Welcome back to earth
The Cubs stormed out of the gate but then stumbled along the rest of the way during a 4-3 loss to the Padres.
Chicago scored three runs in the first two innings thanks to a leadoff home run from Alfonso Soriano (his 4th career lead off dinger) and a two-run double in the second inning from Reed Johnson. But apparently that was all the Cubs thought they needed because they were cold the rest of the evening. Making matters worse, was the fact that Shawn Estes was pitching for the Padres.
Yes, that Shawn Estes. The one that was popular in the mid-freakin-90s.
He went 5-1/3 innings, gave up just two earned runs and struck out two batters.
The way Chicago starter Jason Marquis was pitching, it seemed like three runs would be enough for a win. But Marquis gave up the big inning (a troublesome trend) in the fourth, surrendering all of the Padres four runs. The pride and joy of Clemson, Khalil Greene, started things off with a three-run home run. Then, Jody Gerut knocked in the forth run with a two-out double.
The timing of the loss isn’t exactly the best since the Padres send Jake Peavy (4-2, 2.47) to the mound Wednesday night. But Ted lilly has been pitching well in his last couple of starts and San Diego is the worst hitting team in the National League, so run support will be scarce.
