Holliday walk-off home run makes an off ninth for Cubs
ST. LOUIS - There are several reasons the Cardinals are going to the playoffs and the Cubs aren't.
One might be that the Cardinals' in-season acquisitions were better than those the Cubs made overall since the end of last season.
The Cards added Mark DeRosa, Matt Holliday and John Smoltz since the beginning of this season, and all had a hand in beating the Cubs 3-2 Friday night at Busch Stadium, which was sold out but lacking the usual Cubs-Cardinals buzz.
Holliday changed all that when he led off the bottom of the ninth inning against reliever Aaron Heilman, one of the Cubs' off-season acquisitions.
Holliday went the opposite way, to right field, to hit a leadoff homer on a 3-1 pitch and end the game.
"It was a fastball away," said Heilman, who sat disconsolately at his locker for several minutes before being interviewed. "I thought I made a pretty good pitch, but evidently, it's never a good pitch when it goes over the fence."
The Cubs got to Smoltz for 2 runs in the first inning on consecutive doubles by Kosuke Fukudome, Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez, but that was it.
Ted Lilly, the Cubs' starter, gave up a pair in the fifth but otherwise out-dueled Smoltz and working 72/3 innings before giving way to Kevin Gregg, who got the dangerous Albert Pujols to ground out with a man on.
The Cubs had a glimmer of hope in the ninth, when Ryan Theriot singled with two outs. But after diving back to the bag on one pickoff throw by Ryan Franklin, Theriot got himself picked off to end the inning and set the stage for Holliday's heroics.
"Yeah, I'm trying to get to second base, trying to steal that bag," Theriot said. "It's always tough when you've got a catcher like Yadi (Yadier Molina) back there, so you try to get a little extra out there on the lead. The guy had a good move, and I got picked off. I'm trying my best to get to second base and steal that bag right there. I'm an aggressive player, and I'm going to continue to play that way."
If there wasn't much buzz at Busch, Cubs manager Lou Piniella hopes his team has some left the rest of the way. The Cubs realistically have been out of the playoff race for some time.
"We were looking to come in here and be closer than where we're at," Piniella said before the game. "But it hasn't happened. Right now, we're on the outskirts. We need to play as well as we can regardless of what happens between now and the end of the year. Win as many games as we can. That's all we can do.
"We're going to try and see a finishing kick. Some of these guys here, the better they play, the more favorable their position is for next year. You want to see people battling and doing the best they can."
<p class="factboxheadblack">Bruce Miles' game tracker </p> <p class="News"><b>Strike thrower:</b> Lefty Ted Lilly worked 72/3 innings, throwing 110 pitches, 84 for strikes. His pitches and strikes in each inning were 17/12, 16/12, 11/8, 11/8, 13/11, 15/12, 20/16 and 7/5.</p> <p class="News"><b>Tough night:</b> Shortstop Ryan Theriot struck out three times and got picked off first base in the ninth inning of a tie game. It marked the third time this season and the fourth time in his career Theriot has struck out three times in a game.</p> <p class="News"><b>Dueling starters:</b> Lilly turned in his 21st quality start of the year, and for the 10th time, he did not walk a batter. Cards starter John Smoltz worked 6 innings, giving up 6 hits and 2 runs. In 5 starts with the Cardinals, Smoltz has 4 walks and 32 strikeouts.</p> <div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=322660">DeRosa still doesn't understand trade<span class="date"> [9/18/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=322658">Piniella doesn't know why Bradley was upset Thursday<span class="date"> [9/18/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>