Cubs shake off the dampness, hammer Reds

Let's see, a cat ran out onto the field. A fan made a play on a ball the Cubs' left fielder might have caught.

Dusty Baker was in the house, as was a shortstop named Alex Gonzalez.

Nah, too easy of an angle.

Instead, the main story lines of Tuesday night's 7-2 Cubs victory over the Reds were the pitching performance of Cubs starter pitcher Rich Harden and the offense's continued selectivity at the plate.

Harden found his groove early, pitching 6 innings of 3-hit, 2-run ball to even his record at 1-1.

"I probably didn't feel as good as I did the last game," he said, referring to a 3-inning start April 15. "I was a little more efficient with my pitches, and that definitely helped me."

Cubs hitters drew 7 walks, including another with the bases loaded. Micah Hoffpauir, getting another start in place of the still-injured Milton Bradley, made his case for more playing time with a leadoff homer in the second and a sacrifice fly in the Cubs' 3-run fifth.

"I've never doubted myself, and I never will," said Hoffpauir, a 29-year-old rookie. "For me, my confidence is what helps me play the game."

Third baseman Aramis Ramirez singled three times and drove in 3 runs.

Harden gave up a one-out homer to Jay Bruce in the second. The ball went to right field, where the wind was pushing it at 15 mph.

Hoffpauir led off the second with his first homer of the year, a drive to the back of the bleachers in right. Ryan Theriot singled home another run that inning.

The 3 runs the Cubs scored in the fifth all were unearned, thanks to left fielder Chris Dickerson dropping Derrek Lee's flyball with one out and men on first and second. Hoffpauir followed with a sacrifice fly.

Ramirez singled home a run, and Geovany Soto walked with the bases loaded.

As for the aforementioned crazy stuff, it happened during the top of the fourth, when Harden threw 25 pitches. The cat ran out onto the outfield with Joey Votto up.

Later in the inning Bruce lifted a flyball down the left-field line. Alfonso Soriano gave chase, but the fan made a play, although it's doubtful Soriano had a shot.

Unlike 1969, when a black cat stood before the Cubs dugout at Shea Stadium, disaster was averted on this night. And unlike the 2003 playoffs, when Reds boss Baker managed the Cubs and another Alex Gonzalez made a key error, there was no 8-run uprising by the opposition.

"It was a white cat," manager Lou Piniella said.

"It wasn't black, come on," Hoffpauir said. "It was brown. Maybe there's something to that."

A Cubs spokesman said the brown and white cat was taken to a veterinarian because it may have bitten several employees.

Bruce Miles' game tracker

The winter classic: The temperature at game time was 40 degrees with a northwest wind at 15 mph. The Cubs did not provide a wind-chill reading, but Canadian Rich Harden took the mound in shortsleeves.

For Micah counter: The Cubs announced that when Micah Hoffpauir homered off the Reds' Micah Owings in the second inning, it marked the first time a player named Micah had homered off a player named Micah in big-league history. Go ahead and look it up.

Twice as nice: Harden threw 92 pitches in 6 innings as he gave up 2 runs. That's the same number of pitches he threw last week in 3 innings against the Rockies. It was the Cubs' first quality start since Ted Lilly went 62/3 scoreless innings on April 13.

The quote: "It's miserable out there right now. It's like Opening Day almost except it's night." - Cubs manager Lou Piniella before the game on the weather conditions

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=288264">Cubs sticking with current bullpen setup<span class="date"> [4/21/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>