Roy Oswalt dominated for eight-plus innings, and the Astros capitalized on just a touch of Jason Marquis wildness during a two-run fourth inning to beat the Cubs 3-0 this Labor Day. The loss was the Cubs third in a row, giving them their first such streak in over six weeks.
Maybe I shouldn't have come back. I spent the bulk of the Labor Day weekend road-tripping around the Midwest, highlighted by a trip to St. Louis, or what's better known as Cardinals country. And yes, they call it that. I sense that Cubs fans are going to be in for a weird and wonderful next two months, so I encourage everybody to pull away from the TV, stay away from the ballpark, and just take a break for a minute. Yes, I did check in on the Phillies series, and there might have been a little peek or two at the standings, but for the most part it was a good, long breather that leaves me ready and able to cover what promises to be a gut-wrenching stretch run and playoffs. I hope you're ready too.
As for today's game, it was a hot mess. Someone forgot to tell Roy Oswalt that he's an aging, struggling pitcher on a .500 team, because what you got today from him was just plain vintage Roy. The fastball peaked at 95-97MPH, the slider was crisp, and he really worked the outside corner down all day long. If it gives you any idea, the Cubs advanced a runner to second base just once before the ninth inning. Once. Oswalt was headed for the complete-game shutout before he appeared to finally run out of gas in the ninth; giving up a Daryle Ward pinch-hit single, and Alfonso Soriano hit before giving way to Jose Valverde, who shut down Kosuke Fukudome and Derrek Lee to end the game. The reality is that the Astros are just an okay team, but they are very hot -- winners of five in a row coming in -- and the Cubs will be in for a bit of a battle to take this series. I saw just enough of the Phillies series to catch that we're back to the incredible disappearing Kosuke, and a few of the regulars looking just a touch tired. All said, it could be a rough week for the Cubs if they're not careful.
Shame too, as they got another strong outing from Jason Marquis, who appears to finally be ready to shake the label of late-season failure. Six innings of work for Jason, allowing two runs, while striking out eight. As I mentioned earlier, he had a touchy moment in the fourth, allowing an odd Miguel Tejada triple -- it bounced off of the left field wall, and rolled down the foul line practically back to the infield -- to jump-start the inning. Tejada would later score on a Geoff Blum sacrifice fly, and Lance Berkman would later score as well, before Jason got Brad Ausmus on an inning-ending popout to first.
Fortunately, it appears that there are reinforcements here, with more on the way. I'll get into the moves more tomorrow, but the Cubs have called up/recalled:
Koyie Hill
Micah Hoffpauir
Angel Guzman
Casey McGehee
Michael Wuertz
and yes, the return of Jon Lieber, who's been hiding on the DL since before the beginning of time. Well, not quite that long, but certainly long enough to regret having signed with the Cubs, for certain. At least now he apparently has reliever Chad Gaudin to keep him company in Lou's doghouse.
Ugly stuff, but the good news is that Carlos Zambrano's tired arm appears to actually be...a tired arm. He'll make the start tomorrow for the Cubs, going against Brandon Backe. I'm putting my money on Z.
Till then.