advertisement

Cubs self-destruct in 6-1 loss to N.Y. Mets

The Cubs were victimized by a familiar 1-2 punch Monday night.

Unfortunately for them, the damage once again was self-inflicted.

A wasteful offense and a combustible bullpen combined to ruin another quality start, this time by Randy Wells, as the Cubs fell 6-1 to the New York Mets at Citi Field.

It was the Cubs' third straight loss, as their record fell to 5-8.

"They're trying," manager Lou Piniella told reporters after the game. "Nobody's trying to make outs. But, you've got to score runs. You've got to score runs to win games."

The night marked the first game of Piniella's great lineup experiment against left-handed pitching. Facing Mets lefty Jonathan Niese, Piniella went with an all-right-handed lineup that featured Marlon Byrd moving up to the leadoff spot and usual leadoff man Ryan Theriot dropping to the eighth spot.

Don't fault Byrd. He did his part by going 3-for-4 with an RBI. He also took a pitch from Jenrry Mejia off his batting helmet in the ninth inning. Byrd was OK.

"He tried to throw a changeup," Byrd told the media. "It rattled me a little bit. You have to keep playing. I was able to find my helmet and put it back on and keep going. If it was a fastball, I would've been down for a while."

The Cubs left eight runners on base through the first five innings, with Aramis Ramirez grounding in to a bases-loaded forceout to end the fifth.

The Mets scored their first run in the bottom of the inning after Wells retired the Nos. 6 and 7 hitters to start the inning. An RBI infield single by Luis Castillo gave the Mets a 1-0 lead before the Cubs scored an unearned run in the sixth.

Wells finished strong, giving up 6 hits and 1 run in his 6 innings.

Rookie left-hander James Russell came on in the seventh and gave up a 2-run homer to former Cub Angel Pagan. That got a 5-run inning started, and before it was over, Jeff Samardzija and Sean Marshall joined the ranks of Cubs relievers who got burned.

Samardzija, who has struggled for all of the early going, did not retire a batter and gave up 1 hit and 3 runs (1 earned) while walking one.

"You never want to lose, but it's still early in the season," Wells said. "We'll figure some things out and keep plugging away."

<p class="factboxheadblack">Bruce Miles' game tracker</p>

<p class="News">Mets 6, Cubs 1</p>

<p class="News"><b>Wells not enough:</b> Starting pitcher Randy Wells turned in the Cubs' eighth quality start by going 6 innings and giving up 6 hits and 1 runs. The Cubs are wasting quality starts. They're 3-5 in quality-start games, with the starting pitchers having a 1.21 ERA in those starts.</p>

<p class="News"><b>LOB-sters:</b> The Cubs wasted several scoring chances, with 12 runners left on base. They left the bases loaded in the fifth and stranded two runners four different times. </p>

<p class="News"><b>RISP-y business:</b> The Cubs were 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position. Aramis Ramirez left the bases loaded in the fifth and is batting .157. Ryan Theriot, batting eighth, saw his average fall to .222 by going 0-for-3 and leaving four on base. </p>

<div class="infoBox">

<h1>More Coverage</h1>

<div class="infoBoxContent">

<div class="infoArea">

<h2>Stories</h2>

<ul class="links">

<li><a href="/story/?id=374518">Lilly strong in rehab start<span class="date"> [4/19/10]</span></a></li>

</ul>

</div>

</div>

</div>