First Star - Reed Johnson (.291)
Second Star - Daryle Ward (.187)
Third Star - Connor Jackson (.182)
Top Play - R. Johnson’s homerun in the 7th (+.319)
This was a great pitching day as far as weather was concerned. For some reason I thought pitch count would be important and it turned out to be. Here is a inning by inning recap
- 1st inning - D-backs: Gallagher started out strong, striking out Ojeda on 3 pitches, then Byrnes lines out to D.Lee. But he started to nibble the plate and got in trouble with a 2-out walk and a triple to Connor Jackson.
- 1st inning - Cubs: Johnson struck out swinging, then Theriot worked a couple pitches before laying down a great bunt for a base hit, D. Lee struck out before A-Ram worked the count for a walk, then Fukodome flew out. Nice to see Cubbies work pitch counts. Gonzalez throws 19 pitches.
- 2nd inning - Diamondbacks: Gallagher seems to be setting trend now, get 2 outs then nibble. A 2 out walk again, but recovered to strike out the Gonzalez. 37 pitches by Gallagher through 2, bullpen get ready!
- 2nd inning - Cubs:DeRosa works count for a walk, Pie has first pitch single to right, DeRo to 2nd, Gallagher sacs them over and DeRo scores on a wild pitch then Reed Johnson grounds out to pitcher on 6th pitch. 42 pitches for Gonzo through 2.
- 3rd inning - Diamondbacks: 1-2-3 Gallagher looking strong, 11 pitches in inning, 48 so far.
- 3rd inning - Cubs:Theriot led off and worked 7 pitches before flying out then D. Lee went yard to right-center. Gonzalez throws 21 pitches in this inning, 63 so far(bullpen can’t be far).
- 4th inning - Diamondbacks: Gallagher looks to be getting stronger, gets Jackson to ground out and striking out Stephen Drew and and Mark Reynolds around a Justin Upton single. 16 pitches by Gallagher this inning, 64 total.
- 4th inning - Cubs: DeRosa leads off with a single, then Pie works the count then ground into a 1-6 DP , and Gallagher grounds out. Gonzo throws 13 pitches, 76 so far through 4. Great start to the inning bad finish.
- 5th inning - Diamondbacks: Montero leads off and works a 7 pitch count into a double to LC, Gonzalez sac him to 3rd, Ojeda batting with the infield drawnd in and promptly singles through the right side of the infield for the RBI. Eric Byrnes the crushes a ball to Lf that is normally a homer but thanks to the wind is a double. Chad Fox comes in and promptly starts throwing balls. It is starting to feel like a playoff game between 2 ML teams both with AAA pitching staffs. The D-Backs see 37 pitches in this inning(most are balls).
- 5th inning - Cubs: 1-2-3. So much for working the pitch counts.
- 6th inning - Diamondbacks: At this point Chad Fox had thrown 29 pitches, 8 for strikes. Montero leads off and takes 8 pitches to ground out to DeRosa. 7 pitches to walk Chris Burke, then Ojeda fouls out, and he picks off Chris Burke. Good inning but 26 pitches thrown for a short inning.
- 6th inning - Cubs: Except for Soto drawing a walk, nothing here, they see 15 pitches. By the way, the last 3 innings Cubs have seen 39 pitches, Diamondbacks have seen 79. The fastest way to a bullpen is pitch-counts. I smell a double switch coming up.
- 7th inning - Diamondbacks:Yep Weurtz in to pitch and Fontenot in at 2nd. now get this: 4 pitches, 3 outs!
- 7th inning - Cubs: A big inning here, Pie actually works the count then strikeouts on 6th pitch, Fontenot works a 7 pitch walk, Reed Johnson then takes the 4th pitch out of the yard! Cubs tie the game and it looks like big Mo is wearing blue! Theriot works a 7 pitch walk, then Derrick Lee grounds into the an around the horn DP.
- 8th inning - Diamondbacks: Carlos Marmol in, throws 17 pitches to get 3 ks looking and a ground out. 4-5-6 coming up for Cubs time for them to produce!
- 8th inning - Cubs: A-Ram single to left, Fuko bunt single(A-Ram to 3rd), Infield in Soto strikes out, Soriano is walked, Daryl Ward comes up for Pie and promptly doubles to left center, 2 RBI’s Cubs lead 6-4!
- 9th inning - Diamondbacks: Kerry Woods on for his 7th save, and gets Monterro to ground out then hits Salazar(uh-oh here we go), then gets Ojeda to ground into a dp to end the game.
A nice win the cubs needed. We need pitching though. As good a job did on working pitch counts, they struggled when they didn’t. Lou has to keep them on patience.
May 11th, 2008 at 8:34 pm
While pitch counts do mean something for starters, they are mostly irrelevant for relievers who only pitch an inning or two.
May 11th, 2008 at 8:48 pm
I agree somewhat, which is why I didn’t worry about Marmol’s inning. But it was shown that the best innings by the Cubs were when they worked the pitch counts.
May 11th, 2008 at 11:19 pm
This was a great win. They finally showed that they can beat a top team. Maybe we are turning the corner. I am also impressed by the range Theriot has shown lately. For all the lack of faith we have shown him, he has really turned into a solid SS. Now if we can fix our Marquis problem, pray that AFonz begins to play well, and hope that Lieber pitches well we should be in good shape.
May 12th, 2008 at 10:10 am
As long as Wood as been around, you’d think he’d learn how to NOT hit people. For some reason, I remember he hit around 20 or so during the ‘03 season. I know his pitches have excellent movement, but c’mon.
May 12th, 2008 at 10:19 am
Did anyone watch the replay of the no hit game during the rain delay?
Jack Brickhouse mentioned the Cincinnati’s pitcher had thrown his 177 pitch! Not too mention it was a 10 inning complete game no hitter. To me, pitch counts are ridicously over rated, especially since they don’t take into account the warm up pitches before the game, the warm up pitches between innings, etc.
I understand the need to watch your starters arms, and protect the investment in them, but some of this is getting a little silly after you watch games from years ago.
May 12th, 2008 at 11:07 am
Jose,
Glad to see you’ve come out from under your bed.
And for the record (and Joe will back me up on this)
I NEVER doubted Theriot, I’ve been shouting his praises from Day One.
May 12th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
GREAT Series and turn around for the boys! Wood’s slider and fastball are looking good. Tremendous effort by a now healthy Ward. We need to see Alfonse get it into gear but how can you complain about a few key doubles!
Edmonds to CF? I don’t know if he has anything left but boy if he has one more decent season left in him this would be the additional bat we need. Defensively I wonder where he is at percentage wise?
I will shake things up out there in the bleechers…
Bonds is there out there for the minimum. Any takers? One season…
May 12th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
Not sure which prospect repulses me more:
Edmonds or Bonds
May 12th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
Edmonds is done. He’s injury prone, can’t hit, and doesn’t have the range he once did. I’d much rather have Johnson or Pie out there.
There’s a reason Bonds is still available. He’s a clubhouse cancer, that’s probably looking at jail time.
May 12th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
I’ll throw this out there over a few dozen beers:
(pure fun to see where people’s hearts and minds are…pot talk if you will)
IF having Bonds on the team guaranteed a Cub WS championship do you dance with the devil?
May 12th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
^ Can I just have the beers?
May 12th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
We already did.
Sammy Sosa. OK not the devil but one of the chief demons.
May 12th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
I’d take Bonds for a WS victory, no doubt.
Sign him just before the date needed to submit post season rosters. He can be our DH in the AL Stadium
May 12th, 2008 at 6:41 pm
No way. Respecting the integrity of the game is more important than a World Series.
May 12th, 2008 at 8:19 pm
Tiger Woods
Kerry Wood
May 13th, 2008 at 2:34 am
Tommy:
I was not under my bed, but had computer problems. Thanks any way. Nice to be up and running again. No one said that you doubted Theriot, but many have.