Sun 05/14/2000
The Cubs won a thriller over the Cardinals 10-9. The winning run was scored in the
ninth inning. The Cubs had to overcome 5-1 and 9-6 deficits to pull out the victory.
The Cubs won on a single by Pete DiNatale in the bottom of the ninth. The final was
10-9 over the Cardinals. This was a great gut check for the Cubs who rallied
from 5-1 and 9-6 deficits to pull out the victory.
Tom Barnes pitched masterfully making two appearances in the game. Tom pitched
the first 4 2/3rds and then retired the last two Cardinal batters of the seventh
inning and all the eighth inning for 6 1/3 innings. He allowed 5 hits and just
1 earned run. He struck out ten without issuing a walk! Dan Gould made his first
appearance of 2000 and got the final out in the fifth inning. Mark Grogan also
made his first appearance of the season and pitched 1 1/3 strong innings. Earl
Carpenter pitched a scoreless ninth to pick up the win.
Defensively, the Cubs had some really poor moments and some very good ones!
Tom Barnes made three great plays, two on line drives and one on a slow roller
to his right. Dan Gould came out of the gate on fire making two great running
catches in left field in the first inning! Later Dan made a great play at
first base snagging an errant throw and tagging the bag to get the out.
Offensively, the Cubs continue to mash the ball. The team is hitting over .400
after three games! I think some leanient scoring is helping, but in general
there are several Cubs off to fantastic starts. The Cubs showed a lot of heart
in this one coming up with several clutch hits. Tim Shaver delivered a two out
single in the sixth to give the Cubs their first lead of the game at 6-5. Earl
Carpenter gave the Cubs a huge boost in the eighth by hitting the first homer
of the season for the Cubs! This was an absolute bomb to left center half way
up the pines! This two run shot made the score 9-8 Cards. The homer scored
John Sudkin who had a great day going 3-4 and scoring 3 runs. Later that same
inning Chris Greig delivered a two out game tying single which set up the
ninth inning heroics. Chris' single drove in Tom Barnes who had another great day
going 3-4 and driving in two runs. The ninth inning was started with a single
by Dennis Fontecchio. He stole second and went to third an the bad throw from the
catcher. Pete drove Dennis in with a liner to right center. Pete was also
3-4 on the day. Mark Grogan continued his torrid start to the season going 3-4, he
is now 5-7 on the season. The Cubs had 21 hits, 20 singles and Earl's bomb.
On a personal note, thanks for getting me off the hook. I had a horrible game
striking out twice, letting a grounder through my legs and making two poor throws
to the plate that should have cut down Cardinal runs. There was also that
stupid baserunning play at third, thank God they botched the rundown...
What a team, we can win even when some guys are having a bad day. Can't wait
to see how good we become when we are all playing well at the same time!