Cubs' magic wears off
Second game of doubleheader isn't worth an overly long wait as Cardinals come up with split
ST. LOUIS -- Between games of Saturday's doubleheader, Cubs manager Lou Piniella was asked if he knows how to calculate a magic number.
''I've done it before,'' said Piniella, the owner of two World Series rings as a player and another as a manager. ''But it's too early for numbers.''
''I've done it before,'' said Piniella, the owner of two World Series rings as a player and another as a manager. ''But it's too early for numbers.''
Too early in the day even. By the time Game 2 starter Sean Marshall blew an early lead on the way to a 4-3 loss, and third baseman Aramis Ramirez had words with Cardinals pitcher Russ Springer at the end of the eighth, there was nothing magic about a day-night doubleheader split, and definitely nothing magic about numbers like the 12 hours most of the players and other team personnel spent at Busch Stadium.
(AP)
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Cubs doubleheader
Too early in the day even. By the time Game 2 starter Sean Marshall blew an early lead on the way to a 4-3 loss, and third baseman Aramis Ramirez had words with Cardinals pitcher Russ Springer at the end of the eighth, there was nothing magic about a day-night doubleheader split, and definitely nothing magic about numbers like the 12 hours most of the players and other team personnel spent at Busch Stadium.
''It's not an easy day, believe me,'' said Piniella, whose Cubs came from behind to win the first game 3-2 for their fourth straight victory. ''I don't know why major-league baseball allows these types of doubleheaders at the end of the year, I really don't. But that's not for me to decide.''
The need for a doubleheader was created by the April 29 postponement following the traffic death of Cardinals pitcher Josh Hancock. The unusual part, even for a day-night, separate-gate split was that seven hours separated the game times -- an hour more than typical.
''Play a game at noon and then sit around all day and then have to play again at night,'' Piniella said. ''If you're going to play a doubleheader, play a doubleheader and forget about it.''
There was plenty the Cubs would like to forget in a nightcap that slipped away, thanks to an inability to pile on when they had the chance early and the inability of Marshall to find his command.
Despite picking up where they left off in Monday's rout of Cardinals starter Joel Pineiro, the Cubs had two runners thrown out at the plate in the first two innings to stunt a pair of rallies and leave them with a 3-0 lead that could have been twice that.
''That frustrates everyone,'' said Mark DeRosa, who played third base in the first game and second base in the second. ''You put as many runs on the board and try to deflate them, and you can deflate their confidence. First inning, bases loaded, we've already got one run across -- if we're able to find a gap there or just a base hit, it really puts a lot of pressure on them.''
Instead, Pineiro made a four-run Cardinals third off Marshall hold up by retiring 15 straight batters to finish seven innings of work.
By the time Springer finished off the eighth by getting Ramirez to pop up, tempers were flaring, and the Cubs were showing the wear of the long day -- and frustrating finish.
''Only baseball questions, right? Nothing on Springer,'' said Ramirez, who appeared to react to something Springer said to him on the play. ''I'm not going to talk about Springer.''
If nothing else, the Cubs passed their toughest test so far of the September drive, earning the split that assures a winning record on this 11-games-in-10-days stretch.
Alfonso Soriano, who entered the day in a 7-for-42 slump, had only two hits in the two games, but both were home runs -- including a decisive two-run shot in the eighth in Game 1.
He added another two-run shot in the second inning of Game 2 for a 3-0 lead, giving him nine home runs in his last 17 games.
In the first game, Cubs lefty Ted Lilly allowed only two hits in five shutout innings after a two-run first to give the Cubs' quiet lineup a chance to come back.
Kerry Wood (1-1) pitched a powerful seventh inning to earn his first win since May 29 of last season. Wood, who returned in August from a shoulder injury, then came back in the second game to pitch an even more powerful seventh.
He struck out half of the six batters he faced in the two games.
''If this were a football game,'' Piniella said after the first game, ''We'd have given him the game ball.''
NL CENTRAL RACE
Team W L GB
Cubs 77 72 --
Brewers 75 72 1
Cardinals 70 77 6