Results tagged ‘ Cubs vs. Reds ’
We Got Tagged – Cubs Lose Series Vs Reds
The day after the Cubs re-introduced their mighty bats and beat the Reds 14-9, they lose a heart breaker 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth. The majority of the burden falls on the shoulders of hero turned goat Ronny Cedeno.
After hitting a clutch two run double in the top of the seven to break a 1-1 tie, Cedeno misplays a chopper up the middle (originally scored an error, later changed to a hit) and two runs score to tie the game 3-3. With runners on second and third Cabrera hits a line shot to left and the Cubs lose a rubber match for the first time in the second half of the season.
The rest of the burden falls squarely on the cumulative shoulders of Piniella and Wood. Piniella for not getting Wood enough playing time to keep the rust off and Wood for not finding away to make sure he is game ready all the time. Wood just could not find the strike zone, and when he did they were slamming it. In the end Wood’s line looked more like that of the recent outings of Cotts; IP:1/3, H:3, ER:3, BB:2, SO:0
The Cubs misfortunes were happening just moments after Chris Young of the San Diego Padres gave up a long ball to Kapler in the bottom of the 8th with two outs. This home run spoiled Young’s bid for a perfect game and ultimately was the only blemish as the Padres would go on to win 10-1.
So the good is that the Cubs did not lose any ground to the Brewers. The bad is much more comprehensive. After the explosion of the bats yesterday the Cubs take a step backward with their sprinkle of hits today. They lose a series to a weaker team and have now lost seven of their last eight. All this and now the Cubs have to go into the never friendly confines of Busch Stadium to face the Cards. Grant it the Cardinals haven’t been lighting up the scoreboard lately either, but they have beaten a tough Florida team the last two days and it’s always tough playing the Cards no matter what the records are.
The Brewers host a three game series against the Reds so the bottom line looks like this; we failed to take two out of three from the Reds, because of this the Brewers gained a game on us. Now we are in a situation where we need to take two out of three from a much tougher Cardinals team. If not and if the worst scenario of non-favorable sweeps happen the Cubs could find their selves just a mere one game up in the standings.
I felt good yesterday when the Cubs came out blasting, but it appeared that they fell complacent again today. The rubber is hitting the road now and the Cubs are going to have to show the character needed to prove they are a championship team. Next Century Is Here so it is time to take the next step.
Cubs Sputter Then Get Job Done
You can’t beat fun at the old ball park. That’s right, I attended tonight’s game against the Reds and with the wind blowing in and Harden pitching you knew the Reds weren’t going to score much but I felt the Cubs would put some runs on the board.
Well going into the bottom of the eight I was still waiting for these runs. The only tally on the board to this point was a squeeze bunt from Harden with Soto on third. Don’t get me wrong after DeRosa failed to get Soto in, and remembering Harden’s ill fated attempt at a bunt his prior at bat, it was nice to see such a perfectly executed bunt. When Soto saw he wasn’t being looked back, he took off for home and scored. It was a great play and very exciting but to be honest, I was looking for a little more from the offense today.
When the bottom of the eight did start I was really hoping the Cubs would put some runs on the board and seal this game up. I wasn’t disappointed. Stringing hits together, the Cubs lead by Fukudome’s 2 RBI hit put four on the board. The only bad part now was hearing my brother complain that Wood wouldn’t come in since it wasn’t a save situation.
But in the top of the ninth, enter Kerry Wood and my brother’s disappointment turned to rants on how Wood was going to hit 98 mph. Each pitch would be followed by my brother’s announcement of the speed and/or his nonacceptance of any off speed pitch thrown. Wood did hit the 97 mph mark but more importantly he recorded one pop-out sandwiched in between two strikeouts to end the inning.
The Brewers fell to the Stros and the Cards to the Bucs leaving them 6 and 8.5 behind respectively in the standings. Next Century Is Here.
Cubs Get Shelled By Reds
Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom, pop – did you hear that? That was the sound of the Reds slamming seven home runs against us and Little Babe Ruth (Mike Fontenot’s nickname coined by Ron Santo – I think I like Lil’ Babe better) hitting the only home run for the Cubs.
What can you say about a game like this? You can’t blame one pitcher. If I remember correctly (and with all the home runs hit against us I’m not really sure) each relief pitcher we had gave up a home run to the first batter they faced today.
The end result is we won the series and you can’t ask for more than that on a consistent basis. The Giants come in town tomorrow for the final series before the All-Star break, if we can take two out of three we will be in good shape. It won’t be easy; we will be facing Cain, Correia and Lincecum and we will have Marquis, Harden and Dempster respectively.
It’s going to be fun, and if you want to have fun go to Next Century Is Here and make a guess about how many strikeouts Harden will get on Saturday against the Giants and enter to win a T-Shirt.
Bombs away!
Big Z Smokes But Wood Is Needed For Close
Has Zambrano looked this good all year? It would be hard to
point to a game that would make the answer to this question yes. With
only his second start off the D.L., Big Z goes eight innings giving up one hit
(a long ball); five K’s and no walks. He looked more confident than I’ve
seen him all year. Nothing like getting another ace on the staff to get
the competitive juices flowing; at least that’s one man’s opinion. Of
course, no fault of Zambrano’s, this game became a little closer than I would
have liked.
After retiring the first two batters, Marmol gives up an infield hit and two
walks and the bags are loaded. Enter Wood and game is over.
This game epitomized the makeup of this year’s Cub team; solid starting
pitching, big bats and a good finish (minus the Marmol blip) by the pen.
Speaking of great pitching it was just announced that Harden
will start Saturday against San Francisco.
Be the first to own a Replica Chicago Cubs Rich Harden #40 Jersey, go to Next
Century Is Here.
Cubs go for the sweep!
gdantona
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