Cubs serve up the longball in loss to Reds
New Cubs pitchers Rich Harden and Chad Gaudin could have been excused if they gulped upon seeing the flags atop the center field scoreboard blowing out Thursday.
Welcome to Wrigley Field, guys.
Not that they should be nervous pitching at the (usually) Friendly Confines. Harden is scheduled to make his Cubs debut Saturday against San Francisco, which arrives today to begin a three-game series.
"I think he understands that when the wind's blowing out at Wrigley, it's a good place to hit," first baseman Derrek Lee said with a grin of his new teammate.
Ask the Reds.
Cincinnati avoided a three-game sweep by beating the Cubs 12-7 in front of 41,459 at Wrigley, where the home team lost for just the 11th time in 46 games.
The Reds pounded 7 home runs, including a pair of solo shots by backup catcher David Ross, and smacked 18 hits, the most off Cubs pitching this season. Adam Dunn launched his 24th homer of the season, a no-doubter off reliever Jon Lieber that bounced off a building on Sheffield Avenue.
"The Reds hit 7 (homers)? I didn't even count," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. "I know that the one that Dunn hit counted for 2."
The Cubs, in contrast, hit just 1 home run - a 2-run shot by Mike Fontenot off winner Bronson Arroyo in the fourth.
Piniella used five pitchers, and each gave up at least one longball. Included was Gaudin, who was making his Cubs debut after being acquired along with Harden from Oakland in a six-player trade Tuesday.
Gaudin came in to pitch the seventh and immediately surrendered a homer to Ross on a 3-1 pitch.
"The ball carries," Gaudin said. "It got out. Make your pitches down and you'll get outs."
Edwin Encarnacion, Brandon Phillips, Ken Griffey and Joey Votto also homered for the Reds, who also hit 7 home runs against the Cubs on May 7.
"I don't think the wind was blowing out that hard," said losing pitcher Ted Lilly, who allowed 2 homers and didn't make it out of the third inning. "It was blowing out a little bit, but the bottom line is you're out there and you're trying to give up fewer runs than the other pitcher."
Lilly was seeking to follow Ryan Dempster and Carlos Zambrano in becoming the Cubs' third 10-game winner in as many days. Instead, Piniella pulled the lefty after he allowed 4 runs and 6 hits in 2 innings - his shortest outing of the season.
"I don't think he had good stuff," Piniella said. "He'll get a nice breather between now and the second half. He'll be much fresher. Stronger."
"I didn't have my best stuff, but that's part of the challenge in the game - finding a way to win without your best stuff," Lilly said. "I wasn't able to do that today."