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May
Cubs Sweep Diamondbacks
For the first time this season, the Diamondbacks were swept in a series as the Cubs defeated them Friday, Saturday and Sunday by scores of 3-1, 7-2 and 6-4 respectively. On Friday, Dan Haren came out on the short end of a pitchers’ duel with Ted Lilly, made all the worse by Haren given up the tying RBI to Lilly himself after the 8 hitter was intentionally walked to get to the pitcher.
On Saturday and Sunday, starters Max Scherzer and Edgar Gonzalez left the game winning, only to have the bullpen blow it both days.
Gonzalez was a last minute replacement for starter Randy Johnson because manager Bob Melvin did not want to risk him if there was a rain delay. The game started almost an hour behind schedule and games on Detroit, Cleveland and Pittsburgh were rained out. Cubs manager Lou Piniella was thinking the same thing, scratching starter Carlos Zambrano in favour of Sean Gallagher.
Eric Byrnes, batting second, doubled in his third plate appearance pushing Augie Ojeda to third and scored. The Cubs elected to walk the bases loaded and both Ojeda and Byrnes scored when Conor Jackson and Justin Upton were walked unintentionally by reliever Chad Fox.
Next time up, in the 6th inning, Byrnesie was having a good AB, taking a bunch of pitches out of the pitcher’s arm, when Chris Burke who had drawn several throws at first base, finally got caught leaning the wrong way and was picked off for out number 3. Boo-Hiss! Two outs late in a fairly close game–it was 4-2 D’Backs at the time–is not time to take chances of ending the inning with a pickoff.
With Sunday’s loss, the Snakes no longer have the best record in baseball. That distinction now belongs to–hold on to your hats–the Florida Marlins!
On a good news note, Doug Davis pitched 4.2 in a rehab assignment in Tuscon, allowing two runs on six hits with a walk and a three strikeouts. The Diamondbacks want Davis to stretch out his arm to 100 pitches before bringing him back to the majors. That will take at least one more rehab start.
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