Final Record: 50-68
Games Behind First: 17 GB
Inspiring play by Derrek Lee in the second series, against the Cardinals, sparked a phone call from the Braves. With Lee hitting four homers in three games, including two on Sunday, the Braves wanted in. They got their man, too, the Cubs sending one of their longest tenured players to Atlanta for three minor league pitchers, two pitching in AA and one pitching in A ball. Lee led the Cubs to a series win in St. Louis after a rough but tough series in San Fran where the Cubs lost three one-run games.
Pat Burrell had to be the MVP of this series. He has reignited his career after a disappointing year with the Rays. He won the game Monday with a sac fly in the bottom of the 11th, scoring Edgar Renteria and the win. Note that the Cubs scored twice in the first inning, something we haven't seen much this year but a recurring theme in this series. On Tuesday the Cubs put up four in the first, including a two-run homer from Kosuke Fukudome. All of that was off two-time reigning Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum, of all pitchers. The Giants got single runs in the 1st and 2nd off Ryan Dempster, but a Starlin Castro two-run single in the 4th put the lead back at four. Lincecum lasted only four innings giving up eight hits and those four runs on 89 pitches. The Castro single and a Mike Fontenot two-run double in the 8th came off the bullpen. The Fontenot double looked like just insurance in the 8-4 game after the double, but it would be necessary because Carlos Marmol gave up two runs in the ninth. The Cubs still pulled it out, 8-6, with Dempster earning his 10th win of the year. More impressive fight could be found in the Cubs game the next night, as the Giants scored three in the first but wouldn't be allowed to cruise to an easy win. Marlon Byrd homered in the 4th, Xavier Nady hit an RBI double in the 6th, and Alfonso Soriano also hit an RBI single in the 6th to tie it up. Aaron Rowand, former White Sox and one of the toughest players in baseball as voted by the players, homered in the next half inning, blowing another hard effort by the offense. Tyler Colvin hit a homer in the next half inning after Rowand's, tying the game again. The back and forth battle would be ended by Brian Wilson getting the save and, who else, Burrell hitting the game-winning homer in the bottom of the 8th. Burrell would finish the series with an incredible three homers and nine RBI in four games, including two homers and five RBI on Thursday. Randy Wells got lit up for seven runs, six earned but didn't take the loss thanks to the Cubs' late inning comeback. For the third time in four games, the Cubs scored in the first inning with a Nady two-run double. The Cubs had a 3-1 lead for a while, but homers by Burrell in the 4th, Pablo Sandoval in the 4th, and Burrell again with a grand slam in the fifth. Score it 7-3. The amazing fight of the Cubs showed again with one in the 7th and three in the 8th to tie it up. The Cubs didn't take the lead, though, and Andres Torres, statistically the best defensive outfielder in baseball, hit a walk-off single.
Interestingly, the Cubs didn't make a single trip to Busch Stadium until August 13th. On that day the pitching matchup was Thomas Diamond and the newly acquired Jake Westbrook, both of whom gave up runs in the first. Marlon Byrd hit a two-run single but the Cardinals countered with a classic Albert Pujols homer. The Cardinals scrapped together five more unanswered runs until Derrek Lee hit a solo shot in the 8th. That would be all. Carlos Zambrano picked up just his fourth win of the year to six losses in a tight 3-2 win. Matt Holliday opened the scoring with a sac fly in the 1st, but an RBI double from Koyie Hill and homers from Aramis Ramirez and Derrek Lee, in the formidable duos' second to last game together, made it 3-1. Randy Winn singled, scoring a run in the 6th, but the inconsistent bullpen held their ground and Marmol picked up his 20th save. On Sunday, Lee homered twice in the first three innings in his last game as a Cub. The Cubs put up six in the fourth making it a 8-1 blowout. Marcos Mateo had some serious trouble ending the game and the Cardinals put up five in the ninth but luckily the Cubs had added an insurance run and Mateo was pulled for James Russell then Marmol.
There are two reflections I have from this trip; the first, as I mentioned, the Cubs showed a real pride in fight making comebacks the entire trip. The play was inspiring and is great for team morale and confidence as opposed to depressingly sitting back accepting defeat. The second is that the Giants are for real. They've got it all working, especially the pitching. The offense has been a concern since Barry Bonds left and even before that, but they seem to be getting by with high average and Pablo Sandoval and Aubrey Huff, a nice surprise. Of course now there's Pat Burrell, and he's becoming a vital part of the offense. The pitching staff is one of the best in the NL, with Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, a reinvented Barry Zito, Madison Bumgarner, Brian Wilson, and more. The Giants led the NL in strikeouts a year ago after the Cubs had led that category for eight years in a row. The Giants, fighting with Philadelphia, the Reds/Cardinals, and a long list of teams for the wild card, deserve it in my opinion. This team has come a long way from the Bonds-dependent clubs from earlier last decade. This team is more athletic and can do more little things to win. As for the Cubs, they should be taking notes on their success. But we still have a long way to go to get there.
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