Game 59 Recap: Cubs 9, Padres 6

Nine and Counting

W- Marquis (3-3), Cat O' Nine Tails, Seven of Nine, Title IX, Nein!, Revolution No. 9, 3^2^1

L- Corey (1-1), inefficient starters on west coast night games

S- Wood (16)

Box Score, Photos

Things to Take from This Game

1. Ugly work by the starters

Marquis just melted down in the third, with among other things three walks, a balk and an errant pickoff throw at first. It all led to two runs. At least he made it through five with only giving up three total, to "earn" the win. Ledezma threw 99 pitches in 4.2 and walked five. The big AB in the bottom of the fifth was Theriot, who coaxed a walk with the bases loaded to bring the score to 3-2, with Lee tying it up on an infield grounder, after him.

2. Who can't hit homers at Petco?

Soto and DeRosa hit a couple of very impressive home runs in the sixth. Soto's solo shot was well out in center, and DeRosa's two-run job just got one out over the wall in deep left-center. But the real shot of the night was Soriano's three-run homer, an upper-decker just left of center, in the eighth.

3. Defensively...

Barrett still isn't any good. Just in case you had any doubts.

4. Relief

Eyre pitched a solid 1.1 innings, and Howry got out of a big bases loaded jam he inherited in the 8th. Nice work from our premium-priced middle-reliever duo. Wood gave up a double to Adrian Gonzalez, but otherwise looked dominant closing it out.

The "I would be annoyed if I'd stayed up to recap a loss" details, below.

Game Recap

Inning 1 - Top

• Soriano pops to a few feet foul of the first base bag. Easy out.
• Theriot with a lazy fly to Giles.
• Lee with a fly to just short of the warning track in right. End of inning

Inning 1 - Bottom

• Gerut reaches out and pokes a roller through the right side hole, for a single.
• Iguchi hits into an easy 6-4-3
• and Giles flies to center.

Inning 2 - Top

• Ramirez breaks his bat, rolls softly out to second
• Soto flies to sort-of-deep right.
• and Johnson pops to shortstop, behind second base.

Inning 2 - Bottom

• Gonzalez pops to Ramirez, catches it near the pitchers mound.
• Kouzmanoff gets HBP. It either hit his hand, or the knob of the bat, then bounced into fair territory. home plate ump quickly rules it's a HBP, dead ball
• McAnulty flies to Johnson
• Barrett grounds to Theriot. Looks like Marquis is getting a healthy amount of movement on the sinker tonight.

Inning 3 - Top

• DeRosa with a leadoff walk on a ball outside
• Cedeno rolls into a 6-4-3 force at second. Nice turn, but a slow hit ball and Cedeno beats it at first
• Cedeno runs. Has it stolen, but overslides the bag and is tagged out by Greene
• and Marquis K's swinging

Inning 3 - Bottom

• Greene pops to short
• Marquis walks Ledezma. Ouch.
• Marquis then balks Ledezma to second on a pickoff attempt. Owwie.
• and walks Gerut
• Iguchi flies to Soriano, Ledezma to third
• Aaaaannnnnnd Marquis throws away a pickoff at first base, Ledezma scores. Gerut advances
• Giles then walks
• Gonzalez then lines a sharp single to center, Gerut scores. 2-0 game
• Kouzmanoff with a soft bouncer to Ramirez, inning over.

Inning 4- Top

• Soriano doubles down into the left-field corner.
• and theriot walks.
• Runners in motion, Lee fouls it off
• Lee finally K's on what I think is a low and inside slider. Runners are going, and they both successfully steal. Throw went to third.
• Long, long 3-2 battle for Ramirez, finally a 6-3 ground out that scores soriano
• Soto flies to the warning track in center, inning over, 2-1 game

Inning 4 - Bottom

• McAnulty walks
• Barrett lines a single to center, McAnulty to third
• Greene with the sac fly to center, McAnulty scores. 3-1
  • And I get to stop typing "McAnulty" for another few innings.
• Ledezma K's trying to bunt
• Gerut walks, Barrett on to second.
• Iguchi grounds into a 6-4

Inning 5 - Top

• Johnson lines a single inside the 3B bag. It hits the wall where the stands jut out, and McAnulty (arggh!) makes a nice play to keep him to a single.
• Johnson steals third. Ledezma didn't pay much attention. Oh yead, DeRosa walks on it
• Cedeno bounces back to Ledezma. DeRosa to second, Johnson frozen at third, Cedeno out at first. Might have tried for the DP and conceded the run, but no
• Ball gets away from Barrett, but caroms right back to him. Johnson looks like he might be hung up, but scampers back to third. DeRosa is almost at third, but Ledezma (who got the ball when Barrett threw it to him, covering home) hangs on to it, letting DeRosa get back to second
• Marquis K's swinging. Barrett has to make the throw to first.
• Ledezma throws one towards Soriano's armpits. He avoids it.
• Soriano eventually gets intentionally walked.
• Theriot up, bases loaded and two outs
• Padres broadcasters tell me Theriot is 0-11 with bases loaded this year
• 1-2 pitch is over Theriot's head. Seems to be a case of general wildness. Ledezma with a ton of pitches the last two innings
• I can't believe they didn't call that 2-2 fastball on the low inside corner a strike. 3-2 count
• Ledezma's about to hit 100 pitches
• Ball four! 3-2 game. Nice AB by Theriot, gets Lee up with the bases loaded and a laboring Ledezma at 93 pitches
• 3-2 on Lee
• Lee hits a grounder to the left side hole. Greene dives for it and gets it, but has no play. Run scores, but Greene saves the go-ahead run from being able to score. 3-3 game
• five walks per starter. Ledezma out, Bryan Corey (who?!?!?!) in.
• generous strike call on a 3-1 pitch outside on Ramirez
• and K's swinging on the next pitch. Still not happy about the earlier call.

Inning 5 - Bottom

• Giles flies to center
• Long AB, Gonzalez finally singles through the right side hole.
• Kouzmanoff pops to second
• McAnulty K's swinging at a slider in the dirt. Nice pitch

Inning 6 - Top

• Soto hits an outer-half fastball for a home run, easily clearly the CF fence. 407 feet. 4-3 Cubs.
• Soto lines one past Corey, up the middle for a single
• Johnson runs, and Barrett's throw one-hops the base. Ball gets away and Johnson goes to third
  • the Padres announcers blame the throw on batters' interference, as DeRosa swung at the ball and the follow through carried him over the plate. Padres announcers being pretty generous to Mr. Barrett.
  • That said, DeRosa's bat just did get a glancing blow off of Barrett's left arm
• Big slow curve over the plate, DeRosa hits it out to left center. It bounces back onto the field after hitting something over the fence, but correctly is ruled a 2-run HR. 6-3 Cubs
• Marquis singles just under Iguchi's backhand. Does this mean Marquis comes out for the sixth, despite 105 rather uninspired pitches?
• Soriano lines out to Giles
• Theriot grounds out 6-3

Inning 6 - Bottom

• Wuertz in. Interesting, they let Marquis hit for himself.
• Barrett flies out to the warning track in left.
• Green lines one back up the middle for a single.
• Scott Hairston hits for Corey, pops to Cedeno.
• Eyre in for Wuertz, gets Gerut on three pitches.

Inning 7 - Top

• Carlos Guevara (who?!?!?) in for Corey
• Lee flies out to the left field wall
• Ramirez doubles into the left field corner
• Guevara supposedly features a screw ball.
• Soto K's swinging at that screwball, in the dirt.
• Johnson fists a little blooper to Gonzalez, just foul of first.

Inning 7 - Bottom

• Iguchi flies out to left
• Giles singles to center
• Gonzalez hits into a 4-6-3. Nice stretch by Lee to grab a throw that was low and to his left. And a nice 1.1 innings from Eyre

Inning 8 - Top

• DeRosa with an easy grounder to short.
• From as best I can tell on mlb.tv, Guevara has a nice screw. Not revolutionary, but nice.
• Kouzmanoff with a nice bare-handed effort on a slow roller by Cedeno, but he beats it out for a hit
• Pitch gets away from Barrett. Another one of those sort-of-wild,-sure,-but-a-good-catcher-could-react,-shift-his-weight-and-block-it,-instead-of-a-half-assed-backhand-efforts that Barrett does. Cedeno to second.
• Fontenot walks
• Double steal on a pitch that bounces way in front of Barrett and gets away. No chance for Barrett on that one.
• Screwball left up, over the plate, and Soriano hits it into the second deck just left of center. Padres announcers, fans, sort of ooh and ahh and gasp. 9-3 game. Crowd now silent.
• Theriot grounds to Iguchi
• and Lee flies to center

Inning 8 - Bottom

• Hart in for Eyre. Welcome back, Hart
• And he walks Kouzmanoff after starting 0-2
• McAnulty singles to right
• Barrett lines a hanging curve to the warning track in left, out.
• Greene goes opposite field to right, bases loaded
• Tony Clark hits for Guevara
• Full count, Clark walks. Run scores, 9-4.
• See ya later, Hart.
• Cotts in to face Gerut
• and Edgar Gonzalez in to hit for Gerut
• and lines a single to left. Run scores. 9-5
• Lou out. Cotts out. Howry in to face Iguchi
• Howry gets the grounder, but it's in the hole at Short. Theriot gets the force at second, but that's all. Run scores. 9-6
• Pretty sad how much the Padres announcers pin their hopes on getting Adrian Gonzalez up to bat with runners on. They have no faith in anyone else on their offense.
• Giles takes a 3-2 fastball down the middle for a much needed, inning ending strikeout.

Inning 9 - Top

• Cla Meredith in.
• Edgar Gonzalez to left with Gerut out. McAnulty switchesfrom left to right, and Giles over to Center.
• Ramirez inside-outs one to right for a single
• Soto rolls into a 4-6-3
• the Padres announcers are giving in, and complementing the Cubs' offense. To do so, they decide they need to compare it to the Bears' offense, so they can bag on SOMETHING other than their wretched Padres. Have been doing this on and off all night.
• Johnson lines to McAnulty in right.

Inning 9 - Bottom

• Wood in.
• Adrian Gonzalez with an opposite field double down the line
• I like Gonzalez, but wow, it's just sad to listen to the Padres fans talk about him like he's the second coming. It's just a reflection on how there's nothing else to talk up.
• Kouzmanoff K's staring at a pitch on the outside corner
• Wow, I'm a bit tipsy.
• McAnulty also K's looking.
• And Barrett with a pop to shallow right, Cubs Win.

Parachat Recap

Inning 1

• Election results
• talking about my job options
• Guess where Trans may be Going
• Parachatters dropping like flies

Inning 2

• Pressing political questions about badonkadonks
  • that is, I believe, the first time I've ever typed "badonkadonk." How did I do?
• Have another BEES???
• BEEEEES!!!!
• Microbrews
  • and Microbees
• Post-structuralism
• Bigger Head: Padres' mascot, or Barry Bonds?
• How many historians can be listed that I've never heard of? (Many)

Inning 3

• Hoffpauir
• Jinxing Ledezma's no-no
• More badonkadonk evaluation.
• Helping Carlos in his love life
• Missed Opportunities for David Wells endorsements
• Politics
• Umpiring
• Which politician would you sleep with?
• More political conversation. Emphasis on conversation, not flaming. Woo.
  • Eh, evidently I missed the people logging in as Clinton, Nader, etc, while I was on the phone.
• The Baconator.

Inning 4

• Bicurious games.
• Nader/baseball puns and comparisions. Not bad, heh.
• Waiver usage in keeper leagues
• Who can babysit for Rob?
• Ugh, Bartman?
• The next (next?!?!) TCR Camping Trip
• Bigger tent, or smaller?
  • smaller, definitely.
• Unimpressed with the Padres announcers
• PICKLE SURPRISE!
  • It's still a surprise, every time, man

Inning 5

• Marquis-bashing
• Do we trust the links that Carlos submits to us?
  • not really, but we click, anyway
• Wil Ledezma or Will Edezma? (from Ryno)
• Anxiously following Theriot's AB
• Lots and lots of Gong-ing
• Absurdist cialis commercials
• How do earthquakes affect your libido?
• Wyoming
• Where is Ted Turner's compound?
• Reasons to like living in 2008: being able to announce you like big penises?
• More Marquis complaining
• Who in the room are twins?

Inning 6

• Chad arrives.
• Tormenting Barrett
• gameday pics
• Marquis to stay in the game?
• Chad announces he is leaving. How do we replace him?
• Better professions for Marquis
• Bad letters of recommendation
• Priests
• Studying things that kill you.

Inning 7

• Drinking in parachat
• Good puns for Guevera and his screwball
• Eric Karros: Colorful Color Guy
• Joe Morgan: Color Guys of Color
• Color: A word that looks weird when you type it out, and makes you say "wow, is that how I've always spelled it? It doesn't feel right. Looks like Colon."
• Color guys who, ahem, pale in comparison to Steve Stone (from Hawkeye)
• Fond memories of Harry Caray

Inning 8

• SNL Skits
• the LA series
• more taunting of Barrett
• Ooohing and Aaahing at Soriano's homer
• Whipple loves Hawkeye.
• Chad loves attention.
• Griping about mlb.tv
• FIOS.
• Old, wise tigers.
• b'ahai
  • and Superman's Dad
  • and Tuna
  • and LOLspeak
  • and Ahura Mazda
  • and putting religion in a blender and drinking it (nohit)
  • and rebranded Fords
• Andy "can't get away to spit."

Inning 9

• Vanna White and Cla Meredith
• Chanting Padre fans
• The Padres announcers are dumb.
• We don't care about Joba
• Hank White, Hank Steinbrenner, Mr. Hanky.
• New Nicknames for Kerry
• We miss Rod Beck

Cubs' record in games recapped moves to 9-3.