Cubs' Baker enjoys his moment in historyc
The operators of the Wrigley Field scoreboard always post the number of the winning pitcher after a Cubs victory, and that number stays up until the board is made ready for the next game.
After Tuesday night's 4-3 victory over the Colorado Rockies in 16 innings, a No. 12 went up on the board.
That would belong to John Baker, the catcher who went in and won the game as an emergency reliever in the top of the 16th. Baker also led off the bottom of the inning with a walk and ended up scoring the winning run.
The game took 6 hours and 27 minutes, making it the longest game in franchise history in terms of time for both teams.
"I came out here and my number was still on the board as the last pitcher in the game," Baker said Wednesday. "So I definitely walked out and took a picture of it with my camera phone."
The texts kept pouring in overnight Tuesday into Wednesday.
"Too many to count," he said. "Not too many phone calls because I don't really answer my phone during the season, especially at 3 a.m. Probably close to 100 text messages in the last 16 hours.
"Someone else told me I was the first person to catch and pitch for the Cubs since 1896 or '97. Who's counting?"
Cubs manager Rick Renteria was asked if it was "fun" using a position player to pitch.
"Well, it's not necessarily a whole lot of fun," he said. "Bake, as a catcher, throws back to the pitcher as many times as the pitcher throws to the plate. The distance is the same. It's just in a different direction.
"He kind of embraced it, as a matter of fact, when we were talking to him. It might have been two innings or three innings earlier. He ran out to the (bullpen) mound and we were like, 'We haven't reached that point yet. Come back.' He did a great job."
Sticking with Jackson:
Rick Renteria said the Cubs still plan to trot out starting pitcher Edwin Jackson every fifth day. Jackson lasted just 4 innings and threw 105 pitches Tuesday night. He has only 5 quality starts among his 22 total for the season. He is 5-11 with a 5.79 ERA.
"We have to try to put our finger on what it is, that whatever the stumbling block - quote, unquote - is," Renteria said. "I'm sure Bos (pitching coach Chris Bosio) and he and Lester (bullpen coach Strode), just in general conversations, we can get to the crux of it.
"He's going to get the ball again, and he's going to go out there and give us another shot next time around."
Roster move:
The Cubs recalled left-handed pitcher Chris Rusin from Class AAA Iowa before Wednesday's game and optioned reliever Blake Parker to Iowa. The Cubs used eight relief pitchers Tuesday, not including John Baker. Both Rusin and Parker have been on the shuttle back and forth between the Cubs and Iowa this season.