Punchless Cubs squander more fine pitching
In baseball, there are waste pitches and wasted pitching performances. The Cubs are becoming one of the all-time great teams in the second category.
During an eight-game road trip, which ended with a 2-1 loss in 13 innings at Houston on Thursday, Cubs starters threw at least 6 innings in every contest and produced a collective ERA of 0.98.
Yet somehow, despite the starters giving up less than 1 earned run per game, the Cubs managed to go 4-4 on the trip. They'll return to Wrigley Field this afternoon to face the Minnesota Twins.
"We really did nothing," manager Lou Piniella said after the game. "When we had chances, we're swinging at bad pitches out of the zone, can't make contact. Come on. This is Major League Baseball. I know the game isn't the easiest to play because I played it for a long time, but it's not this hard."
Ryan Dempster was the tough-luck pitcher on Thursday. He allowed 1 run in 7 innings, but left the mound trailing 1-0. After scoring in the bottom of the first, Houston only advanced 1 runner to second base until the 10th inning.
The Cubs (29-28) plated their only run when Derrick Lee clubbed a clutch opposite-field home run with one out in the ninth. But the offense went right back into slumber mode, with just two runners reaching base in four extra innings.
"It comes down to we're not hitting, period," Lee said. "It's been a struggle for us, especially on the road. We went .500 on this trip and it feels like it was worse than that. We have to get our confidence back and relax a little more at the plate."
According to the Cubs media relations department, the team's starting pitchers led the majors in ERA (3.65) and opponents' batting average (.237), and were tied with Colorado in quality starts (35). The Cubs have also thrown the fewest bullpen innings of any team in baseball.
The problem is they scored just 2 runs in 22 innings while dropping the final two games in Houston, which has one of the best hitters' parks in the National League.
"What am I going to do?" Piniella said. "Just keep running them out there and hope it gets better. I've said all along that for us to win with consistency, we have to hit better. That's all there is to it."
The Astros shuffled their pitching rotation for this game. Roy Oswalt was originally scheduled to start, but was pushed back two days to get some extra rest for a sore right wrist.
Houston turned to 35-year-old Russ Ortiz, and the Cubs managed just 2 hits in the first five innings. They threatened in the sixth when Dempster led off with a walk and took third when Alphonso Soriano's grounder scooted under the glove of shortstop Miguel Tejada for a single.
With runners at the corners and nobody out, Ryan Theriot worked the count to 3-0 against Ortiz, then struck out. Reliever Tim Byrdak came on to whiff Kosuke Fukudome for the second out before Lee grounded meekly to second base against Alberto Arias.
In the seventh, Astros center fielder Michael Bourn made a great catch in deep center field after falling backward on the Minute Maid Park incline, robbing Micah Hoffpauir of a likely triple.
Mike McGraw's game tracker
Hit the darn ball: For the second straight day, the Cubs' offense got stuck on 1 run against Houston, spoiling yet another strong pitching performance, this one from Ryan Dempster. Cubs starting pitchers posted a 0.98 ERA on this road trip, but the team went just 4-4.
Blum on a roll: For the second straight day, the Cubs walked Lance Berkman intentionally, only to have Geoff Blum deliver the game-winning hit. Blum's two-out single down the first-base line scored Hunter Pence from second base and gave Houston the 2-1 win in 13 innings. Jose Ascanio, who walked Pence with one out, was the losing pitcher.
AL for one: The Cubs begin a stretch of 15 games against American League opponents, with today offering up the Minnesota Twins at Wrigley Field. A makeup game in Atlanta on June 22 will break up the AL schedule.
Cubs vs. Minnestoa Twins at Wrigley Field
TV: Channel 9 today and Sunday; Comcast SportsNet on Saturday
Radio: WGN 720-AM
Pitching matchups: The Cubs' Randy Wells (0-2) vs. Kevin Slowey (8-2) today at 1:20 p.m.; Rich Harden (4-2) vs. Anthony Swarzak (1-2) Friday at 12:05 p.m.; Ted Lilly (7-4) vs. Scott Baker (4-6) Sunday at 1:20 p.m.
At a glance: The Cubs are looking for offensive answers after manufacturing just 2 runs over the last 24 innings of their road trip to Cincinnati and Houston, which ended 4-4. Randy Wells goes after his first victory but faces a tough challenge in Slowey; Rich Harden makes his return to the mound on Saturday. The Twins have struggled mightily on the road, with only 9 wins so far - worse than every AL team except Baltimore.
Next: White Sox, Tuesday-Thursday at Wrigley Field