The Cubs moved to 9-1 with a hard fought 10-7 victory over the Dodgers 0n 7/18.
The Cubs are off to their best start to a season since starting 2003 at 12-1. The Cubs led this game against
the Dodgers from start to finish, but it was never a comfortable game. The Dodgers loaded the bases in 6 of
the 9 innings! An amazing feat for sure. 2 of the 6 times they did not score, and while the Dodgers scored in
5 different innings, they only scored 7 runs thanks to some clutch pitching and defense. The Dodgers went
1-2-3 in the first and eight innings but were otherwise causing trouble...
The Cubs used 4 pitchers in this one, and each faced stiff challenges from the Dodger lineup. Tom Barnes
started and went three innings. After a 1-2-3 first inning, Tom allowed a run in the second. He also finished
off the second with runners at first and secodn by picking off the runner at first on a sweet play to first
baseman Ken Hamm. Tom walked the first three batters of the 3rd and then gave up a 2 run double but escaped
further damage by retiring the next three batters with some amazing defensive help we'll mention later. Fred
Newhall made his Cubs pitching debut in the 4th. The Dodgers loaded the bases with one out before Fred
settled in and got a grounder to first and a pop to center to escape. Fred started the fifth and after walking
the first batter and hitting the second had to leave due to shoulder tightness. In came a cold PJ O'Toole.
PJ retired his first batter and then gave up a double which scored one run but got the second runner cut down
at the plate on another huge defensive play. The Dodgers loaded the bases on PJ in the 6th, but he induced
a 6-4-3 double play to escape unscathed. John Gordon pitched the last three innings. We have seen John come
in to these types of games over and over again and just close the door. John was having trouble with his
control though and the Dodgers touched him up for three runs. They made things very interesting in the top
of the 9th. The Cubs were up 10-5. However, the first 5 Dodgers all reached on 2 singles, 2 walks and a
hit by pitch. So the game was 10-7 with the bases loaded and no outs. A pop to shallow center, a K and then
a pop to third ended the game. It was a bit scary to say the least.
Of course in a 10-7 game there are a lot of key contributions, and in general I don't like to highlight one
player, but on this day, Alex Scott was outstanding. He was 3-3 at the plate with an RBI and 2 runs scored
from the leadoff spot. On defense, Alex made an absolutely amazing diving stop of a line drive headed to
center field with runners at second and third in the third inning. In the 5th inning, the first two Dodgers
reached and a bomb was hit to left. Earl carpenter made a great play to track the ball down quickly and make
an accurate throw to Alex in shallow left. Alex threw a laser directly to Paul Sonnett in the air all the
way to gun down the runner from first for a huge out.
The Cubs scored 10 runs in this one over just three innings. There were several clutch 2 out hits to extend
those three innings. The Cubs scored 3 in the first, 3 in the 4th to make it 6-3 and then scored 4 in the
5th to make it 10-4. In the first, Alex led off with a single and Rich Schwarz reached on a bunt. John
Gordon singled Alex home and Rich to third. John tried to steal secodn but was thrown out and Rich failed
to score on the play. Paul picked Rich up though with an RBI single. With two outs, Earl Carpenter drilled
a double to right center to score Paul. In the 4th, John and Paul led off with singles. Ken Hamm walked to
load the bases. After an out, Dennis Fontecchio hit a ball between third and short that the third baseman
fielded but threw away trying to get John out at the plate. Eddie Murray followed (Eddie was also 3-3 on the
day) with a 2 RBI single. The 5th inning ended up being the critical offensive inning as the Cubs held a
tenuous 6-4 lead. Tom Barnes and Mark Grogan led off with walks. The next two batters were retired though, but
the Cubs scored a run on the first and third steal play where Grogs stole second and Tom scored when the
throw went into center field. The Cubs were not done though. PJ O'Toole delivered a big 2 out RBI single to
score the second run of the inning. Then Alex and Rich followed with RBI singles to make it 10-4.