Offense goes back in hiding for Cubs
Cubs manager Lou Piniella knew the situation even before his team took the field in Philadelphia on Tuesday night.
"You've got to score runs, everywhere in baseball, but specifically in these small parks where the opposing team can hit the ball out of the ballpark and score a lot of runs themselves," Piniella said on his WGN radio pregame show. "The Phillies are very good offensive team.
"So for us to compete here, we have to pitch well, but also we have to swing the bats and put some runs on the board."
The Cubs got only half the job done for most of the night, but in the end it was the Phillies' Jayson Werth who had the most important swing of the night: a 3-run homer in the bottom of the 13th inning against Jeff Samardzija to give the Phils a 4-1 victory.
In the first two games of this series, the Cubs have scored a grand total of 2 runs, losing both times.
They wasted a quality start by Rich Harden, who gave up a leadoff homer to Jimmy Rollins in the third inning and left after 7 with the game tied at 1-1.
The Cubs scored their only run in the fourth, on an RBI double by Kosuke Fukudome, but they did not get a hit after the seventh.
On top of that, Cubs batters failed to draw a walk as they managed just 5 hits while striking out 11 times.
Piniella had more to say to reporters after the game, perhaps even sending a message to general manager Jim Hendry.
"We're challenged offensively," Piniella said. "You don't score runs, you don't win no matter how good you pitch. I'll tell you what. We might need a couple of hitters at the (trade) deadline."
Cubs relievers Carlos Marmol, Angel Guzman, Sean Marshall and Aaron Heilman did their best to keep the Cubs in the game while the hitters flailed away fruitlessly. Marshall and Heilman each walked a man in the 11th, but Heilman struck out Pedro Feliz to end the threat.
In the 13th, Samardzija (0-1), working in his second inning, retired Shane Victorino and Chase Utley on flyouts before walking Ryan Howard and Raul Ibanez.
That set the stage for Werth, who walked three times and singled earlier in the game.
"It was a hanger and I was able to stay through it," Werth told reporters. "I was just trying to have a good at-bat. I didn't need a homer. A single would've won it."
Bruce Miles' game tracker
Phillies 4, Cubs 1 (13)
Return to quality: Rich Harden gave the Cubs their first quality start since he tossed one last Thursday in Washington. He worked 7 innings, giving up 1 run. It was the Cubs' 57th quality start.
Cavalcade of Ks: The Cubs didn't draw a single walk, but they struck out 11 times. Whiffing twice were Reed Johnson, Kosuke Fukudome, Ryan Theriot, Alfonso Soriano and Koyie Hill.
Ks the other way: Cubs pitchers struck out 12 Phillies while walking seven. Harden had 6 strikeouts, while Carlos Marmol had 4 in 2 innings. Harden and Jeff Samardzija each walked two, with both of Samardzija's walks scoring in the 13th.
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