Chase Utley and Adrian Gonzalez Go Deep as Dodgers Shut Out Cubs, 4-0

They did it for old times' sake.

No, it was not Old-Timers' Day at Dodger Stadium, but veterans Chase Utley and Adrian Gonzalez both homered as the Los Angeles Dodgers shutout the reigning World Series Champion Chicago Cubs, 4-0, on Friday night at the Ravine.

Utley (38), homered for the second straight night and Gonzalez (35) hit his first home run of the season as the Dodgers won the first of a three-game series in a rematch of the National League Championship Series from last fall. 

"They hit homers and we didn't. That was the difference," said Cubs' manager Joe Maddon after the game. "It was a good baseball game."

Alex Wood continues to pitch like the ace of the staff as the left-hander from North Carolina extended his scoreless innings streak to 25 and 1/3 innings, longest in the MLB this season, while lowering his ERA to a league-best 1.69 on the season.

"This is as healthy as he's been in recent memory," said Roberts of the reasons behind Wood's success. "That lends to his confidence, but right now, you can look at him as a 1A."

Wood has been absolutely lights out at Dodger Stadium over his career, improving to 10-2 with an ERA of 1.62 at the Ravine, the third lowest in franchise history behind Sandy Koufax and Bob Lee (1.37).

Wood (6-0) was masterful for once again, allowing just two hits with two walks and eight strikeouts in five shutout innings. Wood was named NL Pitcher of the Week last week, but is likely going to be the NL Pitcher of the Month if he continues his dominance on the mound.

"I definitely feel confident right now," said Wood of his pitching over the last few starts. "My confidence is coming from the consistency of my stuff every five days. I just want to keep doing what I'm doing and give us a chance to win."

Wood's six wins put him in elite company on the season as he joins teammate Clayton Kershaw (7), Colorado's Antonio Senzatela (7) and Arizona's Zack Greinke (6) with at least six wins this season. 

Jake Arrieta had a scoreless streak of his own, as he had not allowed a run against the Dodgers in 18 consecutive innings (regular season) before Utley sent him deep on a 1-1 slider in the bottom of the third inning.

It was the first time Utley had homered in back-to-back games since Sept. 27-28 in San Diego last season.

"To see Chase break out tonight was great," added Roberts. "Hopefully, there's more of that to come."

After a slow start to the season, Utley is heating up as the veteran second baseman is batting .326 with six runs, one double, two triples, two home runs and nine RBI since May 10th.

Yasmani Grandal added an RBI double the following inning before Gonzalez sent a sinker over the centerfield wall for his first home run of the season.

The homer was Gonzalez's first long ball during the regular season since he went deep at Petco Park in San Diego on Sept. 28th of 2016.

"I knew I was going to hit a home run before the season ended," joked Gonzalez of finally lifting the weight off his shoulders. "It was great. That's what makes it fun."

Arrieta (5-4) took the loss, allowing four runs on five hits, with one walk and nine strikeouts in six innings for the Cubs.

"For the most part it was really good," said Arrieta of his outing. "I made a couple mistakes again, and they came back to get me."

Chris Hatcher threw two innings of scoreless relief to close the door on Chicago, snapping their three-game winning streak as they embark on a six-game California road trip in Los Angeles and San Diego.

Up Next:

John Lackey heads to the mound tomorrow for the Cubs against Brandon McCarthy in a matchup of veteran right-handers. First pitch is scheduled for 4:15PM PST

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