Coghlan's huge day lifts Cubs
The key cog? No, but how about the key Coghlan?
Cubs left fielder Chris Coghlan had one of those special afternoons Saturday. Needing a triple to hit for the cycle, Coghlan did it one better, hitting a 2-run home run in the eighth inning off Brian Wilson to cap an improbable Cubs rally and lift them to an 8-7 victory over the Dodgers at Wrigley Field.
It was Coghlan's second homer of the day, as he went 4-for-4 with 3 runs and a walk.
“I don't know if I've ever dreamed about (it), but it's definitely one of those days where just everything goes right,” Coghlan said. “Sometimes I guess if you play long enough, you have those days where the wind's blowing out, hit some balls in the air and you find the holes wherever they are. Just grateful to contribute.”
The Cubs looked doomed to an early demise for the second straight day. Starting pitcher Felix Doubront lasted just 2⅓ innings, one day after Edwin Jackson failed to get out of the first.
The Dodgers had a 6-1 lead after three innings, but to use a term Cubs manager Rick Renteria tosses around every day, the home team kept “chipping away.”
The Cubs got 1 in the fourth and 4 in the seventh, 3 coming on Arismendy Alcantara's 10th homer of the year.
“This one is pretty big, yeah,” said Renteria, whose team improved to 69-86. “This one was a tremendously well-fought ballgame in terms of them (his players) keeping themselves in the ballgame. And they did.”
The 29-year-old Coghlan is one of the better stories this year. He was the Rookie of the Year for the Marlins in 2009. But he signed a minor-league deal with the Cubs in January and went to spring training as a nonroster invitee. The Cubs selected his contract from Class AAA Iowa on May 3, and he's been in and out of the starting lineup.
In 118 games, he has put up a line of .283/.349/.449 with 26 doubles, 5 triples, 8 homers and 38 RBI.
His perseverance looks to have paid off.
“I just feel blessed for the opportunity that I have,” he said. “They don't come around. I signed a minor-league deal, going to Triple-A and grinding that out and get back up here. When they finally do open the door or there's an opportunity, you really got to kick it down and go through it. I'm grateful that I was given an opportunity. I'm just trying to run with it.”
Coghlan homered to lead off the bottom of the first. He singled in the third, doubled in the fifth and walked in the seventh.
“He's had a lot of hard contact throughout most of the season here with us,” Renteria said. “When we made the move and he came, he wasn't inserted immediately into the lineup. We had other guys that were here, and he just kept chipping away, really putting himself in a good place. You try to give him some days (off) but it's hard to take him out of the lineup the way he's been swinging the bat.”
The other heroes of the day were the Cubs' relief pitchers. Carlos Villaneuva ended a Dodgers 4-run uprising in the third, and four other relievers held them at bay, with Hector Rondon finishing for his 26th save.
“Our relief corps kept us there,” Renteria said. “You never want to have that position where your starter ends up getting knocked out so soon. Nobody wavered in the dugout. They just kept playing.”