Game 151 Recap: Cubs 7, Brewers 6 (12 Innings)

Brewers Give the Cubs a Game, Cubs Happily Accept

W - Wood (5-4), Rob G's childlike faith in spells, fairies and magical comebacks

L - Villanueva (4-7), Brewers' base-running coaches.

Box Score, Photos

Things to Take from This Game

1. Harden reprises Marquis

Like Marquis the night before, Harden got into all sorts of trouble in the first before settling down.  The difference between the two starts being that Harden escaped with only one run allowed. Three very economical innings allowed him to get to the fifth, where Harden again struggled.  There he snuck out of a bases loaded jam with 115 pitches thrown, and just the one run from the first.  Velocity looked good, but Harden had no command on the fastball.  6 walks, 9 K's

2. DeRosa struggles at 2nd, Cubs struggle in 6th.

DeRosa had a throwing error in the first as he chose to try to turn a very tough DP instead of going to first.  The first run of the game scored on the play.  A bobbled grounder in the sixth helped spark a big inning for the Brewers, abetted by Samardzija's struggles to throw strikes.

3. Solo Scoring

Edmonds and Ramirez hit solo home runs, but that was the extent of the Cubs scoring.

4.  Crazy-ass rally.

The Brewers ran into two outs on the basepaths in the top of the ninth, squandering a chance to blow the game out.  Instead it's "just" 6-2.  Bottom of the ninth, two outs, and Ramirez squeaks a double just under Braun's glove. Edmonds and DeRosa single, scoring Ramirez.  Soto, who had made a nice block of the plate and nice throw in the top of the inning, takes the first pitch from Salomon Torres and hits a game-tying 3-run homer.

5. Lee wins it.

With runners on 2nd and 3rd in the bottom of the 12th, Lee singles up the middle to drive in the winning run.  The Brewers had 25 (yes, TWENTY FIVE) runners LOB to the Cubs' 11, plus the running gaffes.  The Cubs certainly had their issues between Harden's wildness and DeRosa's early-game defense, but overall the Brewers deserved to lose this.

The almost-there details, below.

Game Recap

• Messmer belts out the anthem, and my mlb.tv feed seems willing to play ball today.  woo.

Inning 1 - Top

• Harden starts 3-0 on Cameron before throwing a 90mph fastball for a strike
•  91mph for ball four.
• 90mph fastball inside corner for strike one to Durham.
• Durham with a nice bunt down the 3b line, Ramirez waits for it to roll foul, just a few feet before reaching the 3b bag.
• full count to Durham
• and ball four.
• Nice slider to start off Braun, swing and miss.
• deep fly to center, Edmonds catches it and Cameron goes to third.  Change up got elevated.  Sounded ominous off the bat, wind held it up.
• Fielder rolls one into the hole between 1st and 2nd, DeRosa gets there, and makes an ill-advised choice to spin, throw to second avoiding the runner.  Poor throw, (can't quite tell on my feed, but told it hit the runner) ball gets away from Theriot. Cameron scores from third while Durham and Fielder are safe at 2nd and 1st.   1-0 Brewers
• Harden walks Hardy.  29 pitches so far.  One out.
• Bases loaded, and Hart K's on three pitches.  elevated fastball for strike 2, changeup low and away for strike 3.
• 2-2 on Counsell. Fans really in to the AB.
• 3-2.  Harden then K's Counsell on pitch number 38, a high fastball at 94.  Good damage control, actually, but horrid pitch count.

Inning 1 - Bottom

• Soriano bounces out to second.
•  and Theriot flies to Cameron
• and Lee K's looking.  Helluva start to this game.

Inning 2 - Top

• 3-2 on Kendall, before a swinging strike out.  3 Ks in a row for Harden, still has the no-hitter going.
•  Brenly not sure if fastball is up on purpose, or due to wildness. 
• and K's Bush swinging.
• 0-2 to Cameron.  Bottom of the lineup allowed Harden to find himself?
• 95 mph just off the outside corner.  Crowd boos. Slider, er, change, off the corner.
• Foul-tip K, 5 Ks in a row for Harden.  54 pitches 

Inning 2 - Bottom

•  Ramirez with a sharp bouncer to Counsell, makes the play
• Edmonds takes a slow, 70 mph curve up in the zone, blasts it out to just left of center, high up in the bleachers.
• DeRosa K's
• Soto flies out, Hart makes a nice running, diving catch in the right-center gap

Inning 3 - Top

• Durham flies to left
• Theriot with a nice diving stop, Braun out at first
•  3-2 on Fielder, fastball 94 mph inside corner and Fielder goes down swinging.  10 pitch inning.

Inning 3 - Bottom

•  Fukudome flies to Braun
• Harden bounces back to Bush
• 3-0 on Soriano
• 3-2 count, Soriano takes a close pitch just off the plate for ball four.
• Soriano caught stealing by the suddenly strong-throwing Kendall.

Inning 4 - Top

• Hardy flies out to about two steps short of the ivy in center.    Wind blowing in helps, again.
•  Hart K's looking.  Wow, Hart is just lost up there.
• From behind in the count, Counsell comes back to work a BB.  Breaks a string of something like 10 straight set down by Harden.
• Kendal flies out to right. Harden still has a no-hitter, oddly.

Inning 4 - Bottom

•  Theriot grounds to Hardy
• Lee hits one that sounds good off the bat, crowd roars, and Cameron catches it several feet short of the warning track.
• Ramirez hits a rolling..... something.... into the left field well bleachers.  Another lined bullet, very similar to the HR from last night.  2-1 Cubs. 
• Edmonds flies out to Braun, just short of the warning track.

Inning 5 - Top

• Gyeh.  Count goes full to Bush, and Harden walks him. Not the way to start the first inning where the Cubs have a lead in a game and a half. 8 pitches to Bush
• Harden at 94 pitches, and no one up in the bullpen.
• Cameron with a tapper up the line, Harden takes it to the bag.  Bush to second.
• Fly down the right field line, Kosuke either misplayed it, or deked Dave Bush into thinking he was going to catch it.  Brenly and Kasper think the later.  If so, it worked:  Bush stayed at third on the Durham double.  No-hitter over, and finally the bullpen gets moving. My mlb.tv feed isn't good enough to allow me a judgment on the play.
• Braun pops to Lee in foul territory.
• which allows Harden to IBB fielder.  Bases loaded for Hardy.
• Harden at 107 pitches
• 3-1 pitch, Hardy check-swings at a called strike.
• 115th pitch, a long full-count battle ends as Hardy flies to the warning track in right.
• (It won't show up in the box score, but that deke did save a run, which, as I write this part in retrospect, was pretty crucial.)

Inning 5 - Bottom

•  DeRosa pops to Hardy
• Soto K's looking
• From 0-2, Fukudome works a walk.  Good to see it.
• Hoffpauir hits for Harden.  Samardzija to pitch
• Hoff flies to right

Inning 6 - Top

• Samardzija in, Hart grounds to Theriot.
• sweet, I know how to spell Samardzija by memory.
•  A Cubbie Blue and White beachball is on the outfield track.  How embarassing.
• Counsell walks on a 3-2 pitch
• Kendall hits into a potential 4-6-3 DP, but DeRosa bobbles a tricky hop.  Everyone safe.
• Lamb hits for Bush, runners on 1 and 2
• Lamb rolls one to Theriot a bit towards the hole, gets the force at second.  1st and 3rd with two outs for Cameron
• Cameron singles to left, run scores.  2-2 game.  Samardzija hasn't thrown a first-pitch strike yet.
• and Durham rolls one through the right side for a single.  Lamb scores from second, Cameron goes to third on Durham's single.  3-2 game.
• Braun floats a single into right.  The throw  goes to third, is offline and hops away from Ramirez a bit, letting Braun go to second.  4-2
• Fielder intentionally walked, again, and loads the bases, again.
• Samardzija out, all runs so far are unearned.
• Randy Wells in to face Hardy with the bases loaded and 2 outs.
• Four straight balls.  5-2 game
• Hart is a total disaster right now.  After 4 pitch walk issued by a new, MLB inexperienced pitcher, he flies out to right on the first pitch he sees.  Inning over.

Inning 6 - Bottom

•  Coffee in for Bush
• Soriano with a soft liner past Hardy for a single.
• Theriot hits into a 5-4 force, as my computer freezes up.
• I'm told Lee GIDP, 5-4-3.   A very quick and futile inning for the Cubs and my internet connection.

Inning 7 - Top

•  Wells stays in, Counsell rolls out to DeRosa
• and mlbtv loses sound. Hah.  I'm told there were cheers for DeRosa making the routine play
• woo, sound returns.
• DeRosa with a backhanded 4-3 putout of Kendall
• Big Brad Nelson pinch hits for Coffee, lazy fly out to Edmonds on the first pitch
• some random hockey players sing the stretch. Incredibly slow tempo

Inning 7 - Bottom

• Gagne in for Coffee
•  Ramirez rolls one to first, Fielder leisurely tags him out.
• Edmonds bounces back to Gagne
• and DeRosa flies to Cameron on the warning track.  Very quick inning.

Inning 8 - Top

•  Wells still in, Cameron flies to Soriano close to the left field line, in the shadows
• Durham bounces into an easy 4-3
• Braun breaks a bat, Ramirez with a nice play to his right, easy 5-3, easy inning for Wells

Inning 8 - Bottom

•  Mota in for Gagne
• Soto flies out toward the right field line, Hart catches it
• Fukudome K's swinging
• Fontenot in to hit for Wells, walks.
• Soriano K's swinging

Inning 9 - Top

• Neil Cotts in for Wells 
• and first pitch, Fielder just misses an opposite field HR, doubling high off the wall in left, close to where the well begins.
• Cotts out, Wuertz in.
• Hardy bunts one up the first base side.  Wuertz fields, might not have had a good grip, can't flip to first as he's running in that direction, finally decides to take it to first  himself, is late.  Runners at 1 and 3
• Hart splits the left-center gap, ball goes to the wall.  Fielder scores, Hart tries to score from first, is easily out on a nice relay throw from Soriano to Theriot to Soto.  6-2 gam.
• Wuertz bounces one way in front of Soto.  Hart tries for third, Soto guns him down.  Replay suggests he may have been safe.
• Counsell pops to DeRosa

Inning 9 - Bottom

•  Salomon Torres in. Torres, Mota, Gagne...  The Brewers bullpen could be a The Surreal Life: Relief Pitcher Edition cast.
• Theriot lines to Hardy
• Lee flies to Hart.
• Ramirez with a sinking liner right at Braun, it sinks just below Braun's glove, goes through his legs to the wall.  Braun had been playing very deep, normally that's caught easily.  Ruled a double.
• Edmonds bounces one off the mound, it gets into center.  Ramirez scores, 6-3 game.
• DeRosa singles to right-center, runners at 1 and 3.  Tying run comes to the plate.
• First pitch to Soto, he hits a shot out to left-center for a game-tying home run.  Four runs with two outs in the ninth.
• Fukudome grounds to Hardy.

Inning 10 - Top

• Marmol in.
• Kendall rolls out to DeRosa, nice backhand play by DeRo. 
• Rickie Weeks makes his first appearance of the series, pinch-hitting for Torres.  Looks at strike three.
• Cameron K's looking at a slider on the outside corner.

Inning 10 - Bottom

•  Seth McClung in for Torres
• Reed Johnson in for Fukudome and a double-switch, Marmol hitting eighth, Reed hitting ninth and leading off the inning.
• Reed called out on a check swing at a ball in the dirt.  Might not have swung, but home plate ump made the call on his own
• Soriano also called out on a 3-2 check swing.
• Theriot K's swinging at a high fastball.  Nice inning by McClung.

Inning 11 - Top

• Wood pitching.
•  Durham K's looking at a tough breaking pitch
• Braun K's looking at a nasty curve over the outside corner.  Rapuano has been calling the outside corner pretty consistently.
• Wood absolutely blows away Fielder on three pitches.  Big rising fastball for the wiff.

Inning 11 - Bottom

• Lee K's swinging. 
• Ramirez wails at a 3-1 pitch, just misses it, fouling it off
• And then walks.
• After looking at a called strike 2 that probably was wide outside, Edmonds makes a few remarks to Rapuano, who quite suddenly tosses Edmonds from the game, mid-AB.  Kasper thinks Edmonds was saying "that's a ball."  Strike one was also a called strike that likely was outside, too.
• Pie takes over the 1-2 count as he comes in to hit.
• Pie bounces to Fielder, tries for the 3-6-3, but Pie safe at first.
• DeRosa lines a sharp single to left, Pie gets to third easily.  Runners at corner, two outs for Soto
• DeRosa takes second uncontested
• Soto flies out to center, just short of the warning track.  Nuts

Inning 12 - Top

•  Wood out for another inning.
• Hardy singles back up the middle
• Hart hits an 0-2 pitch into the left-center gap.  Hardy to third, Pie gets to it, almost gets Hart at second.  But it's a double, 2nd and 3rd with no outs.
• Marshall and Howry warming up.
• They pitch to Counsell, with 1st open and Kendall, Pitcher's spot up.
• Infield in, Counsell grounds to DeRosa.  1 out, runners hold.
• Kendall up, bounces to Ramirez. Ramirez bobbles it in his glove, but is able to get Hardy in a run down.  Throws toSoto, then back to Theriot at third for the out.  2 outs, runners now at 1 and 2 for the pinch hitter, Joe Nelson.  Horrible, Horrible base-running by the Brewers today.
• Blazing 95 mph fastball, 0-2 on Nelson
• Nelson just barely checks his swing on a high fastball.  Reed Johnson was called out for less.
• Grounds out to Theriot, 6-3.  Huge escape by Wood, with help from the Brewers.

Inning 12 - Bottom

•  Ward hits for Wood, Villanueva in to pitch
• full count to Ward, he walks on a close pitch.  Marquis runs for Ward
• Reed bunts him over.  One out, runner on 2
• Soriano intentionally walked.  Theriot's had a tough day, comes up with runners on 1 and 2, 1 out
• Theriot flies to Hart, Marquis tags and goes to third with ease.  First and third, two outs for Lee
• Soriano takes second uncontested
• Lee lines a slider up the middle, a bit towards shortstop, and into center for a single that scores Marquis without a play.  Cubs win as the team comes out to celebrate and the fans sing.

Parachat Recap

Inning 1

•  Me and blockhead sit around and wait for more parachatters.
• Real Neal helps pick up the slack.  tips on parachatting and watching mlb.tv at same time.
• America's Next Top Model.
• New theories on Fielder's expanding girth.
• DeRosa's fielding decision.
• Following a tense half-inning
• Evaluating Dave Bush:  Real Neal and I actually say intelligent things.  No kidding.
• The socialization of AIG.

Inning 2 

•  Carlos reduces the heat on the political/economic debate.  Boobs.  And Bees.
• Monitoring Harden
• A Recap Exclusive:  first ever video of me in real life, up on you-tube
• Insulting communication profs. and majors.

Inning 3 

• The Chad School of Test Prep.
•  Jesus was fat?
• Will this be Harden's last start?  Will Z start again?  (They'll both start one more time, working about half of a normal load.  Mark it down.)
• Astonishment at Kendall's newfound ability to throw
• mocking playoff baseball network broadcasters

Inning 4

• an illegal use of "oh, fuck"?
•  FUDGE!
• What's clogging Rob's shower drain?
• Blockhead informs us Harden is on pace for a 184 pitch no hitter with 9 BB on 16 K
• Sheets' elbow.

Inning 5

•  big heads and the hats that pop off of them.
• Rob identifies the sign behind home plate:  Allied Waste: Official Waste Hauler of the Chicago Cubs.
• Johann with the early standard in Allied Waste Jokes.  Allied Waste:  We Got Rid of Izturis for You.
• The alleged Fukudome deke.
• Following the tough top of the fifth.
• Carlos's personal updates.

Inning 6

•  Mocking the Palins
• Oh dear god.
• Rob socializes with bloggers
• Rob's like the Foster Wallace of Cubs Bloggers: brilliant but slutty. - Andrew
  • I wish I knew who Foster Wallace was.
• Redneck-powered Internets.
• Extending the franchise to the world.
• My crappy upstairs neighbors have awoken for the day.  I know because they're playing their latest re-mixing of 8 crappy frat-party songs from 1992.  Hooray for apartment-living in Arkansas
• Groaning at the top half of the sixth.
• And more general expressions of frustration.

Inning 7

•  Critiquing the 7th inning stretch performance
• Columbia grads.

Inning 8

•  Fernando Perez of the Rays is "articulate."  Discussion ensues.
• More insulting of communication majors.
• Rob tries to provide boobs, fails.
  • Rob redeems himself
• Zack Hample?
• Catching balls at games.

Inning 9

•  Rally Caps?  ehh.
• RALLY CAPS?  Sure.
• Lex Lugor
• Rob G is a Prophet.

Inning 10

• explaining what happened to those who missed it
• bad Blackberry updates.
•  I am informed I missed a "douchebag tourny."

Inning 11

•  Everything we know about Seth McClung.
• 24-0 Cubs games.
• Gossip Girls
• Hawkeye likes his women like his whiskey.  16, Irish, and with coke.  Oh my.
• Juvenile Wood puns.
• Go, Cubs, Go! Turned into No, Carlos, No!

Inning 12

•  gurf.
• Amazed at the brewers' running.
• Cheering on Wood, infield-in defenses.
• BABIP
• Parachat speculates that the brewers would be better off pitching to Soriano than Theriot, as Theriot makes more contact. Not too sure that I agree on that one.
• Pleading for a hit.
• Cheering for the hit.

The Cubs improve to 12-6 in games recapped.