Not dressed for success: Cubs fall hard to Nationals
It's tough to say what was uglier: the Cubs' performance in Friday's 9-3 loss to the Washington Nationals or the uniforms the Cubs wore while turning in that performance.
The game wasn't as close as the score indicated - the Cubs got all 3 runs in the bottom of the ninth - and the home team's players wore uniforms that made them look like polar bears in a blizzard.
It's all part of Major League Baseball's Players Weekend, during which team's wear alternative uniforms with players' nicknames on the backs.
The only problem was that the Cubs wore white jerseys with white numerals and white names on the backs. So if MLB wanted fans to know the players' nicknames, they failed in epic fashion because names and number were impossible to read.
On the other hand … perhaps anonymity was better on this day, when the Cubs' winning streak was halted at five.
Cubs manager Joe Maddon, who talks of celebrating hard for 30 minutes after victories and lamenting hard for 30 after losses, said he had forgotten about this lackluster effort quickly.
"It's gone," said Maddon, whose team fell to 69-59. "It was gone by time I left that dugout. Their guy (Nats starting pitcher Anibal Sanchez) was really good. We got 'Kyle Hendricksed' this afternoon. We know what it's like to be in the other dugout now. He was that good. He was that sharp. Stuff like that happens. You've just got to move it forward."
A couple disturbing Cubs trends reared their heads. After managing just 2 hits in Thursday's 1-0 victory over the San Francisco Giants, the Cubs compiled all of 3 hits Friday, 2 in the ninth inning. The Cubs' offensive approach has been all or nothing, but with the wind blowing in at 18 mph, they might have taken a clue from the Nats and tried to shorten up a little.
It also was another subpar outing from Cubs starting pitcher Jon Lester, who fell to 10-9 as his ERA rose from 4.23 to 4.49. Lester lasted just 4⅓ innings as he gave up 9 hits (8 singles) and 6 runs. He has just 1 quality start among his last 5.
"I don't know," he said. "I feel like it was better than that, but the line score was the line score. We lost. I don't know. Tough luck. Bad pitches. Good pitches. Frustrating.
"I think we're getting to the point where we can't isolate them. They're happening a little bit too much for myself. I felt pretty good about myself after the last one (6 shutout innings at Pittsburgh), just being able to continually execute pitches. I don't feel like stuff was much different from last time. Just different results."
Lester said his confidence has not waned.
"I feel fine," he said. "Today (stinks). Tomorrow I will wake up and start a new day. Get ready for another start. It doesn't take the sting away from today. Joe always said you win hard and you lose hard. Losing for me is even harder than that. (Stinking) as a pitcher is even harder than that. It's my job to do better, and I'm not."
Adam Eaton homered off Lester to give the Nats a 1-0 lead in the first. Lester gave up a single run in the third and 2 in the fourth. The Nats chased him during a 3-run fifth.
Sanchez pitched 8⅓ innings, giving up 1 hit and 2 runs (1 earned). He had the Cubs off-balance all day.
"He did a good job moving the ball in and out and mixing up speeds," said Cubs left fielder Kyle Schwarber. "When he was missing, he was missing off the plate. When he was hitting the corners, he was on the corners."