Game 156 Recap: Cubs 8, Pirates 0
Fall Blowout Special
Box Score, Play by Play, Photos
W- Zambrano (17-13), getting your playoff tickets early, exchanging temporary-farewell gifts between players and fans, streaking into the playoffs. L- Gorzelanny (14-9), pessimism. Magic Number - 4 (Brewers lost today.) Things to Take from This Game 1. A fitting end to the regular-season at Wrigley A beautiful day, Cubs chasing down a division title, and a dominant performance by the Cubs pitchers and offense. The grounds crew does a fine job with the Stretch, and the fans are cheering every moment. Let's do it again in October 2. Dominant Performance by the Ace Zambrano had his A+ stuff going today. The fastball wasn't just alive, Z also spotted it very well throughout the game. The only concern is that after running hard on a double and then scoring on a single in the sixth, Z left the game after trying to go out for his warmup pitches in the 7th. Initial report is cramps. Wood pitched two even more dominating innings to follow him up, with impecable command of both the fastball and the sharp, biting slider. 3. Ronny Cedeno, playoff-chasing Hero. Filling in for Theriot, Cedeno had a couple of scratch hits, one for an RBI, and then a real lined shot of a two-run HR to put the game away at 8-0. 4. Lee stays hot. Two hits, three RBIs, including a two-run HR that barely gets out to right-center. He also pulled a double down the line, seems to be hitting the ball with power to all fields, now. 5. One of two things is going to happen. With six games to play and a magic number of 4, either the Cubs are going to the playoffs on the strength of a terrific September, or they're going to give us a new line in our history of epic tragedies. I'm banking on the former. Your rapid response, no-one-has-left-Wrigley-at-the-publishing-of-this-recap details, below Game Recap Inning 1- Z comes out throwing bullets in the first, striking out the side on a fastball that looks to have both a lot of life on it, and with good control. Z pumps the fist and spins as he comes off the field
- Soriano bounces out to third, then Derosa dumps one down the left-field line for a double. Lee hits a hard liner out to right, caught, Derosa has to scamper back to the bag. Two outs, runner on 2 for Ramirez.
- Ramirez K's swinging, big cut
- 4 K's to start the game, as LaRoche whiffs at yet another good fastball, this one low and away. Z seems to have great command of the fastball early on.
- Nady dumps one down the right field line by the bullpen, for a single. Murton fumbles with it a bit, but Nady stays at first.
- Nady steals second on what seemed like a busted hit and run. The throw is way offline towards right field, but Derosa tags him out. However, Tim McClellan can't see the tag too well due to the odd position it's coming in from, and calls him safe.
- And Ball Four to Bay, runners on 1 and 2 wiht one out.
- Tap back to Zambrano, Z can only get Paulino at first, runners advance.
- Z gets Izturis to bounce back to him, underhands it to first to get out of the inning. Nice work getting out of one of those innings that looked like it held the potential for a couple of cheap runs to score...
- Murton leads off the bottom of the second with a double to the left-center warning track on a fastball down the middle.
- Soto drops a ball into right, Murton has to hold up and can only make it to third.
- Monroe also hits a floater into right, this one shallower and with more loft, and Bay catches it. No hope of tagging.
- Cedeno fights one off into shallow right-center for a single, Murton scores. 1-0 Cubs
- Zambrano lays down a nice bunt towards third, but Gorzelanny, being a left, is facing towards thirds and gets the force there. Runners at 1 and 2, two outs.
- After airing it out on a couple of swinging strikes, Soriano eventually gets caught looking at a slider over the outside corner. Swings the bat at the air in disgust, as he walks away. Inning over. 1-0 Cubs.
- Z starts the inning with his fifth K, Gorzelanny on another fastball on the outside corner
- Nyger Morgan sneaks a bouncer just through, back up the middle.
- Morgan runs on a 1-2 breaking pitch (a real hanger, glad Bautista was letting Morgan steal) and Soto throws an absolute bullet of a strike to catch Morgan.
- Bautista walks, Sanchez flies out to end it
- Lee walks with one out in the bottom of the third. Ramirez swings through a fastball for another K.
- Murton doubles off the left-field wall. Bay bobbles it a bit, and Lee is sent from first. He's thrown out on the relay, by a pretty decent amount. Lee went for a slide around the catcher, trying to reach the plate with his arm. Didn't work so well. Inning over with no runs scoring.
- Soriano with a leaping grab near the ivy in left, on a drive off LaRoche's bat.
- Nady pops to Ramirez. Bay goes 6-3, easy inning for Z.
- Soto K's looking to start the Cubs' 4th.
- Monroe K's on a foul tip. Gorzelanny seems to be settling in.
- Cedeno with a well-placed bounced up the middle for an infield hit.
- Z reaches down for one, flies out to the warning track in center to end the inning
- Paulino K's swinging to start the inning, and Izturis immediately is down 0-2 before lining out to Soriano. Soriano even does the Hop when having to time a running catch on a liner. Almost misjudges it, having to reach back across his face to grab it.
- Ugh, Z walks Gorgelanny with two outs. Morgan bounces to Lee, unassisted, to end it.
- Soriano reaches for a pitch near the ankles, sneaks it through the left-side hole to lead off the Cubs half of the fifth.
- Interesting play. Soriano runs, Derosa swings, foul tips it. Ball pops out of Paulino's glove, but umpire rules that it was dropped in the motion of throwing. That means that it's a strike out, Soriano keeps second. Had it been ruled a dropped foul tip, Derosa would still be hitting with Soriano on first.
- Lee doubles to the left-center gap on a high inside fastball. Soriano scores, 2-0.
- Ramirez intentionally walked, Murton scratches one towards third, and is able to beat it out. Bases loaded, one out.
- Soto sac fly to medium-deep straight-away left, Lee scores. 3-0. 2 outs, runners on 1 and 2 for Monroe. Fouls out, inning over.
- Bautista flies to Soriano, Sanchez grounds to Derosa. BJB observes that Carlos went with a nearly straight over the top arm-angle to one pitch to Sanchez, before dropping way down sidearm for the next two.
- LaRoche squibs one to third. Ramirez, playing deep, comes in to bare-hand it. Throw sends Lee sprawling to get it with his foot on the bag, close play, called safe.
- 6-4 force ends the inning.
- Cedeno flies out to start the inning
- Z lines one opposite-field to the right-field corner, for a double. Crowd is digging it.
- Soriano flies to Morgan, Z stays put.
- Derosa drops one in to shallow center, Z is really hauling butt around third base and scores without a play. 4-0.
- Lee lines one to right-center that just barely crawls over the basket for a two-run homer. Len was totally surprised, took him a second or three to grasp that the ball got out. 6-0 Cubs!
- Osoria(who?!?!) in, Ramirez pops out to catcher on first pitch.
- Oh crap. Before the inning starts, the trainer comes out to check on Z, and he leaves the game. Z gets a big hand from the crowd as he exits.
- Wood will be coming in.
- During Fan Cam, they show Soriano, Pie and Murton pointing to the scoreboard as it shows the Braves putting up 4 to take the lead in the 7th. Hear the crowd erupt as it's posted.
- Wood K's Bay to start the inning. Wood, when he's right, seems to take a similar approach to Howry - lots of low fastballs on the corners sitting at 92-94 MPH. Paulino grounds to Lee, 3 unassisted.
- Z leaves due to cramping, according to media relations.
- Izturis grounds out to Cedeno, easy, quick inning for Wood, great to Z
- Hooray for the Grounds Crew, doing the final Stretch of the year. In typical grounds crew fashion, they are out there, assembled, ready to sing in front of the microphone within a few seconds of the inning ending.
- Romulo Sanchez (who?!?!) in for the bottom of the seventh. Murton K's swinging. Soto lines a single to left. Pie pops out.
- Cedeno hits a line drive out to left, several rows up into the bleachers. Crowd loves it, 8-0.
- Wood hits for himself, K's.
- As the scoreboard shows two more for the Braves in the 8th, fans start doing the tomahawk chop.
- Fuld joins Pie and Soriano in the OF
- McLouth pinch hits for the pitcher, walks to start the8th.
- Morgan chops to Lee, unassisted, McLouth to second.
- Would with a particularly good breaking ball, either a hard curve or soft slider, with 12-6 movement, to Bautista for strike two. Gets him swinging at another sharp slider for strike three. A couple of very encouraging pitches right there.
- Kata batting for Sanchez. Another great slider for a called first strike.
- Crowd standing, chanting Kerry, as Wood strikes out Kata on another terrific breaking pitch. (Of course, the moment I comment on Wood seeming to go with a howry-like approach, he decides to bust out a string of spectacular breaking pitches. Heh.)
- BRAVES BEAT BREWERS
- Soriano flies to center, one out.
- Standing O in wrigley during Derosa's AB, as they show the Braves' victory. Fans continue to do the chop and now a smattering of the braves' war-chant.
- Derosa walks. Takes second on a passed ball
- Bautista makes a nice diving stop through the shadows at third, to snag Lee's bouncer and get him at first.
- Another one gets away from Paulino, Derosa to third.
- Ramirez goes down swinging, yet again. End of inning.
- Wuertz in. LaRoche K's, Nady does too, on a nice slider.
- Pearce in to pinch-hit. Crowd up, just roaring throughout the AB. Wuertz strikes out the side, making Steve Pearce your last regular-season hitter at Wrigley this year.
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