Cubs go 0-for-roadtrip after 7-2 loss in San Diego

Posted May 24, 2009 11:00 pm

By Bruce Miles

The Cubs have tried most everything, but nothing is working.

On Sunday, manager Lou Piniella held a pregame meeting in the clubhouse to put his team at ease by telling the players to relax. This was a day after the Cubs tried the humor of rally caps early in a 3-1 loss.

Maybe Piniella can try something different tonight when the Cubs come home, because Sunday's words fell on deaf ears during a 7-2 loss to the San Diego Padres at Petco Park.

"Hopefully it will bear some fruit starting tomorrow at home," Piniella told the media after the game. "I said the things I had to say. The players have to play on the field. We can talk all we want, we can be as positive as we want, but they have to get the job done on the field."

The loss was the Cubs' seventh in a row, their longest skid since 2006, when Dusty Baker was the manager. The Cubs went 0-6 on the road trip and fell to .500 (21-21) for the first time since May 1, when they were 11-11. The Padres have won nine in a row.

What's worse for the Cubs is that they're mired in their worst offensive slump in recent memory. During the six games, in St. Louis and San Diego, they scored a total of 5 runs.

Nobody is hitting:

• Leadoff man Alfonso Soriano was 0-for-4 Sunday and 2-for-21 on the trip.

• Ryan Theriot, whose batting average and once-vaunted on-base percentage are in free-fall, was 0-for-4 Sunday and 2-for-24 on the road.

• Right fielder Milton Bradley, the biggest early-season disappointment in baseball, was 1-for-4 Sunday and 3-for-19 on the trip. For the season, Bradley is batting .188 with 4 homers, 9 RBI and an anemic slugging percentage of .333

• Catcher Geovany Soto was 0-for-3 Sunday and 3-for-16 in the six games. Last year's Rookie of the Year is batting .202 with 1 homer, 10 RBI and a slugging percentage that's on life support, at .266.

The Cubs could do little with Padres starting pitcher Chris Young (4-2), who retired the first 14 batters.

Cubs lefty Ted Lilly (5-4) held the Padres at bay until the fifth, when they scored 3 runs, including 1 on a suicide squeeze by David Eckstein. Young did damage with a 2-run single after the Cubs issued an intentional walk to Josh Wilson.

The Padres scored once in the sixth, but Reed Johnson homered for the Cubs in the seventh with a man on to cut the lead in half.

After Lilly got into trouble in the home seventh, reliever Aaron Heilman failed, allowing a 3-run homer to Kevin Kouzmanoff to let the game get away.

"I sometimes feel like we've been slapped around this past week, embarrassed," Lilly told the media.

Added Johnson: "It's not a case where you have a bunch of guys in the clubhouse who have cashed it in or who have given up. I think guys may be pressing too hard. But we have too many good players not to turn this thing around."

Bruce Miles' game tracker Reed's deed: Reed Johnson hit his first homer of the season in the seventh to bring the Cubs within 4-2. It was his first homer since Aug. 3 of last year. It also was his 700th career hit and 200th career extra-base hit. No patience: Cubs batters were overly aggressive at the plate again. They drew no walks against Padres starter Chris Young and the San Diego bullpen. Sick bay: Derrek Lee, the only "hot" hitter on the Cubs, was a late lineup scratch because he was ill. Lee has a seven-game hitting streak, and he was 6-for-19 on the road trip. Micah Hoffpauir went 0-for-4 as Lee's replacement. Scouting report Cubs vs. Pittsburgh Pirates at Wrigley Field TV: Channel 9 today and Wednesday; Comcast SportsNet Tuesday Radio: WGN 720-AM Pitching matchups: The Cubs' Ryan Dempster (3-3) vs. Paul Maholm (3-1) today at 7:05 p.m.; Sean Marshall (2-3) vs. Ian Snell (1-5) Tuesday at 7:05 p.m.; Carlos Zambrano (3-2) vs. Zach Duke (5-4) Wednesday at 1:20 p.m. At a glance: This is the first meeting of the season between the two NL Central foes. The Cubs were 14-4 vs. the Pirates last year, 7-2 at Wrigley. In a rare bit of scheduling sense by MLB, the Pirates finished a series Sunday in Chicago against the White Sox. Outfielder Nate McLouth has emerged as an offensive force for the Pirates. The Cubs, who dominated at home last year, are 12-7 at Wrigley. Next: Los Angeles Dodgers at Wrigley Field, Thursday-Sunday

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