Game Thirty-Four – Cubs 0 Reds 9
WP – Edinson Volquez (5-1) LP – Jon Lieber (2-2) Save – None
The Cubs 6-game road trip did not end the way Lou Piniella had envisioned. The Reds offense woke up, a day after being shutout, and a new Cub killer was born in the lopsided loss. Joey Votto led the Reds attack with 3 of their 7 home runs, each coming off a different pitcher. Four of Votto’s 7 round trippers this season have come off of Cubs’ pitching and of his 11 career home runs, 6 have come against the Cubs.
Jon Lieber left after giving up 4 of the Reds’ 7 home runs in the 2nd inning. Lieber became the second pitcher in the history of the franchise to allow 4 home runs in a single inning…. the other, Phil Norton. Sean Marshall surrendered 2 more blasts in his 2 innings of relief and Sean Gallagher gave up Votto’s last dinger in the 6th.
The Cubs offense was shutout for the second time this season, managing just 6 hits in 9 innings and only 4 against Edinson Volquez. Volquez dominated the Cubs and tied a season high with 10 strikeouts….to go along with 6 walks.
Lou Piniella’s crew is struggling. Right now they are not pitching, hitting or catching the ball….a formula for losing 6 of the last 9. Long time readers of the site are probably expecting more from this game recap….but unfortunately there is really not much else to say. The Cubs were flat out beaten and hopefully embarrassed enough to wake up and play as hard on a daily basis as their opponents do against them.
Teams around the league give the Cubs their best effort. The Reds are a prime example. They are 3-3 against the Cubs this year and have managed only 11 wins against the rest of the league in 29 other contests. Players step up against the Cubs, it is time for Lou’s players to step up and perform on a daily basis.
There will be peeks and valleys during a season but it is limiting those valleys that is the difference between a division championship and third place.
The Cubs are off on Thursday and moves are expected before Friday’s first pitch against the Diamondbacks. Ted Lilly is scheduled to face Dan Haren.