Cubs Dodge another Win
The tone of today’s Cubs game was set in the bottom of the first inning vs. the Dodgers. The Cubs had the bases loaded against Dodgers starter Chris Capuano with only one out.
Hopes of staking Cubs starter Chris Volstad to an early lead and give the pitcher some confidence before heading out for the second inning quickly dissipated when Alfonso Soriano and Ian Stewart went down on strikes ending the inning.
The inability of the Cubs to capitalize and string together hits and drive men in from scoring position is continuing to hamstring the team that sorely needs some more offensive punch. Additional firepower would also afford the Cubs pitching staff the luxury of not needing to be perfect.
The Dodgers did what the Cubs couldn’t do in the first when Chris Capuano came to the plate in the second and delivered a Volstad into the gap between Joe Mather and David DeJesus in right center for a two run double.
Capuano was a one man Cub wrecking crew this Saturday afternoon as the lefty threw seven shutout innings while delivering the two run double, his first RBI’s since the 2007 season as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Cubs avoided the shutout in the ninth inning after an Ian Stewart base hit plated Starlin Castro, who had three hits on the afternoon bringing his average on the season to .352.
However, on a day when Capuano had everything working in his favor and Chris Volstad not able to avoid the big inning yet again the Cubs fell to the Los Angeles squad 5-1.
Volstad dropped his record to 0-4 and sports a lofty 6.55 ERA. The loss marks the 17th consecutive start in which the 6’ 8’’ righty acquired for Carlos Zambrano in the offseason has failed to record a win.
Looking for a bright side Cubs fans?
Embattled reliever Carlos Marmol threw a scoreless eighth inning dropping his ERA to 5.59
Okay, that’s not exactly a bright side but at least no one blew a save today in Chicago.
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Patrick is a diehard sports fan and former football player from Chicago, the greatest city in the world. The home of deep dish pizza, the greatest skyline in the world, and the best sports fans in America. Patrick has been a fan of the Cubs, Bears, Bulls, and Blackhawks since birth and is an avid college football fan, particularly the SEC. Patrick is the host of “The Wake Up Call”, a weekly sports show on Sportstownchicago.com every Wednesday morning from 8-10. View his show’s website here.
Posted on May 5, 2012, in MLB and tagged Chicago, Chicago Cubs, Chris Capuano, Chris Volstad, David DeJesus, Joe Mather, Los Angeles Dodgers, Major League Baseball, Starlin Castro. Bookmark the permalink. 2 Comments.
PatrickASchmidt 
That Capuano double was the killer. Completely deflated everyone involved-players, fans, probably even the umpires. You can’t let a pitcher torch you like that, especially after he gets out of a similar jam unscathed.
I agree completely with you George.
Failing to get any runs across the palte in the first was a big blow and nobody will admit it, but it is a letdown and Volstad took that to the mound with him to start the 2nd.
Today’s game can be sumed in the fact that the CUbs couldnt take advantage and create a big inning, meanwhile the Dodgers did exactly that and that was the difference.