Game Thirty-Nine – Cubs 5 Mets 6
WP – Ambiorix Burgos (1-0) LP – Ryan Dempster (1-2) Save – None
There are only so many words in the English dictionary and not enough to describe the 9th inning that took place in Shea Stadium on Thursday afternoon. When the Cubs took the field to start the bottom of the 9th they were ahead 5-1, seemingly with the game well in hand. A lead off single by David Newhan started the 5-run 9th inning and for the second time in the series Carlos Delgado was responsible for the game winning run.
What will be lost in the latest debacle by the bullpen is the start Angel Guzman turned in, two 2-run home runs, one by Aramis Ramirez and the other by Angel Pagan and the solid performances of Will Ohman and Michael Wuertz. For long time readers of the CCO, this will not be a typical recap of the game. For those that missed the bottom of the 9th, consider yourself lucky…. and here is what happened:
David Newhan singled to center to lead off the inning past Ryan Dempster. Ramon Castro flied out to right and Murton nearly doubled off Newhan at 1st. Carlos Gomez singled to center, runners on 1st and 3rd….1 out. Carlos Beltran pinch hit for Ambioriz Burgos and drew a walk to load the bases (Piniella did make a trip to talk to Dempster). Endy Chavez walked to score Newhan….5-2. Ruben Gotay singled to left, 5-3 and the bases were still loaded. Piniella lifted Dempster for Scott Eyre.
David Wright pinch hit for Shawn Green and singled to center on the first offering from Eyre….5-4. Carlos Delgado looked at ball 1 then singled to right, game over….6-5 Mets. Scott Eyre threw 3 pitches and allowed 3 runs on 2 hits.
While baseball is a team game, Lou Piniella has to make changes to his bullpen. This road trip can be summed up in one word…. BLOWN!!!
Interleague play starts on Friday with the Southsiders invading Wrigley. With the loss on Thursday, this series becomes bigger than it already was.