Another solid pitching performance was thrown away by the Cubs on Saturday night, a theme far too familiar this season. Tom Gorzelanny maneuvered his way through six innings allowing nine hits, but only three runs. The Cubs had come back from a 3-0 deficit and had made the score 3-2 going into the bottom of the seventh inning. Then, they promptly proceeded to have a complete meltdown as the Reds tallied 11 runs over the next two innings against the Cubs’ bullpen. Final score, 14-2. The Cubs are now 14-17, and sit in fifth place in the NL Central. However, they are still just five back due to the recent struggles of the St.Louis Cardinals. So if your looking for positives right now, you can point to the fact that despite the rough start, the Cubs have not dug themselves a hole in the division that they cannot get out of. The Cardinals are a good baseball team, but there is no dominant team in the division this year. At least not until Albert Pujols starts hitting like Albert Pujols again.
A few other notes from the game last night:
Carlos Zambrano was one of the culprits out of the bullpen as he gave up two runs in one inning of work. His ERA for the season is now at 6.75. It’s generally a bad sign for a team if your paying a player nearly $20 million per year and he has almost no role on the team. Right now, if I had to take a shot at what I think his role is it would be something like below average middle reliever that makes fans uncomfortable/disgruntled star player.
Justin Berg allowed six earned runs in the eighth inning, his only inning of work. Nothing surprises me with Berg, at times he has pitched effectively and looked like an asset in long relief, and other times it is like last night where he can barely record an out. The Cubs do like his durability as he has already appeared in 14 games.
Twelve hits and only two runs, a trend that the Cubs are having a tough time shaking. After a one night respite on Friday, the inability to score runs away from Wrigley Field and hit with runners in scoring position resurfaced.
Chicago is trying to salvage this road trip by taking the rubber game today. After being swept by the Pirates earlier this week, this is a game the Cubs really want to have. It would be a series win, and a good, positive feeling heading into an eight game home stand. Real good pitching match up today as the Cubs send Ryan Dempster (2-2, 2.95) up against the youngster Mike Leake (2-0, 2.94.)
