This is a recap of the Cubs' 6-0 loss to the Brewers in Milwaukee on Saturday night.
If that sounds like a boring sentence, it pretty much reflects the Cubs' play on Saturday in losing the game to the Brewers; they left the bases loaded in the first inning and whenever you do that, it sets a tone for the rest of the game, something that was reinforced when Prince Fielder hit a two-run double, the first of three doubles for him on the night, all of them on an 0-2 count.
Hey, Matt Garza! Think you might waste a pitch once in a while when Fielder is at bat?
Oh, and another thing about Garza: he has a realistic chance of threatening the all-time record for most at-bats without a hit in a single season, which is -- you guessed this, right? -- held by a Cub, Bob Buhl, who went 0-for-70 in 1962. The only thing that would prevent Garza from beating that is not getting enough at-bats; he's got about the worst approach at the plate I've ever seen from a pitcher. A recent Cub who hit about that bad was Mike Bielecki, who went 3-for-70 in 1989, all singles, with 35 strikeouts.
If you think I'm trying to distract you from the awfulness that was tonight's loss, you're right. More after the jump.
After the Brewers took that 2-0 lead in the first inning, it was really not even worth playing the rest of the game. The Brewers tacked on two more an another two-run double by Fielder in the third and a single run in the fifth on yet another double, this one by Ryan Braun.
Garza, who was yanked with two out in the sixth after issuing an intentional walk, wound up the day with a 5.68 ERA. He's got 20 strikeouts in 12.2 innings so far this year, which is tied for the major league lead, but he's also allowed 20 hits, which leads both leagues. Meanwhile, Chris Narveson, who seems to have the Cubs' number, gave them only five singles and a double from Marlon Byrd. The TV crew seemed just about as bored; they kept showing us wide shots of both sides of Miller Park, as if to say, "Hey, look! There are 42,478 people just as bored as you are with this game!"
And as if all of that wasn't bad enough, Starlin Castro got hit in the side of his face with an attempted caught-stealing throw from Geovany Soto in the bottom of the eighth. Looked painful, but he stayed in the game and looks like he'll be OK -- after a lot of ice.
Of all things, Marcos Mateo managed to throw a scoreless inning without walking anyone. So, Jeff Samardzija decided that couldn't stand and instead, he was the one who walked the bases loaded in the Brewers eighth, finally walking in a run. Never mind the starting pitching help, can we get some relief?
Hopefully, the team will actually show up ready to play Sunday afternoon when Casey Coleman makes his season debut, facing the Brewers' ace Yovani Gallardo. They sure didn't look like they wanted to be at Miller Park on Saturday night.