Paul Maholm pitched six strong innings as the Chicago Cubs beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-4 in the opener of a three-game series at Wrigley Field on Friday afternoon. The Dodgers rallied for three runs off the Cubs bullpen but fell just short.
Bobby Abreu, in his first game as a Dodger, struck out looking to end a rally in the seventh inning and lined out hard to deep right field for the final out of the game, giving Rafael Dolis his second save of the season.
Jerry Hairston Jr. hit his first home run as a Dodger, and fell a double shy of the cycle, one week after his brother Scott Hairston hit for the cycle for the New York Mets.
Matt Kemp tripled in a run in the eighth inning, and was driven in by a sacrifice fly by Andre Ethier to cut the Cubs' lead to one run. Ethier leads the major leagues with 28 runs batted in, and Kemp is second with 26.
Chad Billingsley allowed four runs in six innings for the loss, falling to 2-2 on the season.
David DeJesus and Alfonso Soriano each had three hits and a walk for the Cubs, while Starlin Castro had two hits and two runs scored for Chicago.
Chris Capuano starts on Saturday for the Dodgers, facing Chris Volstad for the Cubs. Matt Garza was supposed to start, but has a virus, per ESPN Chicago.
For more Dodgers news and notes, be sure to read True Blue LA.
