Dave Roberts: ‘Defense Was The Difference’ In Dodgers Series Loss Vs. Cubs

The Los Angeles Dodgers began their first domestic road trip with a series at Wrigley Field against the Chicago Cubs in a three-game matchup that featured cold, windy and rainy weather throughout.

The Cubs ended up taking two of the three games, outscoring the Dodgers 18-12 and dealing with the conditions better overall. Both Bobby Miller and Gavin Stone struggled in their outings, which put the Dodgers in a hole early during both games they lost, while Yoshinobu Yamamoto turned in a strong start in the win.

However, Stone was not helped by his defense as the Dodgers made three errors, all of which led to a run scoring. In total, L.A. made four errors during the three games compared to the Cubs’ one.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts believes the defense is what separated the two teams in the series, via Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:

“I think their defense was the difference,” Roberts said. “They played very good defense. And there were some plays we just didn’t make. But honestly, I don’t think we pitched well out of the gate.”

Aside from the errors, the Cubs also went above and beyond, making phenomenal plays throughout and taking away multiple hits from the Dodgers.

In the series opener, the Dodgers had a chance to tie the game when James Outman hit a line drive with the tying runs in scoring position, but the game ended on a diving catch from Michael Busch.

Nico Hoerner and Dansby Swanson also locked down the middle infield with numerous defensive highlights, and Nick Madrigal made a diving catch at third base in the series opener.

Without those plays, the series likely would have swung in the Dodgers’ favor, or if the Dodgers just made the plays they needed to, the series also could have had a different outcome.

Dodgers record streak snapped

The series also saw the Dodgers’ franchise record streak of consecutive games scoring five runs come to an end at 10 games.

The most recent team to reach a streak of 10 straight games with five or more runs to begin a season was the 2002 Cleveland Indians, and they also accomplished it in 1999. The 1936 Cincinnati Reds and 1903 Pittsburgh Pirates also reached that feat.

Only three teams have posted streaks past 10 games: the 1932 New York Yankees (13), 1887 Baltimore Orioles (14) and 1884 St. Louis Maroons (17