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Cubs get win they had, then lose

What a long strange week it's been.

That seems a fitting way to sum up the proceedings at Wrigley Field. The team from San Francisco was in town for three eventful games, and Cubs manager Rick Renteria got into the spirit by invoking "karma."

That karma kicked in instantly for the Cubs on Thursday as they won the completion of Tuesday night's suspended game 2-1. In the regularly scheduled game, the Giants beat the Cubs 5-3 to take two of three in the series.

Originally awarded a rain-shortened 2-0 victory after Tuesday had turned to Wednesday, the Cubs had to finish it off Thursday after a successful protest by the Giants, who claimed a Cubs failure to keep the field playable.

The Cubs seemed almost happy with the ruling.

"I believe in karma, OK?" Renteria said Wednesday. "I think everybody was trying to do the right thing (Tuesday). We didn't make the decision. The league has made the decision. This is what should be done. We're going to abide by it. Hopefully we'll go out there and finish it off."

They did just that as play resumed, so I asked Renteria if the karma took effect Thursday or of he wanted to save its effect for another day.

"I hope that it kicked in today," he replied.

Thursday wasn't without its rain. The suspended game was supposed to begin at 4 p.m. but steady showers delayed the resumption almost two hours, making the total delay 6 hours and 31 minutes.

The Giants were feeling grateful they got another chance in the first place.

"It's over now," said their manager, Bruce Bochy. "All we wanted was a chance, and we got it."

Tsuyoshi Wada (3-1) had to wait two days to see a "W" officially posted next to his name after he was at first credited with a 5-inning, complete-game victory.

"In my heart, he had officially gotten it the other day," Renteria said.

Newcomer Jacob Turner pitched the sixth and seventh innings Thursday and gave up a run in the sixth before Pedro Strop and Hector Rondon (19th save) finished it.

Rondon had two runners on in the ninth with one out but got pinch hitter Gregor Blanco on a called third strike before knocking down Angel Pagan's comebacker and throwing him out.

In the regularly scheduled game, Cubs lefty Travis Wood gave up a run in the first and couldn't hold the 3-1 lead his teammates got him in the bottom half as they put across single runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings. San Francisco batters hit 4 doubles off Wood, and a solo homer by Buster Posey in the fifth gave them a 4-3 lead.

Wood lasted 6 innings, as he gave up 8 hits and 4 runs as his ERA went from 4.86 to 4.91.

The story of this day, however, was the waiting, and the waiting some more, for the first game to be completed.

"It was an interesting day, obviously, because we got more weather," Renteria said. "We had to wait before we could resume it … It was good."

bmiles@dailyherald.com

Cubs prevail in suspended game

Cubs scouting report

Cubs vs. Baltimore Orioles at Wrigley Field

TV: WGN Friday and Sunday; Comcast SportsNet Saturday

Radio: WGN 720-AM

Pitching matchups: The Cubs' Jake Arrieta (6-4) vs. Kevin Gausman (7-4) Friday; Kyle Hendricks (5-1) vs. Bud Norris (11-7) Saturday; Tsuyoshi Wada (2-1) vs. Miguel Gonzalez (6-6) Sunday. All games 1:20 p.m.

At a glance: The Orioles have been in town all week, to face the White Sox and the Cubs. This will be only the third series between the Cubs and Orioles. They've split six games. The Orioles are riding high, with a big lead in the American League East. Their 161 home runs lead the AL by far, and their .421 slugging percentage was second entering Thursday. NIck Markakis has a line of .292/.357/.408, while Nelson Cruz's 33 homers led the AL. Manny Machado (knee) and Matt Wieters (Tommy John surgery) are two key players on the DL. The Cubs obtained Arrieta from the Orioles last year, and he'll make his first career start against his former team.

Next: Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park, Tuesday-Thursday

- Bruce Miles

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