Game One Hundred Five - Cubs 9 Marlins 6
WP - Chad Gaudin (6-4, 1-1) LP - Mark Hendrickson (7-8) Save - Jeff Samardzija (1)
When the Cubs are locked in a close game with the lead in the 9th inning, Pat Hughes' signature statement always begins with "Fasten those seatbelts" and Mr. Hughes could have uttered those words before the game's first pitch....what an afternoon and what a game at the old ballpark located at 1060 West Addison.
The Cubs entered play in a tie at the top of the division with the Milwaukee Brewers in need of a win to finish the weekend series with the Marlins on a positive note. Jason Marquis struggled with his command and before the first 9 outs of the game were recorded, the Cubs were down 5-0 thanks to two long balls by Mike Jacobs. The Marlins' first baseman hit a 3-run shot into the basket in center in the 2nd inning and a 2-run shot into the basket in right in the 3rd. In the meantime, the Brewers were leading 4-1 at Miller Park.
Alfonso Soriano started the comeback with a single to right in the 3rd, his second of the game. Ryan Theriot followed with a double to right and Derrek Lee bounced out to short to plate Soriano with the Cubs' first run. Aramis Ramirez followed with a ground rule double to left and Theriot scored....the Cubs were down 5-2.
The Cubs tied the game in the 4th after a 1-out bloop single by Henry Blanco and a walk by Jason Marquis. Alfonso Soriano hit his first home run, 16th of the year, since returning from the DL. His 3-run homer to right tied the game at 5. The Cubs scored 5 unanswered runs and put themselves in position to pick up a much needed win.
Dan Uggla led off the 5th with his 25th longball of the year, all the way onto Waveland and appeared to take the momentum away that the Cubs fought hard to gain back. Marquis settled down and gutted out two more innings after the Uggla blast and gave his team a chance at another dramatic comeback....and they did not disappoint.
Chad Gaudin struck out two of the three batters he faced in the 7th. Gaudin threw strikes and was very impressive a day after picking up his first loss as a Cub.
Derrek Lee tied the game with a solo home run to start the bottom of the 7th. Lee's 17th of the year and second of the week tied the game at 6. Aramis Ramirez followed with a single to right and after a botched bunt attempt by Jim Edmonds, Mark DeRosa walked. With runners on 1st and 2nd and 2 outs, Fredi Gonzalez brought in Joe Nelson to face Henry Blanco.
Lou Piniella countered the move and brought in Daryle Ward to face Nelson with the game tied at 6 with 2 on and 2 outs. Nelson uncorked a wild pitch on the second offering to Ward which ended up benefiting the Cubs in more than one way. Ward was intentionally walked to load the bases and Piniella called upon Mike Fontenot once again.
Little Babe Ruth responded with a bases clearing double over Josh Willingham's head in left and gave the Cubs a 3-run lead with two innings left to go....in the meantime, the Astros had broken the game open in Miller Park and led by a score of 8-5.
Jeff Samardzija made his second big league appearance in the 8th inning and dominated the Marlins' lineup. The Shark retired the bottom of the Marlins' lineup in order with a strikeout and took the mound in the 9th.
Samardzija struck out Hanley Ramirez and Jeremy Hermida to start the 9th, both swinging, and then received help from his centerfielder. Jim Edmonds made a sensational diving catch in left center on a ball off the bat of Jorge Cantu to end the game. The Shark retired all 6 batters he faced in the last 2 innings on 25 pitches. Samardzija's first career big league save....a rare two inning save and a memorable one at that.
The offense was led by the 'Big Three' on Sunday afternoon....and Little Fontenot. Alfonso Soriano was 3-for-5 with 2 runs scored and 3 RBI's. Derrek Lee finished 2-for-5 with a run scored and 2 RBI's while Aramis Ramirez reached base in 4 of 6 trips to the plate and finished the afternoon 2-for-3 with a RBI.
With the unexpected come from behind win, the Cubs regained the top spot in the National League Central and became the first team in the NL to post 61 wins on the season....
The offense had a very productive, break out kinda of day and must build on the win and break the recent pattern. The first three series since the break have ended with a big offensive outburst....and Sunday was no exception. The Cubs must continue taking walks, coming up with clutch hits and scoring runs.
Lou Piniella said following the game, "Yeah, big come from behind win. 5-0 against a team that has had our number and a team that's played really well against us."
The Cubs looked lifeless in the first 2 innings once again. The offense managed only 2 hits and a walk the first time through the lineup with 3 strikeouts. The entire team was swinging early and often and was making Rick VandenHurk look very good on the mound.
The Cubs lone hits in the first two innings came from Alfonso Soriano and Kosuke Fukudome....and Soriano got it started in the 3rd inning. All three of Soriano's hits were to the opposite field which is a good sign that he is not trying to pull everything he sees. Soriano started the comeback and finished it, the first time, with the 3-run home run in the 4th.
While Carlos Zambrano is what fuels the pitching staff, Alfonso Soriano is what powers the offense....plain and simple.
Lou Piniella might have found a piece he can add to his pen for the remainder of the season in Jeff Samardzija. A reliever must throw strikes when he comes into the game and if his team losses, at least he made them earn it. Too many of the Cubs' relievers have a bad habit of throwing from behind in the count more often than not. After blowing a save in his first big league game on Friday, Jeff Samardzija threw strikes on Sunday.
The Shark's minor league career was very confusing. He seemed to under perform until he was promoted to the next level. Could he be the rare exception to the rule of performing better under pressure than in a relaxed environment?
For one day the 9th inning belonged to Jeff Samardzija. After a 1-2-3 8th inning, Samardzija took the hill in the 9th and struck out Hanley Ramirez swinging on a 1-2 pitch and Jeremy Hermida swinging on a 1-2 pitch. The Shark pumped his fist as Jim Edmonds ended the game with a diving catch in left center field.
Piniella commented on the Shark following Sunday's performance, "It's impressive isn't it? Two solid inning in an important game. Looked very comfortable and had good stuff to go along with it."
The Cubs played a good game....from the 3rd inning on and now they must build on the win. Piniella said after Sunday's victory, "Good thing is we won a ballgame and the bats came alive. Hopefully they will travel well to Milwaukee."
The Cubs and Brewers square off for the next four days starting on Monday. Game one is Ted Lilly versus CC Sabathia (notice, no more C.C., just CC now). The Brewers have already played and won the first two games according to the press in Milwaukee, someone should tell Lou Piniella to just stay in Chicago and wait until Wednesday to play the first game against Manny Para.
Did anyone hear or see today's post game press conference with Lou? He is truly in love with Jeff Samardzia.
I did Jim. I have never seen a manager publicly gush over a player, like Lou did over Samardzia. I would love to see him start instead of Marquis, but at the very least, it will keep "at least 1 run an appearance" Howry on the bench. Who goes when would gets activated?.
I hate to be overly dramatic (a prerequisite for being a Cub fan), but today's come back win may have saved their season.
If Marmol can regain his control can you imagine the threesome of the Shark, Marmal and Wood all throwing bullets in the late innings?
Question, Kerry Wood and Jon Lieber will eventually come off the DL. Who gets sent down, releaed or traded? I think Eyre will get traded this week and
Lieber gets released.
Jim tp ... why do u think Eyre will be traded? because Lou appears to not trust him any more? because at this point I prefer him over Howry and we don't have many left handed relievers.
hey, nice to read your Nation Represent!today
Jim...I agree with Lieber. We may also see both Eyre and Howry going since both are in the final contract year. Howry doesn't have a strike out pitch anymore. I'd also like to see Marquis peddled somewhere, and then try to get Maddux just one more time for the final push. Lot's of teams are looking for pitching, and if Ohman is a hot commodity (according to the sports guys down here in Atlanta), then our group above should also draw a lot of attention.
I think Eyre is expendible with Cotts and Marshall from the left side.
And in looking ahead to tomorrow, Lilly has to come up big versus CC. We can't afford any blowout tomorrow. Atleast Houston burst the Brewers momentum for a bit....thank you to them.
Agustin:
Bulls eye! Lou doesn't trust Eyre, period. If Hendry could deal him for so-so minor leaguer he will probably be gone. Hendry already has said that Hartz and Wuertz are in their back up plans.
Bryan:
I suspect Lieber was placed on the DL for a non injury. Being the good trooper that he is, they are probably trying to accomadate him with dignity. If Lieber isn't released or traded, he will probably stay with the club (On the DL) until expanded roster time come September 1. Other than that game vs the Reds were he was tagged for 5 HR's he really hasn't pitched that bad. But, he is not I guy that can pitch in back to back games.
Tinley Park Jim,
Lieber might not be a very good pitcher anymore... but he is the last 20 game winner for the Cubs -- and a good losing cause innings eater.... I would retain Eyre and Lieber.....
Quite frankly, we have a glut of position players -- so the cut has to come there.... More than likely -- I would say look to trade Daryl Ward to another contender in the AL. Little Babe Ruth provides everything from the left side off the bench that Ward does....
Keeping Lieber and Eyre keeps the bullpen deep and versatile for all situations... Down 4 runs in the 2nd? Stick Lieber in for 3 innings. Up 2 runs in the 7th? Samardjia, Marmol, Wood..... Up 3 runs? Stick Howry, Cotts and Eyre in.... Cotts and Samardjia being interchageable depending on the Shark's consistency
and going back to all the D. Lee Haters suggesting inserting recently-developed Hoffpauir in ---
D. Lee is the heart and soul of the team. Maybe I go a step further in defending him --- but on the overall defense-offense package -- he is in the top 3 1st baseman in the NL, unquestionably. If you guys think The Cubs win the WS this year with Hoffpauir at first, you need lobotomies.
I still would like to see dlee in the 5 spot with maybe soto in the 3 hole. Just to see what happens.
too many Ks from Soto. In a perfect world the lineup would go theriot, fuku, aram, sori, lee, soto, edmonds, derosa, pitcher...swap dero and edmonds if johnson starts. I am a DLee fan, but not such a fan that I cant see he is struggling. He'll be okay though. The Cubs are fine, Samardzija has been impressive in his TWO outings, but lets not start give him a spot yet. I will say that I could hit Howry, he's terrible and needs to go...Heres a positive spin on DLee though, 2 HRs in a weekend after not hitting one in forever. I have been waiting for sori to come back and give us a lift and he has delivered. I have a question, how long is woody on the DL?? I know its the 15 day, but they can add the 10 games he didnt pitch to that, so is he gone for 15, or 5?? or what...?? Go cubs.
everybody should know, i DO. it's the BLUE versus the CREW. GO CUBS!
I don't know that the FUCK you are saying to me, Bryan. but CARLOS MARMOL is the best pitcher on the team, and GEOVANY SOTO is the best hitter on the team.
The CUBS will only win roughly 17 of their last 55 or so games if SOTO and MARMOL go down. Neil, keep an eye on Bryan. He's dangerous.
If the CUBS lose the division, they will get a note personally from me.
... little hostile in here...
Look, everybody has their opinions. Some of them are flat-out retarded, and some have some merit. But if everybody just kept their mouth shut, there wouldn't be a forum such as this one.
BTW, I will be the first one to say that I was a "Derrek Lee hater." Yes, he proved me wrong today by hitting the tying HR. Baron, you are definitely vocal in your support for D-Lee, and I admire that. And you are right, he is one of the top first basemen in the league. But "with great power comes great responsibility." So he deserves to be pummeled with criticism when he fails time and time again to deliver the big hit. And so until he consistently drives in 100+ runs (which he's only done ONCE his entire career), expect more comments on his performance.
And as for the profanity on this site, I could personally care less for it.
Oh yeah, I forgot to include. Jeff Samardzija is a freak of an athlete. I think he could definitely provide some moxy in the bullpen, and if he were to ever start, give that Cubs rotation a helluva swagger.
Would anybody swap D-Lee for Pujols? What about D-Lee for Teixeira? What about D-Lee for Howard? Prince Fielder? Hell, what about D-Lee for Adrian Gonzalez? D-Lee for Berkman? D-Lee for Delgado?
Baron, I am wondering which 2 first basemen you rank above D-Lee, and more interestingly, who ranks below him. Personally, I think Derrek gets a lot of press because he plays for the Cubs. But compared to others who play the position, he gets a solid "B" at best.
Hey everyone.
Someone was using my name.
I apologize. Again, it was not me. Sorry for anyone who took offense.
That explains the odd comment... I was searching and searching through previous posts, and couldn't find anything Bryan said that could have offended you.
I love this website.