Hard to explain Harden's day in Cubs 5-2 loss to Rockies

Why it happened, who knows?

How it happened, Rich Harden has an explanation or two.

The Cubs starting pitcher came out firing Wednesday, throwing his first 7 pitches over the plate and then striking out the side.

Then came the second inning, when Harden threw 36 pitches. It got worse in the third, when he threw 43 to run his total to 92 and end his afternoon early as the Cubs fell 5-2 to the Colorado Rockies.

"I was feeling really good today," said Harden, who fell to 0-1 with a 5.00 ERA. "It was one of those days where I was feeling too good. I just threw a lot of pitches. I just got behind some hitters in the second and third inning."

Let's examine Harden's short day:

Top 1: Harden got Ryan Spilborghs, Seth Smith and Todd Helton, all swinging, with the last pitch registering 94 mph. So far, so good.

Top 2: Garrett Atkins led off, and Harden got a called strike to make it a 3-2. From there, Atkins fouled off 8 straight pitches before striking out. Could this have been Harden's undoing?

"That might have been the moment I started really just losing purpose there," he admitted. "Three-two (count), I'm coming at him and giving everything I got. After that point, I think I was rushing a little bit and getting on the mound and just throwing instead of slowing things down and stepping off and throwing with a purpose."

The Rockies scored twice that inning, with their pitcher, Jason Marquis, driving both home with a two-out, 2-run single.

Top 3: Smith homered with one out before Todd Helton doubled, prompting the second visit of the day by pitching coach Larry Rothschild. The Rockies scored their second run that inning on a single by Atkins and left fielder Alfonso Soriano's error.

Harden got through the inning, but he walked two and struck out two, and that was it. He wound up with 4 walks and 8 strikeouts.

In all, it was too labor intensive. The Rockies started laying off the changeup, and Harden got behind 11 of the 17 batters he faced.

"He started throwing instead of (pitching)," said Cubs manager Lou Piniella. "That was Larry's explanation, because I asked him. He said he was just getting the ball and throwing it."

Marquis, the ex-Cub, earned his second victory in 2 starts, and he has a 1.93 ERA.

"I gave every ounce of effort every start and time I touched the field here," Marquis said of his two seasons with the Cubs. "I will anywhere I go. I love this city, and I'm glad the fans appreciated it. Hopefully the Rockies fans will appreciate it, also."

Derrek Lee was 3-for-4 with his first homer for the Cubs, who had a chance in the ninth, when Lee led off with the blast. Mike Fontenot walked, and Reed Johnson singled. When a pitch got away from catcher Chris Iannetta, Fontenot was out trying for third base. A double play by Geovany Soto ended the game.

"At that point in the game, I should have stayed at second, especially with Geo up," Fontenot said. "He can tie the game with one swing. But I thought the ball got away from him further, but it didn't, and I got thrown out."

Cubs vs. St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field

TV: Comcast SportsNet today; Channel 9 Friday; Channel 32 (Fox) Saturday; ESPN Sunday

Radio: WGN 720-AM

Pitching matchups: The Cubs' Sean Marshall (0-0) vs. Adam Wainwright (1-0) today at 1:20 p.m.; Carlos Zambrano (1-0) vs. Kyle Lohse (2-0) Friday at 1:20 p.m.; Ryan Dempster (1-0) vs. Todd Wellemeyer (1-1) Saturday at 2:40 p.m.; Ted Lilly (2-0) vs. TBD Sunday at 7:05 p.m.

At a glance: The Cardinals suffered a big blow Tuesday when pitcher Chris Carpenter had to leave the game with an oblique-muscle injury. He was supposed to start Sunday, but he's been put on the DL. The Cubs were 9-6 against the Cardinals last year, 4-2 at Wrigley. The two teams will meet in St. Louis next weekend. Marshall makes his first start today. Cardinals superstar Albert Pujols has 2 homers off Lilly, 2 off Dempster and 5 against Zambrano. The Cubs' Alfonso Soriano is 13-for-35 (.371) vs. Lohse with 2 homers.

Next: Cincinnati Reds at Wrigley Field, Tuesday-Thursday

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