NEWSLETTER
Holy crap. That was insane. And exasperating. And then awesome. And then awful. And then great! And then awful again. Easily the craziest Cubs game of the year, and, ultimately, a bummer. A one-run loss is a one-run loss, but I was going to be able to deal with the Cubs losing 1-0. The way things played out? I’m going to be sick.
Matt Garza was exceedingly wild in his return from a flu bug (and made another couple hilarious “throws” to first), but somehow managed to give up just one run in his five innings of work. He actually lowered his ERA (which was just 2.67 entering the game), despite being in deep trouble repeatedly. It could have been enough, but the Cubs’ offense couldn’t muster squat against Randy Wolf (and why would they? he only came into the game with an ERA over 6 and giving up more than 13 hits per 9).
But as soon as the Brewers went to the pen in the 7th, the Cubs loaded the bases, and David DeJesus unloaded them with a pinch hit grand slam. It was a joyful moment. We all cheered.
And the Cubs’ bullpen shut us right up.
They gave four runs right back in the bottom of the 7th, when Carlos Marmol was (surprise) wild and hittable, and then injured, and his replacement – Michael Bowden – was also wild and hittable. It’s an embarrassing and persistent problem. A bullpen cannot survive on three arms. The front office either needs to fix the problem, or start selling pieces now. But I digress.
With John Axford and his 49-straight save streak on for the 9th, the game was obviously over. Except it wasn’t, thanks mostly to – again – David DeJesus, who tripled home the tying run, and then scored the leading run on a wild strikeout of Starlin Castro. Castro later scored an insurance run on an Alfonso Soriano single. (I’m not saying I called the Cubs breaking Axford’s streak, but earlier today I did say it would be neat to see.) It was a joyful moment. We all cheered.
And the Cubs’ bullpen shut us right up.
Rafael Dolis walked one and gave up a game-tying, two-run homer to Corey Hart in the bottom of the 9th. He looked a bit off, and Welington Castillo’s poor receiving skills behind the plate didn’t help (more on that later).
Each team had opportunities to end the game in extras, but those opportunities were squandered. We were excited about the possibilities of a super long, exciting win. We all cheered.
And the Cubs’ bullpen shut us right up.
Well, eventually. Lendy Castillo was saved for the end for a reason, because he couldn’t get anyone out. He hit a couple guys and gave up a couple singles, and the game was over. At least now I feel ready for the 24-hour blogathon.
