Wrigley Field historical sleuthing: Recent days edition

This is a great photo of Wrigley Field almost as it exists today.

You’ll notice, though, the lack of video boards, which means it has to be from before 2015.

Also, the controversial Toyota sign is present, so that dates this from between mid-2010 and the end of the 2014 season, when that sign came down, to be replaced by a video board.

The Cubs are playing the Reds, it’s the top of the sixth inning, Drew Stubbs is batting. Number 52 is the starting pitcher for the Cubs.

This game took place Thursday, July 1, 2010. The starting pitcher for the Cubs is Carlos Silva, who had a halfway decent year in his lone season on the North Side, after being acquired in a bad-contract swap for Milton Bradley.

There’s a runner on first base, as you can see, with one out. The runner is Jonny Gomes. The count on Stubbs is 1-2. On the next pitch, Gomes was caught stealing second, and after Stubbs ran the count full, he hit a comebacker to Silva that ended the inning.

The Reds were leading 1-0 at the time. They scored another to make it 2-0 heading to the bottom of the eighth. The Cubs tied the game on a two-run single by Tyler Colvin, and the game went to extra innings.

The Reds scored a run in the top of the 10th on an RBI single by Stubbs. The Cubs managed to get runners to first and second with one out in the bottom of the 10th, but Colvin hit into a game-ending double play.

Cincinnati’s starter that afternoon was future Cub Travis Wood, who was making his MLB debut. Wood allowed two hits in seven innings of work. After the loss in this game, the Cubs were 34-45, in fourth place in the NL Central, 10½ games out of first place. The Reds went on to win the division that year with a 91-71 record; the Cubs finished 75-87.

Just another little slice of Cubs history from about a dozen years ago.