The Cubs used a combination of quality pitching, hitters extending innings, and spectacular defensive plays Sunday night to beat the Cardinals 6-2 at Wrigley Field. With the victory, the Cubs close out the homestand with a 6-3 record, and collect their fourth series win in a row.
Last night was about as complete a victory as you will see this year. The pitching? Rock-solid. Ryan Dempster went deep into the seventh before being relieved in favor of the combination of Samardzija, Marmol, and yes, even Kerry Wood. The Cardinals were able to put a bit of a mini-rally together in the seventh, getting both their runs then on a pair of Joe Mather and Albert Pujols RBI doubles, before Jeff Samardzija would strike out Ryan Ludwick to end the inning. Kerry looked sharp enough in the eighth, letting a number of 95MPH loose, but I didn't see quite enough to make an opinion about the status of his back. And the Cubs for sure won't tell.
Offense? Absolutely. After a slow go early on against Chris Carpenter -- who was very effective in 5 1/3 innings before leaving with a mild tricep strain -- the Cubs exploded all over the Cardinals for five runs in the fifth. After Derrek Lee singled to score Alfonso Soriano, things really took something of an odd turn. First, Adam Kennedy boots a Jim Edmonds grounder at second, allowing Derrek Lee to score. Then,von the following Mark DeRosa RBI-single, Jim Edmonds was thrown out at third trying to take the extra base. Now this wouldn't have been so bad, were it not for Ronny Cedeno also trying to take third; this time attempting to extend a double to right into a triple. I'll save my Cedeno diatribe, as you know what I think about his head. However, I don't recall teams at any point this season -- and I watch alot of baseball -- more willing to run themselves out of innings than the Cubs and Cards this weekend. The Cubs could have easily extended that inning further, but took themselves out by not being smarter on the basepaths. The only real grumble about the hitting though is Kosuke Fukudome, who continues yet another slump; 3-28 in August. Personally, while I feel like if we wanted a .750 OPS right fielder, we would have stuck with Matt Murton, I'm happy to stick him in eighth spot for awhile, and figure things out. But people are starting to notice, including Lou:
"We need him to start hitting," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said before Sunday night's 6-2 win against the Cardinals. "If not, I'm going to have to start looking for other options."
Wow. I think that's what you call being put on notice. Don't think for a second that Lou won't spell him with Micah Hoffpauir, or use DeRosa more in right. With both Micah and Mike Fontenot hot, you probably wouldn't miss a beat.
And last, you can't say enough about the defense. Whether it was the Cedeno's barehand throw and Lee tag in the sixth, the Fukudome dive in the 9th to rob Felipe Lopez, or the Jim Edmonds diving catch in the 4th to save two runs, they came to play. Now, if someone could just fix that infield dirt.