Craig Counsell criticizes ‘Ohtani Rule’ as Cubs rally past Dodgers

LOS ANGELES — The noise started hours before first pitch, but by the time the final out settled at Uniqlo Field at Dodger Stadium, the Cubs had made sure the loudest statement came on the field.

The Chicago Cubs arrived in Los Angeles riding a nine-game winning streak. They left with 10, outlasting the Dodgers 6–4 on Friday night in a game that carried more edge than your typical April game. Much of that edge stemmed from pregame comments by Cubs manager Craig Counsell about the so-called “Ohtani Rule,” and the measured response from Dave Roberts. It gave an otherwise early-season game the feel of something bigger.

And for six innings, it looked like the Dodgers might turn that energy into a statement win.

Behind a dominant outing from Emmet Sheehan and a thunderous swing from Will Smith, the Dodgers built a 4–0 lead and controlled the game. Smith’s three-run homer in the third inning, his third of the season, provided the early jolt, while Sheehan carved through a Cubs lineup that had been one of baseball’s hottest.

Sheehan’s line was as crisp as it’s been all season: 6⅓ innings, 10 strikeouts, one run. Against a team that hadn’t lost in over a week, it was the kind of performance that typically ends in a win.

But the moment he exited, everything shifted.

A triple by Dansby Swanson in the seventh inning opened the door, and the Cubs wasted no time kicking it down, scoring Moises Ballesteros, and Pete Crow-Armstrong. Nico Hoerner followed with an RBI single, trimming the lead and injecting life into Chicago’s dugout. What had been a quiet night for the Cubs offense quickly turned into sustained pressure.

The Dodgers carried a slim lead into the eighth before Alex Bregman tied it with a solo home run off Blake Treinen, a swing that erased six innings of control in an instant.

Then came the ninth.

With the game tied, Tanner Scott took the mound. One batter in, the Cubs were already threatening. After a leadoff single from Crow-Armstrong, it was Swanson again, the same hitter who started the unraveling two innings earlier, delivering the decisive blow with a two-run home run.

Six unanswered runs. Game over.

For all the pregame conversation about rules and roster construction, the Cubs backed up their manager the only way that matters. Counsell had called the two-way player exemption “a bad rule,” making clear it wasn’t about Shohei Ohtani or the Dodgers specifically, but about the competitive structure itself.

“This is not a Dodger thing. It’s not an Ohtani thing. It is a bad rule,” Counsell said, doubling down while also trying to close the book on the topic before first pitch.

Roberts, for his part, didn’t escalate.

“I don’t think he meant it maliciously,” Roberts said. “This is a rule that’s applicable to Shohei, it’s not a Dodger rule. This was implemented when he was with the Angels. Not surprising because he’s a very important player, so it gets a lot of attention.”

It was measured, diplomatic, and ultimately secondary by the end of the night.

Because while the debate about the “Ohtani Rule” may linger, the Cubs walked away with something far more tangible: a 10-game winning streak and a comeback win against the defending champions.

And the Dodgers? They were left to reckon with a familiar frustration, a game they controlled, a starter who delivered, and a bullpen that couldn’t hold the line when it mattered most.