Soriano’s 9th-inning blast too little too late
Things toughened up considerably for the Cubs on Friday night even though they made it interesting in a 4-3 loss to the San Francisco Giants.
They were back on the road after sweeping the San Diego Padres this week at Wrigley Field. It wouldn’t be totally fair, even if accurate, to call them the “lowly” San Diego Padres given the Cubs are buried in last place of the National League Central.
Whatever, a 10-game road trip began at AT&T Park, with stops to follow in Milwaukee and Minnesota.
The Giants jumped on Cubs lefty Paul Maholm with 2 runs in the first and third innings to grab a 4-0 lead while Giants lefty Madison Bumgarner had his strikeout pitches working against the Cubs. He struck out 11 in 8-plus innings. The score remained that way until Alfonso Soriano hit a 3-run homer off reliever Santiago Casilla in the ninth.
The hard reality is the Cubs are 18-33, and they’ll have a tough time getting off a 100-loss pace despite their recent little run.
“Did I expect to be (14) games under .500?” Sveum asked reporters before the game. “Of course not. You never think that way. I don’t care if you’re rebuilding or anything. You never think this is going to happen or we’re going to be in this position after May.
“You think about each game and winning the ballgame, not that you’re rebuilding. That’s not my job. My job is to do the best I can with the players I have on an everyday basis.”
Speaking of rebuilding, the Cubs’ top prospect, first baseman Anthony Rizzo was named the organization’s minor-league player of the month for May. Rizzo, who is battling a wrist injury at Class AAA Iowa, batted .326 (31-for-95) with 9 doubles, a triple, 10 home runs and 23 RBI in May.
Rizzo suffered his injury swinging the bat this past Sunday, and the Cubs had hoped to have him in Iowa’s lineup by now. There had been talk the Cubs would call Rizzo up for next weekend’s games against Minnesota, where the DH will be in effect, but that seems unlikely.
The Cubs have said they want to get Rizzo as much experience as possible.
There’s also the matter of where to play Rizzo. Bryan LaHair is doing fine most days for the Cubs. The Cubs could move LaHair to the outfield, but Soriano heated up in May, with 7 homers, and David DeJesus has done fine in right field, despite not starting Friday.
“These are bridges we have to cross when it happens,” Sveum said. “You have to get some preparation out there before you just go out to left field. But whatever happens in those situations, that’s a whole (other) bridge. Soriano has been one of our best hitters. There’s not a whole lot we can do if Rizzo comes here.”
The Cubs made a roster move Friday, designating reliever Michael Bowden for assignment and claiming reliever Jairo Asencio off waivers from Cleveland. Asencio, 29, pitched in 18 games with the Indians, putting up an ERA of 5.96 ERA.
bmiles@dailyherald.com