Ill winds for Cubs in loss to Astros
Monday’s 12-7 loss to the Houston Astros was sooooooo 2011 Chicago Cubs:
타Start another veteran pitcher just called up from the minor leagues and watch him fail to make it through 5 innings.
타Take a 6-3 lead in the fourth inning only to blow it.
타Then, on a hot day with the wind blowing out, have the offense completely shut down while the other team keeps hitting. The Astros hit 4 homers to 1 for the Cubs, who have been outhomered at Wrigley Field 29-16 and 17-2 when the wind blows out.
타Lose another player to injury. This time, left fielder Alfonso Soriano had to leave with a strained left quad after batting in the first. He had an MRI to determine the severity of the injury, and the Cubs will announce the results Tuesday.
The Astros (20-34) are the sixth-place team in the National League Central. Nevertheless, they were good enough to beat the fifth-place Cubs (23-29), who are looking more hapless by the day.
Veteran pitcher Rodrigo Lopez started for the Cubs after last week’s trade from the Braves. The 35-year-old Lopez pitched the first two months in Class AAA ball, which had press-box wags wisecracking that he should have felt right at home in a game between these two teams.
“I’m not satisfied,” Lopez said. “Of course, I think I let the team down. I got a lot of run support from the team. And for one moment I thought we could have got this game. But just with three batters, the game changed.”
The Cubs had a 6-3 lead in the fifth when Lopez gave up a triple to Michael Bourn on an 0-2 pitch. Clint Barmes and Hunter Pence followed with home runs, and just like that, the game was tied.
Jeff Samardzija wound up being the losing pitcher, but on an 88-degree day with the wind howling out, the offense went into the deep freeze until scoring a consolation run in the ninth.
“Yeah, we did,” said manager Mike Quade, whose team hasn’t won back-to-back games since May 18-19. “I don’t know. We’ve been coming back and doing the things we need to. Maybe that fifth inning took the wind out of our sails a little bit, I don’t know.
“We weren’t able to sustain. Even on a day like this, you’re hoping 7-8 runs will be enough to keep you in the ballgame, but it wasn’t.
“I think the situation with the roster in flux and all the stuff that’s gone on here has made it tougher. To make your debut here pitching in these conditions is tough here at Wrigley.”
The Cubs’ up-the-middle defense committed 3 errors, with catcher Geovany Soto making a throwing error and infielders Starlin Castro and Darwin Barney committing fielding miscues.
“The inexperience of youth,” Quade said.
The upside of that youth is the energy Barney and Castro bring. Ditto for center fielder Tony Campana, who stole 4 bases and made a nice catch at the wall in center.
The Cubs didn’t use young catcher Welington Castillo much, and it remains to be seen how much or how little they use Monday’s call-up, DJ LeMahieu.
If the Cubs are going to lose, their fans seem to like it better when they lose with a little energy.
“A lot of these guys were at spring training with us,” Samardzija said. “We played 30-35 games with them. The core guys are still here playing every day. I thing those (young) guys are going to find a couple of great spots to fit in and help this team do what we want to do, and that’s win a bunch of ballgames.”