Raphael Dolis Saves the Day for Cubs

The news coming out of Wrigley Field on Friday morning was about the ninth inning and the recent struggles surrounding Carlos Marmol, prompting Cubs Dale Sveum to make a move at the back end of the bullpen and insert rookie reliever Raphael Dolis as the man in charge of recording the final three outs of the ball game.

As fate would have it Raphael Dolis would get a save opportunity in front of the Wrigley Field faithful on a sun soaked Friday afternoon vs. the Dodgers.

Entering the ninth inning with the slimmest of margins one could just picture the collective tightening of chests among Cubs fans.  Witnessing the high wire act of Marmol this season, the ninth inning has been anything but a walk in the park.

Dolis recorded the first two outs without breaking a sweat but after hitting the Dodgers A.J. Ellis on a controversial call that led to the ejection of Sveum, Cubs fans had to be saying to themselves, here we go again.

This is the mindset of the Cubs fan this year.  They know it is not going to be a year with title aspirations but they want to win the games they hold a lead in the ninth inning.  Nothing is more demoralizing to a young rebuilding team than back breaking losses after busting their hump for eight innings.

After falling behind Bobby Abreu, Cubs fans quickly grew restless and when Abreu drilled a pitch to right field.  At this moment I wonder how many Cubs fans closed their eyes as if waiting for the impending bad news as the fly ball rolled to the warning track and tied up the game.

Today would not bring any impending doom and gloom for the Cubs fans across the country as Cubs right fielder, David DeJesus, who was on base four times today, camped under the fly ball and closed his mitt around the ball, recording the 27^th out and preserving the win for cubs starter Paul Maholm as Dolis earned his second career save.

Maholm was crisp for his third straight win after failing to win any of his previous nine starts dating back to last season as a Pittsburgh Pirate.

The former Mississippi State bulldog was efficient in pitching six innings of three hit ball, only giving up a solo homerun to former Cubs utility man Jerry Hairston, Jr in the third.

The Cubs offense was led by DeJesus, Alfonso Soriano, and Starlin Castro.  The trio reached base safely in nine of 14 plate appearances, recording three runs and, four RBI.

The Cubs added a pinch hit homerun from Joe Mather, which proved to be the difference in the Cubs eking out a 5-4 victory over Chad Billingsley, Matt Kemp, and the Dodgers.

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I am 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 from birth and is an avid college football fan, particularly the SEC.  I am the host of “The Wake Up Call,” a weekly sports show on Sportstownchicago.com every Wednesday morning from 8-10am.  View the show’s website here.