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Game 115 Recap: Cubs 6, Rockies 2
Jonesing for First Place
GameCenter, Box Score, Recap, Photos, Play by Play
W - Marquis (9-7), corner outfielders
L - Cook (8-7), scary beanings
Things to take from this game: 1. Hope Jeff Baker is OK. As detailed below, Baker took a Marquis fastball off of the side of the face. It clearly was a pitch that just got away from Marquis, and let's hope that there are no serious after effects, either for Baker or for the remaining games in this series. 2. Second verse, same as the first Much like the first game of the series, the Cubs were led by Jacques Jones who had an RBI double in the fourth and HR in the sixth, as well as a bunt base hit. Once again Murton added a solo HR and Kendall also threw in some nice hitting as well. Remind you a bit of previous playoff chases where we'd get lifts from odd sources like Marvelle Wynne or Randal Simon? Maybe just a bit. 3. A great Coors Performance by Marquis Marquis really pitched well through six, before coming out of the game after the Baker beaning in the seventh. Good command, using the slider for a few strikeouts and getting a ton of ground balls. 4. Howry escapes the eighth Marmol loaded the bases with no outs in the eighth. Howry came in, and a weak popup, groundout, and flyout later, and the Rockies left with only one run scored. Great relief. The thrilling details, below.- A couple of modest rallies mounted in both halves of the first, but nothing comes of it for either team.
- Kendall with a really nice AB to draw a walk against Cook in the second. Fouled off several 3-2 pitches. Fontenot had singled, now runners on 1 and 2 with no outs, Pie up in the Second Inning.
- Pie called out looking on a pitch clearly off the plate from the overhead camera replay. Rockies announcers explain it's because Cook is a veteran and Pie is a rookie. Couldn't it just be due to the fact that the ump missed the call?
- Rockies announcers all over Piniella for not bunting with either Pie or especially with Marquis in the second. Marquis strikes out, and we still have runners on first and second, now with two outs. A Theriot force out ends the inning unprofitably.
- Looks like Marquis has the at-'em-sinkeball going, tonight. Easy 6-3 DP for Theriot in the Rockies half of the second.
- Jones surprises the entire planet, with a nice bunt for a base hit towards third, leading off the third.
- and Lee hits what should be a 3-6-3 ground ball to Baker, who throws it wildly into left field. 1st and 3rd, no outs.
- Jones with a questionable decision/instinct on a ground ball by Murton. Looks like he was runing on contact, but the ball was a relatively easy chopper to the right of Cook. He easily tags Jones out (well, forces him out of the basepaths, to get called out) and we basically lose an out and a base, as we now have one out and runners on 1st and 2nd.
- Derosa promptly walks. Bases loaded for Rockies-killer Fontenot.
- Fontenot hits a weak grounder to second to score a run and advance the other two runners, and then Kendall hits a solid single to center, to score two. 3-0 Cubs.
- Taveras doesn't try to steal second on Kendall, in the third. Odd.
- Top of the fourth, Marquis leads off by hitting a double off the CF wall.
- Jones is white-hot. He inside-outs one off the LF wall, for a double. Like last night, it looked like Holliday again took a really uninspired route towards the ball, but this one more likely was out of reach, no matter what. 4-0 Cubs.
- IBB to Lee. Fans boo. No more damage done in the inning
- Bottom of the fourth starts with Derosa barehanding a grounder but throwing it away.
- Tulowitzki doubles off the LF wall, driving in Holliday with two outs.
- Marquis ends the inning with a nice K looking of Torrealba.
- Jeff Baker with a nice diving play of a Pie groundball, to end the top of the fifth.
- Marquis really looks sharp through 5. Lots of ground balls, some good movement on strikeout pitches, and 67 pitches thrown.
- Take one guess and the name of the Cub who just hit a shot of a solo HR in the sixth. 5-1, Jones leads.
- Marquis with another 1-2-3 inning.
- Jason Kendall with the ugliest hit ever. He gets totally and utterly jammed, squibbing one towards second. Pitcher gives up on it, and second baseman can't get to it. Suddenly, 2 on, 2 out in the Seventh.
- Tulowitzki with a very nice off-balance, running throw on a slow roller up the middle to get Pie, and end the threat. Still 5-1.
- Hawpe hits a sinking liner to center, which Pie dives for. Misses, rather badly, and ball kicks high off his body. Could have been an inside the parker, but ball mostly just kicks straight up, and Hawpe held to a double to start the bottom of the seventh.
- Marquis does a fine job to get two ground outs, putting Hawpe at third with two outs.
- Scary moment of the season so far, perhaps, as Marquis loses control of a fastball and hits Jeff Baker along the side of the helmet flap, getting as much cheekbone, perhaps even temple, as helmet. Baker lay on the ground for several minutes and the crowd fell very silent. He got up and left under his own power, but it didn't look good live, and looked far worse in slow-motion replay. Here's hoping everything's ok. Marquis, understandably, looked quite upset. Looks like it was just a fastball that sailed up and in, nothing deliberate. No one in the stadium seemed to think it was malicious. Sort of reminded me of Wood, in his early days, how his fastball often seemed to have a natural up and in motion when he was struggling with his command.
- Well, now there's some booing as Marquis leaves the game. Marmol in to get out of the seventh inning jam.
- and Marmol promptly walks the pinch hitter, Spilborghs. Bases loaded.
- DEMPSTER up in the seventh, as Marmol goes ball one on Taveres.
- But Marmol then gets three straight strikes, the last on a nice slider just off the plate. Threat over.
- Jacques Jones has superpowers. He strikes out on a ball in the dirt that takes a hard, high hop off the catcher, and advances to first. He steals second, and Torrealba just sort of whiffs on his effort to catch the pitch. But the inning ends with a Lee strikeout. Sure looks like he's struggling, at least these last two games.
- Worrisome start to the Rockies' eighth. Marmol back out, and Matsui gets an infield single. Holliday hits one right back to Marmol, but he's slightly out of position to field it, and it glances off of his glove, losing a good DP chance. Base hit, two on no out. Next pitch, Marmol throws a fastball way outside, Kendall can't quite get to it, wild pitch, runners move up.
- Marmol's slider is rolling in there like the tide, tonight.
- Atkins walks. Bases loaded for Hawpe, who represents the tying run. No outs. Marmol looks like a tired pitcher. Howry comes in.
- Hawpe with a weak AB against Howry, pops out weakly to Theriot. One down, two to go.
- Tulowitzki with a 5-3 RBI ground out. Score now 5-2.
- Torrealba flies out to end a huge threat. Really great work by Howry.
- Matt Murton with a much needed insurance solo HR, opposite field. A true Coors Field HR, as the ball just kept drifting further out to right. Nice piece of hitting, but wow, did that one just sort of float. Manny Corpas evidently doesn't give up many HRs.
- Kendall singles, then ends the inning by getting caught stealing. Odd.
- One out in the ninth, Spilborghs strikes out swinging on a wild pitch. Kendall's throw is high, but Lee leaps, twists around and swipe-tags Spilborghs just before he can reach first. Second out.
- Third out comes on a bizarre 5-4-6 putout. Derosa threw the ball away, Cedeno, playing second, picked it up in right field on a richochet, and threw the runner out at second base. Cubs win.
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