CHICAGO (Interstat) — Michael Busch and Carson Kelly each homered and drove in three runs, and the Chicago Cubs defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 10-5 on Monday night at Wrigley Field.

The Cubs scored in four consecutive innings from the first through the third, then added runs in the fifth and sixth to pull away in the opener of a two-game series. The Dodgers, who had beaten the Cubs twice in Los Angeles in April, fell to 69-44, while the Cubs improved to 66-49.

Los Angeles grabbed a quick lead against Cubs starter Matthew Boyd. Shohei Ohtani singled to left, Andy Pages singled to right, and Tommy Edman followed with a three-run homer to left field. Edman’s drive scored Ohtani and Pages, giving the Dodgers a 3-0 edge before the Cubs came to bat. Freddie Freeman followed with a soft ground-ball single, but Mookie Betts, Kyle Tucker and Teoscar Hernández all flied out to right or left to end the inning. Boyd avoided further damage and settled into a rhythm after that.

The Cubs answered in the bottom of the first. Pete Crow-Armstrong singled on a sharp line drive to right, and Seiya Suzuki followed with a homer to left-center, his 19th of the season. That cut the Dodgers’ lead to 3-2. Alex Bregman struck out, Carson Kelly flied out to center and Busch flied out to center to strand the inning.

In the top of the second, the Dodgers went quietly. Enrique Hernández grounded out, Eliezer Alfonzo grounded out sharply, and Ohtani singled to right. The Cubs challenged a pickoff attempt and the call on the field was overturned, with Boyd throwing to first baseman Busch to pick off Ohtani and end the inning.

The Cubs took the lead in the bottom of the second. Nico Hoerner flied out, Pedro Ramírez grounded out, then Dansby Swanson walked. Kevin Alcántara, batting in the left field slot, hit a fly ball to left-center that cleared the wall for his first homer of the season. Swanson scored and the Cubs led 4-3. Crow-Armstrong struck out swinging to end the inning.

In the third, the Dodgers went down in order. Andy Pages popped out to Busch in foul territory, Edman struck out looking and Freeman grounded out. The Cubs extended their lead in the bottom half. Suzuki flied out to center, then Bregman doubled on a sharp line drive to center. Kelly followed with a homer to left, his seventh of the season, scoring Bregman and making it 6-3. Busch struck out, Hoerner walked after a challenge overturned the pitch result, and Ramírez singled to right to put runners on first and second. Swanson grounded into a force out at third to end the inning.

The Dodgers cut into the lead in the fourth. Betts flied out to right, then Tucker walked. Hernández singled on a sharp line drive to center, sending Tucker to second. Enrique Hernández popped out to right fielder Suzuki on the infield fly rule, and Alfonzo followed with a sharp single to center that scored Tucker. Hernández advanced to second on a fielding error by Crow-Armstrong, giving the Dodgers a 6-4 deficit. Ohtani flied out to center to leave two runners on base.

The Cubs did not score in the fourth. Alcántara walked, Crow-Armstrong flied out to center, Suzuki popped out to Freeman in foul territory and Bregman struck out on a foul tip.

In the fifth, the Dodgers went down in order. Andy Pages grounded out, Edman struck out swinging and Freeman grounded out sharply. The Cubs added a run in the bottom half when Busch led off with a homer to left-center, his 14th of the season, extending the lead to 7-4. Hoerner, Ramírez and Crow-Armstrong all struck out to end the inning.

The Dodgers responded in the sixth. Betts grounded out, then Tucker singled sharply to right but was thrown out at second trying to stretch the hit into a double. Teoscar Hernández then homered to left-center, his 11th of the season, cutting the Cubs’ lead to 7-5. Hernández struck out swinging to end the top half.

The game turned decisively in the bottom of the sixth. With Boyd’s day done, the Dodgers went to their bullpen, and the Cubs broke the game open with a series of walks and a two-run single. Swanson singled to right, Ian Happ walked, Crow-Armstrong walked to load the bases, and Suzuki walked to force in a run. Bregman struck out for the second out, but Kelly then walked on a pitch that was overturned by a challenge, scoring Happ and making it 8-5. Busch followed with a line-drive single to right that scored Crow-Armstrong and Suzuki. The throw from right fielder Kyle Tucker was off target, allowing Busch to move to second. That sequence gave the Cubs a 10-5 lead, and the Dodgers could not recover.

The Dodgers’ bullpen struggled with command during that rally. Los Angeles relief pitchers combined for four strikes, 38 balls and four balls in play, a stretch that included five walks in the decisive sixth inning. The Cubs’ bullpen, by contrast, kept the Dodgers from mounting any further charge. Trent Thornton pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing no hits and striking out one, and the Cubs’ relief corps combined for 17 strikes, 53 balls and 17 balls in play.

After the Cubs’ three-run burst, the Dodgers went quietly. In the seventh, Alfonzo lined out to left, Ohtani grounded out and Pages popped out to Busch. In the eighth, Edman flied out to left, Freeman struck out on a foul tip and Betts flied out to center. The Cubs added no more insurance in the seventh or eighth, but they did not need it. In the ninth, Tucker singled with one out, but Hernández grounded into a double play to end the game.

Busch finished 2 for 4 with the homer and three RBIs. Kelly was 1 for 4 with a homer and three RBIs. Suzuki was 1 for 4 with a homer and two RBIs. Alcántara was 1 for 1 with a homer and two RBIs. For the Dodgers, Edman was 1 for 4 with a homer and three RBIs, and Teoscar Hernández was 2 for 4 with a homer and an RBI.

Boyd earned the win, improving to 7-1. He allowed three earned runs on nine hits over 6 2/3 innings, striking out three. Justin Wrobleski took the loss, falling to 11-3. Jonathan Hernández pitched two scoreless innings for the Dodgers, allowing one hit and striking out two, and Tanner Scott struck out two in two-thirds of an inning while allowing one hit.

The game took 2 hours 40 minutes before an announced crowd of 39,384 at Wrigley Field. The teams play again Tuesday and Wednesday in Chicago. The Dodgers arrived having lost three straight at home to Boston, while the Cubs had split a four-game series at St. Louis before taking two of three from the New York Yankees.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Los Angeles 7, Chicago 6. Interstat’s ELO system had given the Dodgers a 53.60 percent win probability, and Los Angeles was installed as a 1.5-run favorite. The combined total of 15 runs went under the over/under line of 8.5.