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| Sports ExtraFriday, August 31, 2007 7:29 PM CDT |
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Bullpen comes through as Cubs beat Brewers, expand lead
CHICAGO — With the season winding down and the pressure heating up, the Cubs’ bullpen probably isn’t going to get a whole lot of couch time during the stretch run. Lou Piniella’s latest version of the Nasty Boys — Carlos Marmol, Bob Howry and Ryan Dempster — are going to have to suck it up, just as they prefer. “Look, there’s plenty of time to rest in October,’’ Piniella said before Thursday’s game. “We have to get after it, and whatever it takes, that’s what we’re going to do. “Obviously, we’re not going to take a chance and hurt somebody. But look, as these games dwindle down in numbers, what are you going to save it for?’’ Piniella had to call upon his bullpen earlier than expected Thursday after Ted Lilly threw 38 pitches in the first inning and lasted only five innings. But Marmol came through in the clutch again with five strikeouts in two scoreless innings as the Cubs edged Milwaukee, 5-4, to win the series and push the Brewers 2½ games behind them in the National League Central. St. Louis lost to Houston on Thursday afternoon, falling to three games back. Matt Murton and Alfonso Soriano hit back-to-back home runs to give the Cubs a 5-3 lead in the sixth and, after Marmol and Howry had combined for three scoreless innings, Dempster survived a dramatic ninth to post his 23rd save. After Joe Dillon’s leadoff double, Dempster plunked Rickie Weeks to put two men on. J.J. Hardy’s sacrifice moved the tying runs into scoring position before Dempster retired Ryan Braun on a grounder to third. After Piniella ordered an intentional walk to Prince Fielder to load the bases, Dempster walked Corey Hart on a 3-2 pitch to force in a run before inducing Kevin Mench into a force play at second to end it. Marmol (4-1) notched the victory after striking out the side on 12 pitches when he replaced Lilly in the sixth, and fanning Fielder with runners on the corners and one out in the seventh. After Braun stole second, Marmol caught Hart looking at strike three to leave the tying runs in scoring position. Milwaukee manager Ned Yost sent rookie left-hander Manny Parra against the Cubs in their final matchup of the regular season, knowing that lefties are the Cubs’ Achilles’ heel. Parra was making only his second major-league start, but he was handed a 2-0 lead after Lilly stumbled out of the gate. Lilly, looking for his first victory since Aug. 9, served up a leadoff home run to Weeks and a run-scoring double to Mench in the first, and was fortunate to escape with only two runs scoring. The Cubs bounced back with a three-run second off Parra, thanks to a line drive to right by Craig Monroe that glanced off the glove of right fielder Hart and rolled to the warning track, putting runners on second and third with no outs. Mark DeRosa’s two-run single tied the game and Jacque Jones added an opposite-field, RBI single to give the Cubs the lead. But Lilly immediately coughed it up in the third, after an infield hit, a walk and a double-steal put runners on second and third with one out. Mench’s sacrifice fly pulled the Brewers even at 3-3, and the pitching settled down for a few innings. Murton entered the game on a double-switch in the sixth and homered off Chris Capuano on a 3-2 pitch to give the Cubs their first lead. Two pitches later, Soriano belted his 19th of the year and first since July 28. The Cubs improved to 13-20 against lefty starters, and Piniella sees brighter days ahead. “We’ll do well against left-handed pitching this (September),’’ he said. “I just have that funny feeling. I think we’re going to be facing them a little more.’’ (c) 2007, Chicago Tribune. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. E-mail this story | Print this story | Search archives | RSS Show comments |  Hide comments | Hide comments on all stories |
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Cubs Fan wrote on Aug 31, 2007 1:37 PM:
Cards fan wrote on Aug 31, 2007 12:26 PM:
Cub Fan wrote on Aug 31, 2007 11:07 AM:
#1 wrote on Aug 31, 2007 9:40 AM:
Shirley wrote on Aug 31, 2007 9:13 AM:
Dman wrote on Aug 31, 2007 6:33 AM:
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