Lackey gets his jewelry, but Cubs fall 2-0 on ring night
On the way to a world championship last year, Chicago Cubs pitcher John Lackey uttered one of the best lines of the season.
"I didn't come here for a haircut," he said. "I came here for jewelry."
Lackey's locks got trimmed during the off-season, and he did get his jewelry Wednesday night before pitching against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Wrigley Field.
The Cubs received their rings for winning the 2016 World Series. Lackey picked his up before heading out to the bullpen to warm up. He allowed a homer to start the game, and the Dodgers went on to win 2-0, getting another run in the ninth.
During his postgame news conference, Lackey was wearing the ring.
"It's heavy, man, it's really nice," he said. "Seriously, I'm fortunate enough to have a couple more, but this is kind of the next level for sure. I think the whole team, to the (owning) Ricketts family, we want to say thanks. It's pretty sick."
The Cubs signed Lackey to a two-year deal in December 2015, and one of the reasons they got him was to provide the club with a little edginess. Lackey can be a mite prickly at times, but the Cubs felt they needed that type of spice.
"We thought that from the beginning," said manager Joe Maddon. "We talked about that Tuesday game in a particular city where the other team might not be doing as well to have that edge to go out there and play well and that Johnny would provide it. That was exactly part of the conversation. He is. He's all of that. But he's always been that guy. Even when he was a rookie, he was kind of like that."
Lackey needed every bit of that edge to work out of early trouble. Andrew Toles led off the game with a line-drive home run to right field. The ball was hit too low to be stopped by a cold wind. Corey Seager doubled and Logan Forsythe walked before Lackey struck out the next two Dodgers. He loaded the bases with a walk to Joc Pederson but retired Chase Utley on a strikeout to limit the damage.
Lackey wound up pitching 6 innings, giving up 4 hits and the 1 run.
The Cubs scored no runs against Dodgers starter Brandon McCarthy but not because they didn't hit the ball hard. Double plays helped McCarthy in each of the first two innings.
In the bottom of the fifth, Jason Heyward led off with a single. Willson Contreras crushed a pitch to keep left field, but a cold wind held the ball up and kept it in the park. Anthony Rizzo hit one to deep center in the sixth after Kris Bryant walked with one out, but again, the wind knocked the ball down.
"Wrigley got us, man," Maddon said. "Those were definitely just part of the game."
Reliever Hector Rondon said he felt his knee "pop" while covering the plate in the ninth, when the Dodgers scored on a dropped third strike. Rondon said he was OK but sore. He may go for an MRI in the morning, he said.
As for Lackey's haircut, he quipped with a smile: "Actually my wife was kind of ticked. She likes it long. I kind of got in trouble for that one, but what are you going to do? Where's she going to go?"