Game 157 Recap: Cubs 2, Marlins 4
It Ain't Easy.
Box Score, Play by Play, Photos
W- Willis (10-15), losing quickly, "getting 'em tomorrow." L- Lilly (15-8), wide outside corners, getting ejected for talking to a teammate, the fight against high blood pressure, hypertension, and generalized anxiety disorders. S- Tankersley (1), the last threads of hope for Brewers fans. Cubs Magic Number: 4- Brewers Magic Number: 8
- Combined Games Left: 10
- Two quick flies to Hermida, who struggles to see the second one by Derosa, but winds up grabbing both of them.
- Lee takes strike three looking, down the middle but at the knees.
- Hanley Ramirez lines to Soriano to start the bottom of the first. Uggla with a lazy fly to Monroe.
- Hermida lines an outside fastball the other way, off the left field wall. Cabrera up.
- Soto goes out to chat with Lilly, which brings LouPa racing (er, "racing" out to see what's going on. Leads to an intentional walk of Cabrera on the first. Looks like the strategy is pretty clear: don't let Cabrera be the guy who costs us a title. Lefty Mike Jacobs up. (Odd that they don't have a right-handed bat protecting Cabrera?) Marlins announcers say that both Ross and Willingham are unavailable, so I guess that's part of it.
- Can really hear the Cubs fans, they get into it with two strikes on Jacobs.
- Jacobs K's on a nice hook, looking. No damage. Fans cheer.
- After 12 pitches, Ramirez flies to left.
- Nice sliding catch by Hermida on a sinking liner from Murton.
- Soto bounces back to Willis.
- Lilly gets Olivo looking on another big Lillyhammer.
- Linden singles to left.
- Heh. Marlins play 2003 Playoff highlights (pro-Marlins ones, of course) for the fans. Cubs fans boo.
- Brett Carroll (WHO?!?!?!) singls just left of the second base bag, runners on 1 and 2 with 1 out.
- Willis bloops one into shallow left. Bases loaded for Hanley Ramirez. 1 out. Ohhhhh boy.
- Generous strike call on a fastball low, 1-1 count.
- Takes a huge rip, foul next pitch straight down into the batters box. 1-2
- Ramirez gets really badly jammed, ball floats just beyond the reach of Derosa as he runs out to right. One run scores. Agonizing couple of bloop hits just now
- and the Marlins announcers invoke Bartman. It won't be the last time we hear it, folks.
- Uggla flies to the warning track in right, sac fly, 2-0. Both runners advance, to 2 and 3. Hermida up. Need to stop this inning, right here.
- Hermida ground-rule doubles, bouncing the ball into the stands off the right-center warning track. 4-0.
- Cabera with about a 410 foot flyout to Center. Some real bloops and some real blasts this inning. How will the Ted Lilly Fan Club ever explain this one....
- Strike three looking to Monroe
- Theriot singles to left, first Cubs hit.
- Lilly fails to get the bunt down, strikes out on a foul bunt.
- Marlins annoncers say they like the Cubs best among the contending teams. "The best mix going on right now."
- Soriano strikes out swinging on what appeared to be an 87 MPH fastball down the middle. This game isn't off to much of an inspiring start....
- Marlins guy interviewing some embarassingly bad Harry Caray impersonator in the stands.
- Olivo doubles off the top of the left field wall. Barely beats the throw to second.
- And Lilly comes right back to K Linden on three pitches, last one looking at another big hook that paints the corner.
- Carroll flies out to end the threat.
- Leadoff walk to Derosa.
- After a long AB, Lee GIDP, 5-4-3
- Ramirez grounds to Hanley Ramirez. Bobbles it, spins while picking it up and fires to first, 1-2-3 inning.
- Lilly makes quick work of Willis, Ramirez and Uggla.
- Murton walks, but Soto GIDP 4-6-3, and Monroe grounds out 5-3 for another very fast half-inning.
- Hermida bounces one off of Lilly's foot for a single, but Cabrera K's swinging on a curve, Jacobs flies out, and Olivo K's swinging at a fastball up and away, no harm done. (Other than my recap of this inning, which WordPress ate. Meh.)
- Theriot with a leadoff single
- Cedeno in to hit for Lilly? Hmm. Called out on a check swing at a ball in the dirt. Cubs fans not happy, I think with the call, not unhappy at Cedeno.
- Soriano strikes out, this time waving through an 85 MPH fastball that again seemed to be up and over the middle. Good grief.
- Wuertz in for the Sixth.
- K's Linden on a check swing on a slider to start the inning.
- Carroll K's swinging on a slider. 2 down.
- Willis bounces 4-3 for another quick half-inning
- Derosa lines out to right, Lee flies out to center, and in the blink of an eye, two outs.
- Ramirez rolls one towards the middle of the diamond, Uggla grabs it, double-clutches, and fires it wide at first. E 4, Ramirez would have been out easily.
- Murton lines to Hermida for another quick AB and quick inning.
- H. Ramirez flies to deep left-center. 1 out to start the bottom of the seventh
- Uggla with a routine roller to Theriot, 2 outs.
- Hermida K's looking, two very nice innings by Wuertz.
- Soto walks to lead off the 8th
- There we go. Monroe launches one over the big scoreboard in left, a real shot of a 2-run HR. 4-2 Marlins, still no outs.
- Cubs fans back into the game.
- Theriot flies into the chasm that is left-center field, one out.
- Kendall in to pinch-hit for Wuertz. Not a lot of right-handed options off the bat, when we start the all-right-handed lineup like tonight.
- Kendall battles, almost drops a double in down the LF line, but finally grounds to third.
- Soriano strikes out swinging. Again.
- Kevin Hart in. Makes quick work of Cabrera and Jacobs.
- Olivio doubles to center.
- Hart K's Linden swinging to get out of the inning.
- Kevin Gregg unavailable, Lee Gardner to try to close, instead.
- Derosa K's looking on a pitch well off the corner. Lets the homeplate umpire know it was a ball. Ugh.
- Lee hits a rolling curve through the hole, for a single. We get what we wanted, Aramis up as the tying run.
- At least the ump is consistent, he calls that same ball that struck out Derosa a strike on Aramis. 1-1 count.
- Goes to a full count, Aramis flies to Carroll in center.
- Murton up, will likely stay in to face the righty, as otherwise the Marlins could bring in a lefty, Tankersly, and the Cubs would lack any reasonable right-handed bat to counter with.
- Aramis now ejected, presumably for having words about the strike one call in his at bat as he walks back to the dugout. It looks like Aramis was talking to MURTON, when the ump ejected him!
- Well, ok - instead of Murton vs. Gardner, righty vs. righty, Lou pinch hits with Floyd, bringing in Tankersly for a lefty vs. lefty matchup
- Floyd has a good AB, but winds up making the final out on a well-hit line drive to the warning track in left-center. 4-2 Marlins win.
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