Dodgers break out the bats late, shutout the Cubs at Wrigley Field

Corey Seager crushed a three-run homer in the ninth inning to put the exclamation point on the night for the Dodgers as they beat the Cubs 5-0 at Wrigley Field.

The Dodger victory snaps a 23-game Cubs winning streak when they send Jake Arrieta to the mound. Arrieta tossed seven scoreless innings with a no-decision.

The Dodgers were finally able to break through in the eighth when Adrian Gonzalez lined a single into left field to bring Chase Utley around to score the game's first run. Howie Kendrick would later add a run-scoring sac fly to give the Dodgers more than they needed.

Scott Kazmir was outstanding for six scoreless innings, going punch-for-punch with Arrieta. The left-hander struck out seven while only allowing one hit, a walk and a hit batter.

Kazmir struck out 46 batters in May, joining Clayton Kershaw (65) and Alex Wood (41) as the first Dodgers trio with 40 or more strikeouts in a month since July 1963.

It looked like the Dodgers might have squandered their opportunity to score when they loaded the bases with two outs and Arrieta at 104 pitches. Justin Turner came to the plate pinch-hitting for Kazmir - only at 90 pitches to that point - but struck out on three pitches to hand the game over to the bullpens.

Joe Blanton picked up where Kazmir left off, retiring all six batters he face while striking out three to earn the win. Dodger pitching retired the last 16 Cubs that came to the plate on the night. The Cubs failed to reach third at any point in the game, reaching second only once on a Jason Heyward steal of second in the first inning.

Dodger pitching has allowed only 14 runs over the past eight games.

Up next

The Dodgers continue the four-game series in Chicago when they send Mike Bolsinger to the mound opposite of Jon Lester.

Tuesday's particulars

Home runs: Corey Seager (9)

WP: Joe Blanton (3-2) 2 IP, 3 strikeouts

LP: Clayton Richard (0-1) 3 hits, 2 runs