Sweet Lou sours as bats betray Cubs again in 3-2 loss to Nationals

Posted April 28, 2010 11:00 pm

By Bruce Miles

Cubs manager Lou Piniella can handle most things with a degree of equanimity.

Consistently poor offense over a period of time isn't one of them.

And neither is being asked certain things after a tough loss.

Piniella was agitated enough Wednesday after his team lost 3-2 to the Washington Nationals, dropping two of three in this series at Wrigley Field.

The Cubs outhit the Nats 9-4, but it was the same-old, same-old of his team not hitting when it counted. The lineup was 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position, and Cubs batters stranded 11 runners on base.

All of that wasted a nice pitching performance by starter Ryan Dempster, who gave up 4 hits and 3 runs in 8 innings.

"The story again was not getting any runs in," Piniella said.

Right after he said that, Piniella was asked by a freelance reporter whether he considered bunting after Marlon Byrd led off with a double in the eighth with the Cubs down 3-2.

Mike Fontenot popped out. Pinch hitter Chad Tracy struck out. Another pinch hitter, Xavier Nady, walked before Ryan Theriot popped out on a first-pitch swing.

"Bunting what?" Piniella shot back. "We've got a left-hand hitter (Fontenot) up. With a left-hand hitter up, you want to bunt? What kind of baseball do you play? Really, what kind of baseball do you play?

"How about getting him in? Or getting him over, by swinging? How about that?"

The Cubs dropped to 2 games under .500 at 10-12 after winning the opening game of this series. Dempster turned in the team's sixth straight quality start, but had only a loss to show for it. True to form, Dempster refused to blame the offense.

"It's a loss regardless," said the veteran right-hander, who is 2-1 with a 2.78 ERA. "We win or lose as a team. At the end of the day, there's an 'L' beside our name, so that's all that matters."

Dempster gave up a home run to Adam Kennedy in the first inning. After the Cubs tied it in the bottom half, they decided to pitch to No. 8 hitter Wil Nieves in the second with a man on second and two outs. Nieves singled to score the run. Theriot's single tied it at 2-2 in the second, but Dempster allowed a homer to Adam Dunn in the fourth.

"I felt I could have done a better job," Dempster said. "I gave up a basehit with the pitcher on deck. I gave up a solo home run to a guy in the lineup (Dunn) you don't want to let beat you. So as much as the fact that we only scored a couple runs, win a game 2-1 once in awhile."

The Cubs put the leadoff hitter on base in six of the first eight innings. In the fifth, they loaded the bases against rookie starter Luis Atlilano, but Marlon Byrd popped out and Fontenot grounded out.

"It's shame," Byrd said. "I had bases loaded, one out, so I had to be big there. All year long, I've been getting it done. I have to get the ball to the outfield some way, somehow. I told Demps, I said, 'It's all on me.'"

Dempster wasn't hearing it.

"I look at it the other way; I could have picked them up on a day where a guy (Atlilano) was making some big pitches in big situations and keeping our guys under control," he said.

As far as what to do with the offense, Piniella seemed at a loss.

"I don't know; I don't know," he said. "Talk to the players. We should be able to get some people in. We're getting some people on. We should be able to get them in."

Bruce Miles' game tracker

Another wasted one: Ryan Dempster turned in the Cubs' sixth straight quality start and the team's 16th. The Cubs are only 8-8 in those games, but the starters' ERA is 1.77 in the quality starts. Dempster worked a Cubs-best 8 innings, giving up 4 hits and 3 runs while walking one and striking out six.

Pop the clutch: Marlon Byrd flied out with two men on and two outs in the first inning and popped out with the bases loaded and one out in the fifth. He also popped out in the third with a man on first. Mike Fontenot singled twice, but he left the bases loaded in the fifth and popped out with a man on second and nobody out in the eighth.

Colvin watch: Rookie Tyler Colvin singled, walked and reached on an error. He's batting .325, third among rookies behind Ike Davis (Mets) and Joaquin Arias (Rangers).

Cubs scouting report

Cubs vs. Arizona Diamondbacks at Wrigley Field

TV: Channel 9 Thursday, Saturday and Sunday; Comcast SportsNet Friday

Radio: WGN 720-AM

Pitching matchups: The Cubs' Ted Lilly (1-0) vs. Ian Kennedy (0-1) Thursday at 1:20 p.m.; Randy Wells (2-0) vs. Rodrigo Lopez (1-0) Friday at 1:20 p.m.; Carlos Silva (2-0) vs. Dan Haren (3-1) Saturday at 12:05 p.m.; Tom Gorzelanny (0-3) vs. Edwin Jackson (1-2) Sunday at 1:20 p.m.

At a glance: The Cubs were 2-4 against the D'Backs last year, 1-2 at each park. Arizona entered play Wednesday sixth in the NL in batting and 14th in team ERA. Mark Reynolds and Kelly Johnson were tied for the league lead in homers, with 7. Reynolds was tied for the NL lead in RBI, with 20, and Johnson led in slugging percentage, at .738. Against Haren, Marlon Byrd is 7-for-13, and Alfonso Soriano is 7-for-21 with 3 homers.

Next: Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park, Tuesday-Thursday

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