Cubs 10, Dodgers 5: Chicago's Power Surge Extends L.A.'s Skid to Four

August 3, 2026 - Chicago - Michael Busch got the first dig in against his old team, and by the time the ninth inning wrapped up, it looked less like a dig and more like a pattern.

Busch drove in three runs against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the club that traded him to Chicago, and the rest of the Cubs lineup followed his lead. By the final out, Chicago had won its second straight, 10-5, and handed the two-time defending champions their fourth consecutive loss.

Three swings, six runs

The Cubs didn't need one big inning. They needed three separate ones. Seiya Suzuki turned on a pitch and drove it out for a two-run homer. Carson Kelly, not typically a power threat from the catcher spot, matched him with a two-run shot of his own. Kevin Alcantara added a third two-run blast later in the game, and between the three swings, Chicago built the kind of lead that never really felt threatened after the fifth inning.

Busch's night wasn't about the long ball. It was about driving in runs whenever the Cubs needed one, three RBIs in a lineup spot that's supposed to do exactly that against a rotation Chicago sees regularly enough to know its weak spots.

Wrobleski's rough return to form

Justin Wrobleski had been one of the more reliable arms in the Dodgers rotation, unbeaten since late May heading into this start. That streak ended hard: seven runs and seven hits allowed over just 4 1/3 innings, his shortest and most damaging outing in months. Los Angeles didn't quit, Tommy Edman answered with a three-run homer of his own and Teoscar Hernandez went deep separately, but climbing back from a Cubs lineup that had already built a cushion proved too much.

What this means with October on the mind

Two days after acquiring Kevin Gausman at the deadline, the Cubs looked every bit like a club building for a deep run, pulling within 5 1/2 games of NL Central-leading Milwaukee, which lost the same night to Pittsburgh. For the Dodgers, a four-game skid right after landing Tarik Skubal is an uncomfortable juxtaposition: the front office spent the weekend fortifying a championship roster, and the roster answered with its worst week of the season so far.

Neither trend defines a season by itself. But this is the kind of loss that gets circled back to if the skid keeps going.

AthX Engine angle

Chicago's offense produced real, spread-out value: Suzuki and Kelly each scored 9 hitting fantasy points on their two-run homers, part of a Cubs attack that combined for 18 AthX Engine team fantasy points, third-highest of the eight games played that night. Los Angeles finished at negative-1, a rare team-level dip that reflects both a shaky start and a bullpen that couldn't stop the bleeding. Pete Crow-Armstrong and the rest of the Cubs lineup remain one of the more consistent offensive boards in the league as the stretch run begins.

Track Seiya Suzuki, Michael Busch, and the Cubs and Dodgers boards on the marketplace. Information only; not financial advice.

What it means

Chicago keeps closing the gap in the NL Central with a deadline-fortified roster playing its best baseball. Los Angeles needs to find answers fast, a fourth straight loss right after a Cy Young-winning trade is the kind of stretch that draws questions the front office would rather not answer in August.

*Sources: MLB.com gameday final, ESPN box score, AthX Engine daily scoring for August 3, 2026. Information only; not financial advice.*