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Cubs In Splitsville: Zambrano, Hoffpauir Homer In 7-3 Game One Win; Ludwick Goes Deep Twice Off Wells In 4-2 Nightcap Loss
by Al
on Jul 13, 2009 7:43 AM CDT
in Recaps
264 comments
Nine hours, 81,245 fans and countless beers after Wrigley Field opened for business on Sunday, the Cubs wound up exactly where they started -- at .500 and 3.5 games out of first place -- following a day-night doubleheader split. The Cubs won the first game convincingly 7-3 and dropped game two 4-2, in part because of a strange strike zone from plate umpire Marvin Hudson.
For once, weather wasn't an issue; despite early predictions of scattered showers in the evening, the sun was shining brightly all afternoon and the sky was clear at night.
Carlos Zambrano threw six solid innings -- having only one frame (the third) where he lost his command, and that resulted in the Cardinals tying the game after Micah Hoffpauir parked a three-run homer deep into the right-field bleachers in the first inning. Z got the Cubs the lead back to stay an inning later when he hit his third homer of the season (and 19th of his career). The 19 home runs ties Z with former White Sox pitcher Gary Peters for 14th place on the all-time pitcher home run list. The career record is 37, held by Wes Ferrell, who pitched mostly for Cleveland, Boston and Washington in the 1930's. (Ferrell hit 38 career HR; one was as a pinch-hitter, and it was memorable: a three-run walkoff on June 21, 1935.)
Digression over; after Z's homer he settled down on the mound, too, retiring the last ten batters he faced (yes, one of them, Albert Pujols, reached base when Ryan Theriot dropped his popup, but then Theriot threw him out trying to take second). Sean Marshall, Carlos Marmol (who looked pretty good even with one walk) and Kevin Gregg finished up -- the Cardinals got only one hit over the last six innings, and the Cub first-game starting lineup, which resembled something you might see in spring training, tacked on three more runs in the eighth, mainly thanks to a pair of St. Louis errors.
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Cubs Minor League Wrap -- July 12
by Josh77
on Jul 13, 2009 2:44 AM CDT
in Minor Leagues
2 comments
You're officially forgiven if you didn't watch today's Futures Game, which was long-delayed and shortened by rain. But Starlin Castro had an infield single and scored the tying run from second base on an infield hit and error. Josh Vitters was 0 for 1 with a walk.
Iowa Cubs
The I-Cubs were battered by the Oklahoma City RedHawks, 7-3.
Starter Casey Fossum gave up all seven runs and didn't make it out of the third inning. Fossum lasted only 2.1 innings and got rocked for ten hits, including one home run. He didn't walk anyone and struck out one.
First baseman Matt Craig and third baseman Bobby Scales had identical lines of 2 for 4 with a double, a run scored and an RBI. Second baseman Nate Spears continued his hot July by going 2 for 4 with an RBI.
Tennessee Smokies
Started their All-Star Break today. Six Smokies are going to the festivities: Pitchers Jay Jackson, Casey Coleman and Brian Schlitter. First baseman Blake Lalli will be starting and outfielder James Adduci and second baseman Tony Thomas are reserves. Shortstop Darwin Barney was named to the team but was recently promoted to Iowa.
Daytona Cubs
The Daytona Cubs harpooned the Clearwater Threshers, 12-3.
Chris Carpenter dominated for his first FSL win. He allowed only one run on two hits over six innings. The one run scored on a home run. Carpenter didn't walk anyone and struck out eight.
Second baseman Josh Harrison hit his first FSL home run tonight in a 3 for 4 game. Harrison also doubled. He had two RBI and scored twice.
Shortstop Marwin Gonzalez was 2 for 5 with two stolen bases. He also walked once. Gonzalez scored twice. Left fielder Jonathan Wyatt went 3 for 4 with a walk, an RBI and a run scored.
Center fielder Tony Campana was 1 for 4 with a walk and three stolen bases. Campana scored three times and batted one in.
Peoria Chiefs
The Chiefs lost to the Ft. Wayne Tin Caps, 8-4.
Starter Chris Archer got the loss. He allowed three runs on five hits over four plus innings. Archer walked two and struck out seven.
Shortstop Junior Lake had a double in a 2 for 4 game. Lake scored once and had one RBI. Third baseman Jovan Rosa was 2 for 3 with a walk and two stolen bases--only one fewer steal than he had all last season for Peoria. Rosa scored once.
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First Pitch Thread: Cubs vs. Cardinals, Sunday 7/12, 7:05 CT
by Al
on Jul 12, 2009 7:00 PM CDT
in Game Threads
553 comments
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First Pitch Thread: Cubs vs. Cardinals, Sunday 7/12, 12:05 CT
by Al
on Jul 12, 2009 12:00 PM CDT
in Game Threads
491 comments
491 comments | 0 recs
A Full Day And Night Of Baseball: Cubs vs. Cardinals Day-Night Doubleheader Preview, Sunday 7/12, 12:05 & 7:05 CT
by Al
on Jul 12, 2009 10:00 AM CDT
in Game Threads
51 comments
Believe it or not, split doubleheaders aren't a newfangled thing at Wrigley Field. During the 1920's, the Cubs would occasionally do so by having a morning game, then a midafternoon game. This could be done easily even without lights because games in those days were almost always less than two hours, and often 90 minutes. One famous such DH was played on May 30, 1922; between the morning and afternoon games the Cubs and Cardinals made a trade. The Cubs sent Max Flack to St. Louis for Cliff Heathcote. The players switched clubhouses and played for their new team in the second game. (It was a good deal for the Cubs; Flack was out of baseball after 1925, while Heathcote had several decent Cub years and was a useful bench player for the 1929 pennant winners.)
The practice of split DH's ended after 1931; it took 71 years for the next split doubleheader to be played at Wrigley, and the first in the lights era, on August 31, 2002 vs. the Cardinals. That awful Cubs team lost the day game and the night game of that twinbill en route to a 95-loss season.
It was a far different story the following year, with yet another day/night doubleheader vs. the Cardinals -- and that DH, played in the heat of a pennant race on September 2, 2003, saw the Cubs split, winning the first game 4-2 on a Sammy Sosa walkoff HR in the 15th inning, and losing the second game 2-0, the only game they lost in that five-game series which is widely credited for giving the Cubs the impetus for the great September (19-8) they had that year on their way to the playoffs.
And the last doubleheader of any kind at Wrigley Field was on August 3, 2006, a regular DH makeup of the previous night's rainout vs. Arizona; that also resulted in a split, a first-game loss followed by a second-game win.
Enough of the history lesson. This is the biggest day of the year so far in many ways, and a sweep would put the Cubs in great position for the second half. Here's how it's going to go at BCB today: this thread will be the only preview thread posted. Overflow threads and first pitch threads will be up at the normal times -- see below the fold for details. There won't be a recap or "inter-game" thread posted after game one since I will be out all day and who knows when game one will end? (The first game of the 2003 DH went 4:47. Here's hoping today's games are way shorter than that!) A recap of BOTH games will post on Monday morning as usual, as we enter the All-Star break.
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Cubs Minor League Wrap -- July 11
by Josh77
on Jul 12, 2009 3:55 AM CDT
in Minor Leagues
2 comments
Here I am after driving all day, giving you the Minors recap. That's just how foolish dedicated I am.
I am going to be a bit abbreviated tonight.
Don't forget to catch Josh Vitters and Starlin Castro at the Futures Game tomorrow at 1 pm Central on ESPN2.
Iowa Cubs
The Iowa Cubs beat the Oklahoma City RedHawks, 8-5.
Jose Ascanio got his second win of the year in Iowa despite allowing four runs over five innings. He gave up five hits and walked two while striking out four.
Blake Parker got his tenth save tonight by tossing 1.1 innings without allowing a run or a hit. He did walk two and got three of the four outs by strikeout.
DH Jason Dubois was 3 for 4 with 4 RBI. He also walked once. Right fielder John-Ford Griffin went 2 for 4 with a double and a walk. Griffin scored three times. Bobby Scales played left field tonight and went 2 for 3 with two walks. He also scored once.
Third baseman Nate Spears has been red-hot in July after a horrible first half of the season. Spears was 2 for 4 with a triple and two RBI. He also scored once.
Tennessee Smokies
The Smokies ate the Montgomery Biscuits, 8-2.
Hung-Wen Chen was great tonight, allowing only two runs on six hits over seven innings. He struck out five and didn't walk anyone.
Third baseman Jonathan Mota went 3 for 4 with a run scored and an RBI. Center fielder James Adduci scored twice in a 2 for 3 with a triple and a walk outing. Left fielder Ty Wright was also 2 for 3 with a walk and scored twice. Wright had one RBI as well.
Daytona Cubs
Daytona lost to the Clearwater Threshers, 5-3.
Starter Rafael Dolis took the loss, giving up three runs in only three innings. Only one of the three runs was earned though. Dolis allowed only one hit. He walked two and struck out two.
Catcher Robinson Chirinos was 3 for 4 with two doubles. He scored twice and had one RBI.
Shortstop Marwin Gonzalez was 2 for 3.
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All-Star Lilly Dominates Cardinals; Cubs Win 5-2 (Still Worried About Marmol, Though)
by Al
on Jul 11, 2009 7:29 PM CDT
in Recaps
110 comments
Games like this absolutely infuriate me.
Infuriate? How can a crisply-pitched game with timely hitting, 5-2 Cubs win over the Cardinals, be infuriating?
Because I keep wondering why the team that showed up today can't show up every day! What is it about the 2009 Cubs that makes them play like this -- like the 2008 version -- one day, and another (yesterday, for example) look like they couldn't beat a team of T-ballers?
If anyone has the answer to that, call Jim Hendry and Lou Piniella right away. They, like the rest of us, would like to know.
Ted Lilly went eight innings for the first time since May 2 vs. the Marlins, when he also allowed just one run, and was in command all the way, posting his 100th career victory. He could have had eight shutout innings if Jeff Baker hadn't triple-clutched on a ground ball that the speedy Colby Rasmus beat out for an infield hit; later in that inning a bouncer by Ryan Ludwick glanced off Aramis Ramirez's glove for a RBI double, and that's all the Cardinals got till the ninth inning. More on that ninth inning later.
In the meantime, the Cubs came out swinging in the first inning against Brad Thompson, though the only really big hit was Baker's two-RBI single with the bases loaded, after Milton Bradley had taken one for the team and was hit by a pitch, forcing in the first run of the game. Nice work, Milton, and nice work again in the fourth inning; Bradley reached on a dropped third strike when it seemed as if no one really knew what was going on or where the ball was. That inning didn't produce any runs, but Lilly also had a nice idea when he tried to push a bunt past Thompson with Bradley on third. Lilly, realizing his hitting limitations, tried to surprise the Cardinals and almost got away with it. (Dave reminded me that such a play works much better with a lefthander on the mound.)
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First Pitch Thread: Cubs vs. Cardinals, Saturday 7/11, 3:10 CT
by Al
on Jul 11, 2009 3:00 PM CDT
in Game Threads
377 comments
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NL Central Standings
| W | L | PCT | GB | STRK | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
St. Louis
|
49 | 42 | .538 | 0 | Won 1 |
|
Milwaukee
|
45 | 43 | .511 | 2.5 | Lost 1 |
|
Houston
|
44 | 44 | .500 | 3.5 | Won 1 |
|
Chicago
|
43 | 43 | .500 | 3.5 | Lost 1 |
|
Cincinnati
|
42 | 45 | .482 | 5 | Lost 2 |
|
Pittsburgh
|
38 | 50 | .431 | 9.5 | Lost 4 |
(updated 7.13.2009 at 9:50 AM CDT)
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4 game series vs Nationals @ Nationals Park
| Fri 07/17 | 6:05 PM CDT | |
| Sat 07/18 | 6:05 PM CDT | |
| Sun 07/19 | 12:35 PM CDT | |
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