A case of windburn
Six homers highlight breezy day, with Pujols' shot in 10th the difference
A blustery day on which there were six home runs, 33 hits and 21 runs scored at Wrigley Field might not have been the best gauge of any pitcher, including Cubs starter Wade Miller.
But long after Miller departed the St. Louis Cardinals' 12-9 victory in 10 innings on Sunday, his status in the rotation was among the questions facing a Cubs team still waiting to win a home series.
''It wasn't the easiest day to pitch,'' manager Lou Piniella conceded, having used five of his six relievers after Miller allowed seven runs on nine hits in 4 2/3 innings. ''We'll see what we do.''
(AP)
The temporary heroes were Alfonso Soriano, pinch-hitting in his first action in a week, and Mark DeRosa. After Michael Barrett led off with a single, Soriano broke a bat fouling off pitches from Jason Isringhausen (1-0) before doubling inside the left-field line.
DeRosa then blooped a hit into short right field between three Cardinals to score both runners.
Pujols trumped that in the 10th after Preston Wilson and David Eckstein singled off Dempster.
''I tried to throw it off the plate, but it broke over,'' Dempster said of the pitch to Pujols. ''The toughest part is we've been in every game, and a bounce here or there, a pitch here or there could turn this around.''
The Cardinals pounded out 17 hits, including a career-high five by Scott Rolen, to leave the Cubs with only three wins in their first 10 home games.
''Every time we scored, they came back and scored the next inning,'' Piniella said. ''That's something you don't like to see. You'd like to shut them down for an inning or two and keep the momentum on your side.''
Asked what he's learning about managing at Wrigley Field with the wind blowing out, Piniella said: ''I'm seeing you can't walk people. That's pretty obvious to me.''
Cubs pitchers walked five, though only one scored. Miller walked none but couldn't stop the Cardinals from scoring.
''The conditions on the field have nothing to do with how I'm executing pitches,'' said Miller, who is 0-1 in three starts with a 10.54 ERA. ''The bottom line is execution or lack thereof. There's no excuse except execute pitches. If I don't, it's going to be a long season for me.''
He also downplayed the effects of being skipped at times as the fifth starter.
''Everything was fine,'' Miller said. ''I had good stuff, but I wasn't putting the ball where I wanted to and in situations I had to.''
The situation that bothered him most came in the fourth with two out and two on. Miller had a 3-2 count on Adam Kennedy, who stroked a two-run double.
''If I would have gotten Kennedy in that one inning, it would have been a whole different ballgame,'' said Miller, whose longest outing has been five innings. ''That one at-bat got me, and it snowballed from there.''
''I like Wade's stuff,'' said Barrett, who went 3-for-4 with a homer and two RBI. ''He's given us opportunities to win. He just has to get in a routine. I don't think today was a reflection of his stuff.''