The Cubs are absolutely obsessed with losing to the Giants by one or two runs.
Jeff Samardzija was uncharacteristically wild, and uncharacteristically hittable today against the Giants, perhaps trying to be a little too perfect in the face of a weak Cubs offense (though they had staked him to an early 2-0 lead, in part thanks to his own RBI single). He was in trouble constantly in his five innings of work, and was fortunate to escape giving up only two runs in his five innings of work (which required 110 pitches).
Those two runs could have been one if Starlin Castro hadn’t lost count of the outs in the fifth. Upon receiving a double-play turn throw from Darwin Barney at second base, Castro ate the ball as though it was the third out. It wasn’t, and a run scored. He might not have been able to complete the double play anyway, but … sigh. So many mental lapses for this supremely talented kid.
Carlos Marmol had his first bad post-injury outing, and it ultimately cost the Cubs the game.
But I can’t stop looking at this…