Recap: Andre Jackson gives up four home runs in Dodgers’ loss to Cubs

Andre Jackson, as the old baseball saying goes, wasn’t fooling anyone Friday night. The Dodgers reliever was summoned in the eighth inning of a one-run game against the Chicago Cubs. Thirteen batters, five runs, six hits — four of them homers — later, the Dodgers were staggering from an 8-2 loss before a crowd of 52,298 in Chavez Ravine.

“Andre has been throwing the baseball well for us, and it seemed like they were on everything,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of the Cubs hitters. “I don’t know if he was tipping pitches or what, but they were just on too many pitches.”

Roberts might have been on to something. Jackson is not one of the team’s high-leverage relievers — he gave up three runs and six hits in 61/3 innings of his first three games for a 4.26 ERA in a middle-relief role — but even he was surprised by the shellacking he absorbed at the hands of the Cubs.

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⚾ Cubs 8, Dodgers 2 — FINAL

Andre Jackson gave up four home runs, including three in the eighth inning, as the Dodgers lost to the Chicago Cubs in Cody Bellinger’s return to Dodger Stadium.

After Max Muncy’s sixth home run of the season in seventh, the Dodgers trailed by only a run before the Cubs added a trio of home runs to pull away.

The Dodgers gave up five home runs and had just three hits.

⚾ Cubs 8, Dodgers 2 — Ninth inning

Yan Gomes hit his second home run of the game — the fourth home run given up tonight by Dodgers reliever Andre Jackson as part of a two-run ninth for the Cubs.

Ian Happ drove in the inning’s other run on a double to center that plated Nico Hoerner. Happ is 4 for 4 with three RBIs.

Jackson is the first Dodgers reliever to give up four home runs in a game since Johnny Klippstein in 1959.

Gomes is 3 for 4 with three runs scored and two RBIs. It’s the first five home-run game for the Cubs in two years.

⚾ Cubs 6, Dodgers 2 — Eighth inning

Dodgers reliever Andre Jackson gave up three home runs in four at-bats, including back-to-back blasts by Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki, as the Cubs extended their lead.

Happ crushed an off-speed pitch high in the zone 423 feet into the right-center field pavilion before Suzuki, playing in his first game this season, sent the ball over the left-field wall.

After Suzuki’s homer, Cody Bellinger crushed the ball deep to center that initially looked like it might turn into a home run before Trayce Thompson got under it on the warning track. Patrick Wisdom then homered to left for the Cubs’ third homer of the inning.

The Dodgers went down 1-2-3 in the eighth against Chicago reliever Brad Boxberger.

Max Muncy celebrates after hitting a solo home run in the seventh inning.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

⚾ Cubs 3, Dodgers 2 — End of the seventh

Max Muncy hit a solo home run just inside the right-field foul pole off Cubs starter Justin Steele to cut into Chicago’s lead.

Muncy has hit five home runs in his last 12 at-bats. It was also his 150th career home run.

The Dodgers have three hits tonight — and two have been home runs.

Chicago Cubs center fielder Cody Bellinger, left, visits with Dodgers pitcher Brusdar Gaterol before Friday’s game.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

The cap was backward, the smile was wide, the laughter was easy.

But beneath Cody Bellinger’s good humor Friday were his haunting hands.

Throughout a breezy pregame dugout interview with reporters, he continually squeezed his palms together, gripping his thumbs, clasping his fingers, clenching so hard his knuckles briefly turned white.

Those hands that created so many wondrous Dodger memories with so many beautiful swings have returned as hands of pain, unable to hide the regret at being forced from a place where he created so much joy.’

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⚾ Cubs 3, Dodgers 1 — End of the sixth

Noah Syndergaard struck out the side, getting Patrick Wisdom, Eric Hosmer and Edwin Rios to whiff and raise his strikeout total to nine for the game.

Syndergaard finished eight of his nine strikeouts with a changeup. He was relieved by Brusdar Graterol in the seventh after allowing six hits and three earned runs on 92 pitches.

The Dodgers went down in order in the bottom of the sixth. They have just two hits off Cubs starter Justin Steele.

⚾ Cubs 3, Dodgers 1 — End of the fifth inning

Yan Gomes hit a solo home run off Dodgers starter Noah Syndergaard into the left-field pavilion to extend the Cubs’ lead in the fifth inning.

Noah Syndergaard has allowed six hits and three earned runs with six strikeouts and two walks over 78 pitches.

⚾ Cubs 2, Dodgers 1 — Fourth inning

Chicago Cubs center fielder and former Dodger Cody Bellinger gestures to the crowd before Friday’s game.

(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)

Cody Bellinger led off with a double to right and later scored on an Eric Hosmer ground out to first to put the Cubs back into the lead.

⚾ Cubs 1, Dodgers 1 — End of the third

Chris Taylor hit his third home run of the season — a solo blast to left-center field — to tie the game in the bottom of the third inning.

⚾ Cubs 1, Dodgers 0 — Third inning

Chicago’s Ian Happ hit a ground-run double just inside the right-field foul pole off Dodgers starter Noah Syndergaard to give the Cubs an early lead. Happ’s double drove in Yan Gomes, who reached base on a single.

Cody Bellinger’s first at-bat against the Dodgers in the second inning was marred by a pitch-clock violation on the 2019 NL MVP as he took a moment to recognize the cheers from the Dodger Stadium crowd. Immediately down in the count, he lined out to first.

⚾ Cubs 0, Dodgers 0 — End of the first

Dodgers pitcher Noah Syndergaard, eager to put his previous start behind him, gave up a two-out single to Ian Happ. Seiya Suzuki, swung on the first pitch of his 2023 season to hit into a force out at second.

In the bottom of the inning, Cubs starter Justin Steele struck out Mookie Betts before Freddie Freeman flied out to shallow right. Steele then got J.D. Martinez on a called third strike.

The Dodgers paid tribute to former center fielder Cody Bellinger in a video montage shown at Dodger Stadium before Friday’s game against the Chicago Cubs.

Bellinger, playing at Dodger Stadium for the first time since signing with the Cubs in the offseason, received an ovation from the fans, and the 2019 NL MVP tipped his cap in appreciation.

Dodgers relief pitcher Evan Phillips delivers against the San Diego Padres in the NLDS last year.

(Ashley Landis / Associated Press)

Evan Phillips gave up all of two home runs in 64 appearances in 2022, a breakout season in which the Dodgers reliever went 7-3 with a 1.14 ERA, striking out 77 and walking 15 in 63 innings.

So when the right-hander gave up a pair of homers–a two-run shot to David Villar and a solo shot to Brandon Crawford — in the eighth inning of Tuesday night’s 5-0 loss in San Francisco, he was determined to return to the Oracle Park mound Wednesday night to cleanse the rare shoddy outing from his system.

Phillips got that chance and made the most of it in a 10-5 win, giving up a leadoff single to Darin Ruf in the eighth inning before striking out Villar with an 86.1-mph slider, Mike Yastrzemski with a 94.7-mph fastball and Joey Bart with an 86.3-mph slider.

“I was very thankful to get back out there because I was really eager to get that bad taste out of my mouth,” Phillips said before Friday night’s game against the Chicago Cubs. “I was able to redeem myself a little bit and get myself going back in the right direction.”

Phillips gave up only one hit in three innings of four scoreless appearances to open the season, but he didn’t feel like he was very sharp, and he paid the price for that Tuesday night.

“It was definitely a kick in the butt,” Phillips said of his two-homer outing. “You say, ‘Hey, it’s time to kick it into gear, spring training and all the time for tinkering and adjustments is over.’ I was able to sneak by early in the season with some of those adjustments, but I just got exposed a little bit by the Giants.”

Phillips, the team’s de facto closer, tightened up his slider and had better overall command on Wednesday night and expects to benefit from the confidence-boosting appearance moving forward.

“The execution was as perfect as it could possible be,” Phillips said. “So that definitely helps.”

Chicago Cubs center fielder Cody Bellinger signs autographs for fans before Friday’s game against the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Cody Bellinger will start in center field and bat fifth for the Chicago Cubs Friday night, the first game as a visitor in Chavez Ravine for Bellinger, who won the 2019 National League most valuable player award with the Dodgers but was not tendered a contract last winter after being slowed by injury and inconsistency in 2021 and 2022.

Bellinger, who avoided Southern California-based media during spring training, spoke to reporters for 11 minutes in the visiting dugout before the game, greeting media members by saying, “What’s up, fellas? It’s good to be back!” A small sampling:

How surprised were you when the Dodgers didn’t tender you a contract? “I don’t want to talk about that right now.”

Was it a challenge to turn the page? “No. That process is over. When I knew I wasn’t coming back here, I think it hit me just how many amazing memories I had. Like, my younger self would be really proud of me. The fans showed me nothing but love for six or seven years, so I’m excited to go out here and roam center field.”

Describe the bond you had with the Dodgers since you were called up in 2017? “It was really special. When I was 20, in my first big-league camp with them, they showed me nothing but respect. As a young kid coming up in this organization, it can be intimidating, but they made me feel comfortable. There are so many memories with those guys … some good, some bad.”

Did you think you’d be a Dodger forever? “At one point, for sure, you know? But throughout this whole process, I realized life is not always planned. God works in mysterious ways. I just try to be in the moment and appreciate what comes next for me.”

Is this the first time you’ve felt like yourself health-wise in a few years? “I just feel really good, man. I really do. Physically, mentally, I’m in a pretty good spot. This team is really fun, a solid group of guys, great coaching staff. It’s been a really good start to the year.”

Cody Bellinger hits during a game between the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds on April 3.

(Jeff Dean / Associated Press)

There was a rapid rise, then a sudden descent.

An instant flash of talent, followed by a fizzle that left the baseball world scratching its head.

For his first three years in a Dodgers uniform, Cody Bellinger was one of the best stories in the majors. A homegrown prospect who blossomed as an MVP-winning superstar. A Chavez Ravine favorite among both the fanbase and the clubhouse.

Over his final three seasons with the club, however, Bellinger transformed into one of the sport’s biggest conundrums. An injury-plagued slugger struggling to hit for power. A once-feared presence who, amid a string of constant swing changes, was never able to rediscover his former self.

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Here’s a look at the Dodgers TV schedule for the 2023 regular season. All times and broadcast/streaming options are subject to change.