CHICAGO -- Shohei Ohtani may have put on a power show, but by the end of Wednesday afternoon's series finale, "Go, Cubs, Go" blared over the Wrigley Field speakers as the Cubs raised the "W" for the third time in as many games against L.A.
Ohtani had his first multihomer game of 2026 in a 7-6 loss on the North Side, leading off the contest by taking Shota Imanaga deep and helping the Dodgers get back in the game with a two-run shot in the 8th inning. But Ohtani's big day did not reverse L.A.'s fortunes of late, as the team extended its season-high losing streak to six games.
This was only the Dodgers' second losing streak of at least six games since April 2019. The other came in July 2025, when they lost seven in a row. The way they ended the game, closing the gap with a five-run eighth inning, did a little to ease the sour feeling of their ongoing skid.
"It’s a big difference," Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton, "just heading into the off-day and starting a new series against a new team."
With his first long ball, Ohtani came one step closer to remaking another Dodgers franchise record in his own image. His 11th leadoff homer of the season and his 29th as a Dodger passed the great Davey Lopes for the second most in franchise history.
Mookie Betts holds the Dodgers' franchise record with 32 leadoff blasts, while Kyle Schwarber holds the MLB single-season record with 15 in 2024. With four more leadoff homers, Ohtani could potentially hold both records this year.
Ohtani worked the count full against Imanaga before getting an elevated four-seamer down the middle on the seventh pitch of the at-bat. Ohtani sent his 25th homer a Statcast-projected 376 feet to right field at 110.2 mph off the bat.
But in the bottom of the first, fellow MVP candidate Pete Crow-Armstrong answered back with a leadoff shot of his own off Eric Lauer. That inauspicious beginning was a sign of what was to come in what ended up as Lauer's worst start as a Dodger, as he allowed six runs on a season-high 11 hits in four innings.
It was the first time that the Dodgers lost a game with Lauer on the mound for them. Prior to Wednesday, they had won all nine games he appeared in.
"Today just wasn't a great day for me," Lauer said. "There's no real way around that. It's just one of those games where you see what you can learn and move past it, move on and get ready for the next one.”
While the Dodgers trailed by as many as six runs, a big eighth inning brought them within a run of the Cubs. Max Muncy chipped away with a three-run homer, followed by Ohtani's second blast -- his 26th of the season -- to cap the outburst.
Ohtani has hit 135 home runs as a Dodger. Only three other Major Leaguers have hit more homers in their first three seasons with a team: Mark McGwire (159 for the Cardinals), Alex Rodriguez (156, Rangers) and Babe Ruth (148, Yankees).
More importantly, Ohtani has begun to shake off his slow start to the second half. After his 3-for-5 performance on Wednesday, he has matched his season high by hitting safely in nine straight games.
"Heading in the right direction," he said. "The two homers were low line-drive homers, so I wasn’t sure if they would go out in some of the other stadiums. But definitely, being able to drive the ball with the right angle is what I’m ultimately looking for."
After nine games without an off-day, the Dodgers will get the opportunity to reset on Thursday before opening a three-game set against their closest competition in the NL West -- the D-backs -- on Friday.
L.A. led the division by a season-high 14 games on July 8, but amid this skid, the lead has slipped to single digits. Even after being swept by the Cubs, the Dodgers were still 8 1/2 games ahead of the D-backs (before Arizona played its own game on Wednesday).
The Dodgers have put themselves in a good spot, but they know they need to start taking care of business.
"A week ago [the standings] looked a lot different, and another week from now it could look even more different," manager Dave Roberts said. "So you just got to kind of put your head down and play baseball."