Happy times are here again for Cubs
What, the Cubs worry? Apparently not this bunch.
Even though they were bleary-eyed and weary after Wednesday night's late loss to the Cincinnati Reds, they came in Thursday and looked almost giddy.
Starting pitcher Jason Marquis sat and played cards with pitcher Ted Lilly. Ryan Theriot and Mark DeRosa goofed around with duck calls in the clubhouse.
They then took it on to the field and beat the Reds 12-4, knocking out a season-high 20 hits and salvaging the finale of this three-game series.
"You know what I liked? Everybody was nice and relaxed," said manager Lou Piniella. "And they came out to play. That's all. That's what I liked about it more than anything else. We've had our share of adversity, but the clubhouse was lively before the ballgame, and these kids came out ready to play."
Thursday's developments have thrown the National League Central into a three-team race, and maybe the team that remains the most calm and cool will end up winning it.
The Cubs improved to 61-59 and moved within one-half game of the first-place Milwaukee Brewers (62-59), who got swept by the St. Louis Cardinals (58-60) at Miller Park. The Cardinals find themselves just 2½ games out of first with a four-game series on tap this weekend at Wrigley Field.
"The season is always a roller coaster, man," said center fielder Jacque Jones, who went 4-for-5 with a pair of doubles and 2 RBI. "You play good. You play not so good. You play great. You play not so great. Good teams minimize the not-so-good times."
The Cubs did some minimizing and maximizing Thursday.
They scored 4 runs on the strength of 4 doubles in the first inning against rookie left-hander Bobby Livingston. Cubs starter Jason Marquis gave it all back in the second, allowing 4 runs, including a homer to Adam Dunn.
After that, Marquis (10-7) settled down and managed to gut out 6 innings of 7-hit, 4-run ball.
"It's nice when all cylinders are clicking," Marquis said. "The team picked me up today. They took me out to a big lead, and I sort of let them back in the game. They did a good job of picking me up, making great plays and putting some runs on the board."
The dynamic 1-2 punch of Ryan Theriot and Mark DeRosa put the Cubs ahead to stay in the fourth, when Theriot doubled with one out and came home on DeRosa's single. Theriot wound up with 3 hits, including 2 doubles, and 3 runs scored. DeRosa had a career day with 5 hits.
"Today was a little bit different vibe," Theriot said. "You can't take anything too seriously. You've got to be able to have fun. If you're not having fun out there doing this, you shouldn't be doing it. I think today was just a good, prime example. When you do go out there and have fun, good things happen."
The Cubs had all kinds of fun in the seventh, sending 11 men to the plate and scoring 7 runs. Aramis Ramirez had a single and an RBI double in the inning. Theriot drove in 2 with a double, and DeRosa hit a 2-run single.
The Cubs are on the edge of first place despite having gone 5-10 in August.
"We're a half-game out after playing subpar ball for us," DeRosa said. "It's nice."
Cubs 12, Reds 4
At the plate: The Cubs pounded out a season-high 20 hits. Mark DeRosa had a career-best 5 hits, going 5-for-5. Jacque Jones and Aramis Ramirez had 4 hits apiece. Jones has his average up to .276. Ryan Theriot went 3-for-4 with 3 runs. His on-base percentage is .350. Cubs batters combined for a season-high 8 doubles, giving them 13 over their last two games.
On the mound: Jason Marquis (10-7) became the third Cubs pitcher to reach double digits in victories. He gave up 7 hits and 4 runs in 6 innings. All the runs came in the second. Scott Eyre, Carmen Pignatiello and Ryan Dempster all pitched scoreless ball.
-- Bruce Miles
Scouting report
Cubs vs. St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field
TV: Channel 9 today; Channel 32 (Fox) Saturday; ESPN Sunday; Comcast SportsNet Monday
Radio: WGN 720-AM
Pitching matchups: The Cubs' Rich Hill (6-7) vs. Braden Looper (10-9) today at 1:20 p.m.; Sean Marshall (5-6) vs. Anthony Reyes (2-11) Saturday at 2:55 p.m.; Carlos Zambrano (14-9) vs. Kip Wells (6-13) Sunday at 7:05 p.m.; Ted Lilly (13-5) vs. Joel Pineiro (2-1) Monday at 1:20 p.m.
At a glance: The Cubs are 5-3 against the Cardinals, 1-2 at Wrigley Field. Two weeks ago, this didn't look like a big series, but the Cardinals have charged into contention while the Cubs and Brewers have faltered. Cardinals manager Tony La Russa has been batting his pitcher eighth, something he did in 1998 when Mark McGwire was hitting 70 home runs. Not surprisingly, the Cards' Albert Pujols is among the league leaders in batting average, home runs, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. Hill has held Pujols to 0-for-5; Pujols is 9-for-44 against Zambrano, but 3 of those hits are homers.
Next: San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park, Tuesday-Thursday
-- Bruce Miles