, with first pitch scheduled for 6:40 p.m. MDT.

Colorado will send Tomoyuki Sugano to the mound. The right-hander enters the game 12-5 with a 4.43 ERA and 66 strikeouts and has been steady over his last seven starts, going 5-1 with a 4.24 ERA and 1.09 WHIP.

Los Angeles will counter with Blake Snell, who comes in 0-1 with a 5.00 ERA and 15 strikeouts. It will be just his second start since returning from the injured list. In his first start back, Snell held the Royals to one run on three hits over six innings while striking out 10 and walking one.

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Kodai Senga may not want to be the Mets closer forever, but he’s off to a pretty good start.

Senga pitched another scoreless ninth inning Sunday in a 4-3 win over Washington at Citi Field, helping the Mets finish a sweep of the Nationals.

And while the right-hander still hasn’t pitched on consecutive days — something he’ll need to do if he stays in the role — Senga did at least warm up in the eighth inning Saturday after pitching Friday night.

The workload has so far not affected Senga, bumped to the bullpen after an ugly stretch as a starter.

On Sunday, Senga entered — again to Michael Jackson’s “Beat It,” much to the delight of the Citi Field crowd — to protect a one-run lead.

Unlike his first two save opportunities, which both came in three-run games, Senga had no margin for error against Washington.

He retired the side in order, striking out the final two batters of the game.

Interim manager Andy Green said Senga is “handling [the role] really well.”

As Luis Torrens said through an interpreter, Senga is “adjusting quickly” to pitching in the ninth inning and closing games.

“He’s doing everything we want him to do now,’’ Green said.

Since being moved to short-inning relief appearances, Senga has pitched five times.

Over five scoreless innings, he’s allowed just one hit and a pair of walks while striking out seven.

How that translates to his future with the Mets will be a matter for somewhere down the road, although Senga wants to get back into the rotation at some point.

“We’re all enjoying what he’s doing now,’’ Green said. “It’s huge for us. Every single player wants to impact winning and he’s done that in a profound way the last 10 days.”

With Devin Williams sidelined indefinitely with a strained shoulder, Senga will continue to get opportunities to make an impression.

Luis Robert Jr.’s first game in left field was uneventful, as the veteran outfielder was shifted over so A.J. Ewing could go back to center.

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What was more noticeable about the Mets defense in the outfield was the standout defense by Carson Benge, who made two excellent plays against Washington.

The first ended the top of the first, as Benge raced down Dylan Crews’ shot to the right field wall, with Benge crashing into the fence after making the play.

Benge then helped Christian Scott get through the sixth inning with a sliding catch of Daylen Lile’s fly ball to shallow right.

“He’s defending the field well,” Green said of Benge.

Nate Lavender got two more big outs, entering in the seventh with two on and one out.

Green noted that both were lefties at the top of the lineup — including C.J. Abrams.

Lavender, Green said, “Has elite confidence and conviction in his pitches … He’s got good stuff and a different look.”

Bo Bichette reached base in all four of his plate appearances.

After the game, the Mets called up veteran Christopher Morel from Triple-A Syracuse, where he was batting .321 with 12 homers in 31 games.

Morel, 27, was picked up after being placed on waivers by Miami in June.

The Dodgers needed a pivotal win Sunday afternoon against the Milwaukee Brewers. And Tarik Skubal did his part, giving up just one earned run on seven hits over six innings.

“Seemed like they had a good approach,” Skubal, who threw a season-high 109 pitches. “My job doesn’t change. I got to continue to make pitches and continue to get ahead and throw strikes, and I felt like I did that.”

But it wasn’t enough.

Milwaukee’s Logan Henderson quashed the Dodgers’ offense, giving up just three hits and one run over seven innings, to give the Brewers a 6-2 win in front of an announced crowd of 45,828.

The Dodgers (74-51) lost the four-game series 3-1 and also dropped the season series against the Brewers 4-3. The Dodgers trail Milwaukee (77-48) by three games for the best record in baseball.

“I really wanted to win this game because it could matter,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “But we didn’t, so now we got to move forward. I hope it doesn’t come back to bite us.”

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Panic hasn’t — and presumably won’t — set into the Dodgers’ clubhouse. The two-time defending champions, however, are well aware they have lost 11 of their last 16 games.

“This has been cumulative,” Roberts said. “It’s been a long time since we’ve been consistent offensively. ... I just don’t see the consistent plan of attack, one through nine. The results are hard, hitting’s hard, but I do think that fighting and winning pitches, spoiling pitches — that’s care, hunger. 
And that’s a reason why [when] you look at four and a half months of the season, the Brewers have outscored us. ... A team that’s young and hungry. It’s certainly not talent.

“We just haven’t played clean baseball for quite some time, and that speaks to the defense and not converting an out ... it’s just not winning baseball. Our pedigree [and] what we typically do is control the zone, grind it, grind at-bats [and] create stress. We’re not doing that.”

The Brewers struck first with two outs in the second inning after Luis Lara grounded into a bases-loaded fielder’s choice; Tommy Edman dropped an awkward flip to second base from Mookie Betts, resulting in an error and a 1-0 Milwaukee lead.

Max Muncy got to Henderson in the fourth by hitting a tying home run 370 feet to right field. In the next inning, Milwaukee’s Jake Bauers hit a go-ahead single to right off Skubal, scoring Jackson Chourio from second after his double.

“I just got to be better in those moments,” Skubal said. “You know, the slider down and in to Lara’s got to be probably a little bit more down and in, and the changeup to Bauers has got to be a more quality pitch. ... So as much as it’s in the kind of grind of at-bats, they also put some swings on some balls. But I need to execute some pitches and some two-strike counts a little better as well.”

The Brewers added two insurance runs in the seventh, as Bauers and Andrew Vaughn collected a pair of RBI knocks against left-handed reliever Alex Vesia. They got two more in the ninth after a second bases-loaded error by Edman came when he failed to field a choppy ground ball from David Hamilton, allowing Chourio and Lara to score.

“We have a lot of guys with reputations that can really pick the ball,” Dodgers catcher Ben Rortvedt said of the defensive woes. “I don’t think we’re really worried about [it]. All these things are going to help us in the long run.”

The Dodgers had a chance to crawl closer with one out in the eighth, with Teoscar Hernández on third and Hunter Feduccia on first. But Shohei Ohtani grounded into a double play against Brewers reliever Aaron Ashby.

Andy Pages hit a solo home run in the ninth, but it came too late to matter.

“It can’t happen all at once,” Roberts said of a potential turnaround. “It just kind of starts building, collectively. And once we do that, then you get the big hit, things like that. But it’s a process of: each pitch, pass the baton, valuing every single pitch. And mentally, it’s not easy, but we can do it. We’ve done it many times over before.”

The results just haven’t been there for the Dodgers.

As they head to Colorado for a three-game series against the last-place Rockies, the Dodgers aren’t expecting any breaks.

“Honestly, I think every team’s hungry because they’re chasing us,” Roberts said. “They’re trying to make a name for themselves or trying to play spoiler, whatever it is. But every team we play is going to bring their best. The guys we are going to play the next three games, they’re gonna bring their best, I promise you that.”

If there is a silver lining, it’s that Skubal seems to be acclimating just fine in L.A. — even if the two-time defending AL Cy Young winner hasn’t had his best game since joining the Dodgers.

“I just got to be more consistent,” Skubal said of his first three starts with the Dodgers. “Continue to get quality contact on the ground, and sometimes you need a little bit of luck … But the stuff on my hand is as good as it’s ever been. And honestly, my execution today was pretty good too.

“There’s always room for improvement … but [in] the same breath, you can’t beat yourself up too much. I’m not going to be perfect out there. But yeah, I need to be more efficient. That’s the standard that I hold myself to: pitching deeper into ball games and giving our team a chance to win every time out.”

Read more:Swanson: The Dodgers need Mookie to be Mookie

Injury updates

The Dodgers placed left-handed starter Justin Wrobleski on the 15-day injured list with left forearm inflammation and recalled right-handed reliever Kyle Hurt from triple-A Oklahoma City. Wrobleski, who has pitched a career-high 126⅓ innings this season, surrendered four runs and four hits in a loss against the Brewers on Saturday.

“We just felt collectively that Justin was the right person [to] back off the fatigue of the arm,” Roberts said. “It’s not something that he’s ever going to make an excuse for. But I do think that it’s smart for us, as an organization, to take that load off a little bit from him.”

Wrobleski has struggled recently, giving up 11 home runs over his past four starts.

Stewart, who was placed on the 15-day IL with right shoulder discomfort on July 31, said he’ll join the Dodgers on their upcoming road trip to Colorado and is hopeful he’ll be activated soon.

Read more:Shaikin: For Dodgers’ Charley Steiner, a complete game three years in the making

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The Seattle Mariners have followed up a playoff berth with a disappointing season that ended with similar hopes dashed, in particularly violent fashion on Friday. Then, in the first game of the off-season, those same silly Mariners went and won decisively and dare I say, entertainingly. Okay, so the season being over bit is hopefully obviously facetious, but the outlook remains grim nonetheless. In today’s Sunday game three against the Astros the series win is on the line for either team, but perhaps more emphatically, Seattle’s season’s hopes remain hanging onto an even thinner strip, and with but a pinky. Play ball!

Game Info:

First Pitch: 4:20 PM Pacific
TV: Sunday Night Baseball on Peacock
Radio: Seattle Sports (710 am)

Your recap for the Cubs’ 11-4 loss to the Cardinals Sunday is basically in the headline. Edward Cabrera returned from injury, got hit hard and didn’t have command, and then Dansby Swanson took a swing in the third inning and immediately came out of the game.

I guess I could wrap things here, but… you come here for a complete recap and you are going to get one.

First, I was amused by this sequence of social media posts. When Craig Counsell met with media before the game, here’s what he said about the Cubs upcoming rotation:

Five-plus hours later, after Cabrera’s disastrous outing, here’s what the media heard from Counsell:

Gee, Craig. Ya think?!?!?!

I don’t know what was up with Cabrera. His velocity was fine. But when he wasn’t getting hit hard — four-extra-base hits including a home run in the first three innings — he was issuing walks, three of them in what wound up being a six-run fourth that put the game essentially out of reach.

Personally, I’d put Cabrera in the pen and let David Peterson, who’s been really good as a starter, keep that starting spot.

Before that, though, the Cubs did make an attempt to come back from a 3-0 second-inning deficit. And that’s when Swanson’s injury happened [VIDEO].

Swanson immediately left the game and was replaced by James Triantos. Triantos worked a walk, and one out later Pete Crow-Armstrong put a ball in the bleachers [VIDEO].

Well. Now it’s 3-2 and there’s at least a chance, right?

Nope. In the top of the fourth, Cabrera retired the first Cardinals hitter, then loaded the bases with two walks and a single and walked in a run. After a sacrifice fly made it 5-2 and the other runners moved up to second and third, Ryan Rolison was summoned. Alec Burleson singled in a pair to make it 7-2 and then Rolison gave up a long home run to Jordan Walker and in just a few minutes’ time the Cardinals led by seven.

Aaron Civale threw a pair of scoreless innings in the sixth and seventh, despite loading the bases with two out in the sixth, so perhaps Civale can be counted on for multi-inning relief. His numbers with the Cubs have been quite good in that role.

In the top of the eighth, Caleb Thielbar entered and allowed a hit and walk after one out, then struck out Burleson. But he wasn’t going to be allowed to face the righthanded-hitting Walker, so Trent Thornton was summoned. Welp, that didn’t work either, as Walker hit a two-run double to make it 11-2.

The Cubs scored a couple of consolation runs. In the eighth, Seiya Suzuki led off with a double and went to third on an infield out. Tyrone Taylor, batting for Ian Happ, scored Suzuki with this sac fly [VIDEO].

For amusement value, Carson Kelly pitched the ninth and was throwing “fastballs” as fast as 74 miles per hour! He allowed a two-out single but did not allow a run. It’s the second time Kelly has mopped up this year and that reduced his ERA from 18.00 to 9.00, for whatever that’s worth.

Miguel Amaya completed the Cubs scoring with his fifth home run with one out in the ninth [VIDEO].

Here’s the postgame update on Swanson:

This is not good. Whatever you think of Swanson’s hitting, his defense will be missed, and oblique injuries are notoriously difficult to come back from. He might miss a month, depending on the severity. It means Nico Hoerner plays shortstop and Pedro Ramirez second base, and while those two are good defenders, it’s still a notch down from Swanson at short and Nico at second. Who will be recalled to take Swanson’s place on the active roster is uncertain, but it probably has to be either Justin Dean or Kevin Alcántara — those are the only two position players on the 40-man roster currently on option at Triple-A Iowa.

A couple of final notes on this loss from BCB’s JohnW53:

Going into today, the Cubs had surrendered 79 homers with any runners on base, second most to the Nationals’ 80. The White Sox and Yankees were tied for third, with 72. The combined average of the 29 teams besides the Cubs was just 59 — 20 fewer, 25.3 percent, than the Cubs’ 79.
…..
The Cubs have given up at least six runs in five of their last six games, including today.

They also had allowed at least six runs in two of their previous five games, for a total of seven of their last 11.
For the season, they have surrendered half a dozen or more in 37 games. They were 11-25 in the ones before today.

So none of this is good. Here’s more not good news: The Brewers defeated the Dodgers Sunday so the Cubs are now five games out in the NL Central. And all of this is prelude to hosting a hot White Sox team that just swept the Tigers, beginning Monday evening at Wrigley Field. Shōta Imanaga will start the series opener and old NL Central opponent Luis Castillo will go for the White Sox. Game time Monday is 7:05 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network (and also CHSN and WCIU-Ch. 26 with the Sox announcers).

Box Score

The Brewers, who had a bit of a rough patch in San Diego earlier this week as they were swept by the Padres, bounced back nicely over the weekend, winning three of four against the mighty Dodgers — aided by some shaky defense — and rebuilding their lead over the Cubs in the NL Central.

William Contreras, batting in the leadoff spot for the first time in over two years, started things off with a single. Luis Lara then flew out, and Jackson Chourio, after just missing a homer as he fouled one just to the left of the left-field foul pole, struck out. With two outs, Jake Bauers picked up a single of his own, but the Crew couldn’t get anything across as Andrew Vaughn flew out.

Logan Henderson gave up a leadoff single to Shohei Ohtani but left him there, inducing a flyout and striking out a pair to get through a clean inning.

The Brewers got one across in the second, with Brandon Lockridge drawing a walk, Jonathan Ornelas singling to push Lockridge to third, and Contreras taking a walk to load the bases for Lara. Lara hit a soft grounder to short, and Mookie Betts made the flip to second for the final out, but Tommy Edman missed the ball, and everyone was safe, giving Milwaukee a 1-0 lead before Chourio had a deep flyout to end the inning.

Henderson worked around another leadoff single in the second, inducing a flyout and double play to keep it 1-0. The Brewers hit into a double play of their own in the third, as Bauers singled before Vaughn grounded into a 6-4-3 double play, and Gary Sánchez then flew out on a nice over-the-shoulder grab by Freeman running into the outfield.

Henderson had the first true 1-2-3 inning of the day in the bottom of the inning, and Tarik Skubal returned the favor in the top of the fourth. After recording the first two outs in the bottom of the fourth, Henderson hung a changeup to Max Muncy, who promptly put it into the seats in right, tying it up at 1-1.

It didn’t stay tied long, though, as Chourio doubled and Bauers singled with two outs in the fifth to take a 2-1 lead.

Henderson bounced back from the homer in the fourth and recorded another 1-2-3 inning in the fifth, and Skubal did the same in the top of the sixth, ending his day with three consecutive strikeouts. Henderson kept rolling in the sixth with another 1-2-3 frame, and Edgardo Henriquez took over for Skubal in the seventh.

Henriquez recorded two outs without a problem, but Chourio once again picked up a hit with two outs. Dave Roberts went to lefty Alex Vesia to face Bauers, and the move didn’t pay off, as Bauers doubled to bring Chourio home. Vaughn then singled to bring Bauers home on a close play at the plate — Bauers had a perfect slide to avoid the tag — and suddenly the Brewers were in command with a 4-1 lead.

Henderson, who set a career-high with 6 1/3 innings in San Diego on Monday, was back out for the seventh, and after walking Andy Pages to begin the inning, he recorded three more outs to get through seven innings.

Kyle Hurt took over for Vesia in the eighth and got a 1-2-3 inning with three strikeouts before Chad Patrick took over for Henderson in the bottom half of the inning.

Patrick got a flyout from Edman to begin the frame, but Teoscar Hernández singled into right for the Dodgers’ first hit since Muncy’s homer in the fourth. Hernández then advanced on a wild pitch before moving up to third on a very hard-hit single by Hunter Feduccia to Ornelas at second — Ornelas couldn’t quite handle the rocket as it trickled into right, putting runners at the corners.

Note: If Brice Turang was healthy and playing at second, there’s a decent chance both of those singles end up as outs.

Pat Murphy went to the workhorse Aaron Ashby to play lefty-lefty matchup, with Ohtani and Freeman due up representing the tying and potentially go-ahead run. Ashby wouldn’t need to face Freeman, though, as he induced an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play from Ohtani on the third pitch he threw, escaping the jam with the 4-1 lead still intact.

Contreras led off the ninth with a flyout, but Lara followed with a walk before Chourio hit a fly ball to the wall in right. Kyle Tucker, fighting the sun a bit, just missed the catch, and Chourio and Lara were at second and third, respectively, on a double. Hurt was pulled for the lefty Jack Dreyer with Milwaukee looking to add on with Bauers — already 4-for-4 while facing only lefties in Skubal and Vesia — at the plate.

Bauers drew a walk to load the bases before David Hamilton hit a chopper to second with a drawn-in infield. Edman completely whiffed (for the second time today), and the ball rolled into right as all of the runners took two bases, giving Milwaukee a 6-1 lead before Dreyer got out of the inning with a pair of strikeouts.

DL Hall took the bottom of the inning and gave up a one-out solo homer to Pages but nothing else, giving Milwaukee a 6-2 win and a 3-1 series win in a battle of two of MLB’s best.

Henderson earned his seventh win with a career-high seven innings, allowing one run on Muncy’s solo homer while striking out six. Patrick got into a bit of trouble, but Ashby bailed him out by inducing the inning-ending double play, and Hall gave up a homer but still closed things out for the win.

Bauers led the offense with a 4-for-4 day, finishing with three singles, a double, a walk, and two RBIs. Chourio added three hits and scored three runs, while Vaughn added a pair of hits and drove in one.

The Brewers finally get a day off on Monday before they welcome the Mariners to town for three games beginning Tuesday night at 6:40 p.m. Kyle Harrison gets the ball for Milwaukee with Bryce Miller starting for Seattle. We’ll see you then.

The Dodgers struggled to get anything going offensively on Sunday, as they only mustered two runs while falling to the Milwaukee Brewers by a four-run margin.

After a 15-pitch first inning where he abandoned two baserunners, Tarik Skubal was the victim of the Brewers’ tenacity with two outs. Jonathan Ornelas lined a single to left before Skubal walked William Contreras to load the bases. Luis Lara hit a soft ground ball to shortstop, but Tommy Edman misplayed the feed from Mookie Betts as Milwaukee struck first again. It took Skubal 33 pitches and seven hitters faced to get out of the inning.

All the Dodgers could do offensively against Logan Henderson over their first two innings were leadoff base hits from Shohei Ohtani and Betts. Both men couldn’t advance further on the base paths as Henderson needed just 28 pitches over his first two innings of work.

The Dodgers had gone hitless over their next eight trips to the plate after the Betts single, but Max Muncy gave the Dodgers their first run on the season against Henderson with a two-out, game tying solo home run in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Skubal was one out away from setting down eight hitters in a row since the third inning, but Jackson Chourio ignited another two-out rally with a double to right center field. Jake Bauers’ third hit against Skubal plated Chourio to give Milwaukee the lead again before Andrew Vaughn made it three straight two-out hits. After combining for just 19 pitches between the third and fourth innings, Skubal needed 28 pitches to complete the fifth.

Skubal ended his afternoon on a high note, as he struck out the side in order to give him seven and tossed a total of 109 pitches, surpassing his previous career-high set back in 2022. One one earned run was charged to Skubal— the least he’s allowed as a Dodger— and over his first three starts with his new team, the left-hander is 0-2 with a 3.18 ERA, striking 19 while walking six over 17 innings.

The Dodgers couldn’t give Skubal any further support, as they went 0-7 against Henderson following the Muncy home run. Betts managed to get on base with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, ultimately to no avail as Henderson finished a career-high seven innings over just 93 pitches.

The two-out magic carried over against the Dodger bullpen, as Jackson Chourio knocked Edgardo Henriquez with a single in the seventh inning. Bauers brought him home again with an RBI double against Alex Vesia., giving him four hits on the game. Vaughn made it three-straight two-out hits and drove home Bauers to make it a 4-1 Brewers lead for the second consecutive game.

Kyle Hurt made his first appearance since August 9, tossing 1 1/3 innings while striking out the side in order in the eighth.

The Dodgers started to put something together against Chad Patrick in the bottom of the eighth, as Teoscar Hernández and pinch-hitter Hunter Feduccia roped a pair of one-out singles. Pat Murphy put in Aaron Ashby to face Shohei Ohtani, and the move paid off with a ground ball double play to escape the jam.

Jack Dreyer came in relief of Hurt in the top of the ninth, and after walking Bauers, he got a ground ball from David Hamilton that skipped under the glove of Edman and allowing Milwaukee to add another two runs. The Dodgers responded with a home run from Andy Pages in the bottom of the ninth inning against D.L. Hall, but that’s all they could reap against the Brewers bullpen.

With the Dodgers dropping three of four against Milwaukee, they are now three games back for the best record in the National League. Over the past two regular seasons, the Dodgers now have a combined 3-10 record against Milwaukee, including a 1-6 record at home.

Game particulars

• Home runs— Max Muncy (24), Andy Pages (21)
• WP— Logan Henderson (7-2): 7 IP, 3 hits, 1 earned run, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts
• LP— Tarik Skubal (7-7): 6 IP, 7 hits, 2 runs (1 earned run), 2 walks, 7 strikeouts

Up next

The Dodgers head out to Denver as they begin a three-game series against the Colorado Rockies on Monday (5:40 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA). Both teams have yet to announce Monday’s starters.