AJ, Max provide LA much-needed heroics

LOS ANGELES -- After getting no-hit by the Cubs on Thursday, manager Dave Roberts said the mood inside the home clubhouse was “quiet and focused” before Friday’s game. The Dodgers were looking for some offensive heroics, but most importantly, to get back in the win column.

They accomplished both of those things, as AJ Pollock and Max Muncy each hit two-run homers in the bottom of the eighth inning to help the Dodgers get past the Cubs, 6-2, at Dodger Stadium. The win snapped L.A.’s four-game losing streak.

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“Honestly, the clubhouse was good tonight,” Pollock said. “That was a good win, really good win. Guys have been battling and we hung in there late and we were able to tack on some runs and it ended up being a nice, efficient game.”

While Pollock and Muncy delivered the big hits on Friday, the Dodgers got a couple of other key plays to help them end the skid. Zach McKinstry gave the Dodgers some early life, smacking his first homer since April 14. It was the Dodgers’ first lead in a game since Sunday against Arizona.

The Dodgers also got plenty of good pitching performances on Friday. Tony Gonsolin pitched well in his fourth start of the season, striking out seven and allowing one run over four innings. But because Gonsolin is still getting built up after dealing with shoulder soreness, the Dodgers’ bullpen was going to be forced to provide most of the innings. It responded in a big way, holding the Cubs’ offense to just one run over the last five frames.

Victor González continues to struggle with his command, which is something the Dodgers will need to correct moving forward. Luckily for L.A., Joe Kelly was there to save the day.

Kelly inherited runners at the corners with two outs and was tasked with facing the Cubs’ best hitter in Kris Bryant. Kelly, who has been inconsistent with his command and health over the last few years, had one of his best sequences of the season, striking out Bryant on an 89 mph changeup. Kelly didn’t allow a run in one inning of work and has not allowed a run in his last six appearances.

“When he’s feeling froggy, frisky, comfortable, he can do some different things that offsets the timing of the hitter,” Roberts said. “We call him Joseph now. He’s a strike-thrower. … He’s on a good roll, and for us to go where we want to go, we need him in this fashion.”

To get to where they want to go, the Dodgers will also need this version of Blake Treinen, who also navigated through a jam in the seventh inning. Jimmy Nelson was wild in his short outing and it looked like the Cubs were on the verge of putting together a big inning. But Treinen was able to limit Chicago to just one run, flashing his dominant fastball-slider combination.

“They were great,” Roberts said of Treinen and Kelly. “They’ve been good for a long time. When you look at lanes for the opposing lineup and a runway for those guys, they’ve dominated it. It’s what we needed.”

With the pitching holding up its end, the Dodgers’ offense was finally able to capitalize, something it has struggled to consistently over the last few weeks. Roberts admitted that there was a sense of relief when they saw Pollock’s homer fly over the fence, just past the outstretched arm of Joc Pederson in left.

“Yeah, I mean, I think that there’s that sense of urgency,” Roberts said. “When you’re in the middle of a losing streak and you’re at home and you see the energy and the crowd is waiting for us to do something positive and exciting, and you just feel that we’re trying to do everything we can to win a baseball game. That AJ at-bat, we needed it.”

A couple of batters later, Muncy added a two-run shot of his own to give the Dodgers much-needed breathing room. After Thursday’s loss, the Dodgers talked about wanting to be more consistent with following through with their offensive gameplans. They did that on Friday.