LA ‘Vins’ by a toenail; Cubs’ W not meant 2B

LOS ANGELES — A grounder from Adrian Gonzalez, a foot race won by Corey Seager and a run scored by Andrew Toles were the difference in a 1-0 victory for the Dodgers over the Cubs on Sunday at Dodger Stadium, a contest that legendary Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully said “all boiled down to a whisper, a toenail, a ‘toe dance’ around second base.”

With the game in a scoreless tie going into the bottom of the eighth inning, Toles got aboard on a hit-by-pitch from Trevor Cahill, then advanced to third when Howie Kendrick reached base on Cahill’s throwing error.

After intentionally walking Seager, Cubs manager Joe Maddon pulled Cahill for Carl Edwards Jr. The right-hander did his job, striking out Justin Turner and inducing a grounder from Gonzalez to third baseman Javier Baez. However, Baez made an inadvisable throw to second, leading to a race to the bag between second baseman Ben Zobrist and Seager. Seager was called safe, Toles scored, and the tie was broken.

Scully analyzed the play with his trademark grace and attention to detail.

“Javier Baez handling the ground ball, but the problem was the second baseman, Zobrist, was five feet into right field. By the time Zobrist got to the bag, the throw was late.

“That was the problem — the fact that you can’t have a second baseman playing so far away and then ask him to get to the bag. It was a foot race between Seager and Zobrist. They were really foot-to-foot. It was that close! … For [second-base umpire] Alfonso Marquez, a tough call. They don’t get much tougher than that.

“After all this battling, it comes down to a ‘toe dance’ at second base.”

Maddon added: “The mental mistake at second base, that just something that needs to be communicated before the ball is hit. [Zobrist] is way over and he can’t get there on time. Give Seager credit for a great hustle play on his part. Otherwise, man, what a game.”

Jon Lester and Brock Stewart spent the majority of the game locked in a scoreless pitchers’ duel. Lester registered his sixth straight quality start with six shutout innings and now holds a 2.01 ERA in eight starts since the All Star Break.

Stewart turned in the best start of his young career, allowing just two hits and struck out eight in five innings against one of baseball’s most prolific offenses. The rookie entered the game with an 11.25 ERA and began the season with Class A Advanced Rancho Cucamonga.

“We believed in Brock,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. …

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