Coghlan helps Cubs rally past Dodgers
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Chicago, IL (SportsNetwork.com) - Chris Coghlan smacked a pair of homers, including a go-ahead, two-run shot in the bottom of the eighth inning, and the Chicago Cubs rallied for an 8-7 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the third test of a four-game set.
The Cubs trailed 7-2 heading in the home seventh before plating four in that frame and two more in the eighth to surge ahead.
John Baker led off the eighth with a single against Brian Wilson (2-4) before being forced out at second on Matt Szczur's sacrifice bunt attempt. Coghlan then laced his two-run blast into the front row of seats in right to make it 8-7.
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Justin Grimm (5-2) tossed a scoreless eighth to pick up the win, while Hector Rondon fired a 1-2-3 ninth for his 26th save of the year.
Coghlan finished 4-for-4 with three RBI and three runs scored, Arismendy Alcantara cracked a three-run homer and Anthony Rizzo posted two hits, an RBI and a run scored for Chicago, which dropped the first two games of the series.
Adrian Gonzalez belted two homers, a three-run and two-run shot, for the Dodgers, who had won five of their last seven games coming in.
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LA is three games ahead of San Francisco for first place in the NL West.
Scott Van Slyke's sacrifice fly in the seventh staked LA to its 7-2 margin before the Cubs' bats got going in the home half.
Coghlan worked a leadoff walk, advanced to second on Javier Baez's groundout and scampered to third on a wild pitch. Coghlan then came home on Rizzo's single to right. Mike Olt singled and Alcantara ripped his three-run blast over the wall in left to trim the gap to 7-6.
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The Dodgers raced out to a 6-1 lead by the third inning, starting with a pair of runs in the first.
Yasiel Puig rolled a one-out bunt single and Gonzalez followed by launching his two-run shot into the seats in right.
Chicago got a run back in the home half on Coghlan's solo blast, but LA pushed across four more runs in the third.
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Dee Gordon led off the third with a single and stole second before Puig walked. Gonzalez then launched his three-run shot the opposite way over the wall in left-center.
Matt Kemp singled, Hanley Ramirez walked and Justin Turner grounded into a force out to put runners on the corners. Van Slyke's double scored Kemp and gave LA its five-run cushion.
Logan Watkins' RBI double in the fourth cut the hosts' deficit to 6-2.
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Game Notes
It was Coghlan's third career multi-homer game ... The Dodgers are 0-56 this season when trailing after eight innings ... Cubs starter Felix Doubront allowed six runs on six hits and three walks over 2 1/3 innings, while Dodgers starter Roberto Hernandez surrendered two runs on six hits and two walks over four frames.