Cubs' pen a hit in 11-inning win
Enough of the big boppers.
Enough of Alfonso Soriano and how the Cubs will or won't survive without him.
Enough of the starting pitchers and even Cubs manager Lou Piniella.
How about that bullpen?
On Thursday, it helped the Cubs to their 10th come-from-behind victory in their last 13 games and their 11th straight home win, a 3-2 victory over Atlanta in 11 innings.
Isn't it about time Cubs fans begin to appreciate just exactly what they have down in the pen, and just how crucial it's been to a team that has rocketed out of the gate to post the best record in the major leagues (43-24)?
"No, no, we like to fly right under the radar," said reliever Scott Eyre.
Eyre came on in the seventh after starter Carlos Zambrano walked the leadoff hitter. Eyre gave up a double and an intentional walk before striking out the next two batters. Piniella then brought in Carlos Marmol, who wrapped things up with a strikeout -- buckling the knees of Omar Infante with a nasty slider.
"The bullpen came in and did a great job ... at the right time," said Kerry Wood, who pitched 2 scoreless innings to pick up his third win of the season.
It wasn't just Eyre, Marmol and Wood. Even long-forgotten Neal Cotts got into the act, striking out a pair in ¿ of an inning. The four-pack combined for 9 strikeouts over 4 scoreless innings.
"That's how you win -- it's always someone different," said Eyre, following his franchise-leading 32nd consecutive outing (22¿ innings) without allowing a run. "It's the same with the offense. It's not the same offensive player every single day. Now with Sori out, it's got to be other people. But it wasn't him every day anyway."
It was other people Thursday afternoon at Wrigley Field.
Other people as in Jim Edmonds. The recent addition continues to pay dividends. Edmonds drove in 2 runs, the second of which -- a solo homer to left in the ninth -- tied the game.
"(General manager) Jim Hendry filled holes," Eyre said. "I know there are a lot of people that said, 'Oh, Jim Edmonds shouldn't become a Cub, he played with the Cardinals.' You know what? The guy can play baseball. He's a smart ballplayer and he's gotten some big hits since he's been here."
And he's been loving every minute of it.
"It's a tough place to play," Edmonds said. "It's great to be a part of it on this side now."
And it's great for the former Cardinal to finally have the sellout crowds at Wrigley behind him.
"The crowd had a lot to do with it," Piniella said. "This is a fantastic place to play baseball. The crowd's behind us, into the game, there's excitement at the ballpark ... they help a lot, believe me."
Every Cubs starter beside Ryan Theriot recorded a hit on Thursday. But the biggest hit came from Reed Johnson, who pinch hit for Edmonds in the 11th with the bases loaded and was promptly plunked on the first pitch to secure the win.
"I don't believe things go your way," Piniella said. "I believe you make things go your way."
Cubs 3, Braves 2 (11)
On the mound: Neither starter had his best stuff Thursday. Carlos Zambrano wriggled out of a couple of big jams to keep the Cubs in the game. Big Z tossed 103 pitches, just 55 for strikes. Kerry Wood (3-1) threw 2 innings to pick up the victory. He also moved into a tie for third with Rick Reuschel on the Cubs' all-time strikeout list with 1,367. Best supporting awards go to relievers Scott Eyre, Carlos Marmol and Neal Cotts for coming through in the clutch down the stretch.
At the plate: Jim Edmonds did it all. First he cut the lead in half with a sacrifice fly. Then he tied the game in the ninth with a solo homer to left. He's 9-for-25 (.360) in eight games at Wrigley Field. Then he came up with the best line of the day after watching his center-field cohort, Reed Johnson, get hit by a pitch to bring in the game-winning run in the 11th: "I could've done that," Edmonds deadpanned.
-- Mike Spellman