DIAMOND BACKS 10, CUBS 1
Arizona rookie third baseman Chad Tracy just might be related toDick Tracy. The red-haired igniter has been a one-man gangbusteragainst the Cubs offensively and defensively, driving in five runsthe last two days.
The Diamondbacks have hit the Cubs with a double whammy to win thefirst two games of this series. Not only has their retooled offensepunctured the Cubs' high-profile pitching, but Arizona's pitching hasstalled a once dynamic offense.
The Cubs just narrowly avoided back-to-back shutouts. ToddHollandsworth's ninth-inning homer was small solace in Tuesday's 10-1 smack-in-the-face, but at least it wasn't a whitewash repeat ofMonday's 9-0 crusher.
Now the Cubs face a challenge tonight when Greg Maddux faces Casey Daigle, whose earned-run average is 11.08. The Cubs were neverswept in a three-game series last year, the first time they hadavoided that dubious distinction since 1937.
"No sense starting now," manager Dusty Baker said. "We ain't sweptyet.
"They are hitting the ball great. They are getting ground-ball[hits], line drives, bloopers. We just didn't play a very good game,and they played excellent."
After loser Sergio Mitre slipped out of jams in the second andthird innings with just one run allowed, Tracy lowered the boom in afive-run fourth. His two-run homer began that landslide after DannyBautista's leadoff double extended his hitting streak to 19 games, longest in the majors this season.
Mitre was pulled after just 32/3 innings, and rookie relieverMichael Wuertz gave up a three-run homer to Luis Gonzalez later inthe fourth that basically put the D-backs on cruise control.
"Wuertz hung a breaking ball to a real good hitter, and they don'tmiss them," Baker said.
Mitre is now 1-1 with a 4.43 ERA -- not bad, but he has struggledat times to locate his pitches.
"I made pretty good pitches and they were hit, but I fell behind[in counts], and I have to get ahead of hitters," Mitre said."Hopefully, the next one will be better than this one."
Mitre was given the rotation assignment at No. 5 in hopes he couldhold the fort until Mark Prior returns. Mitre should get anotherchance, but if he continues to struggle, chances are the Cubs willhave to discuss whether they should clear room on their 40-man rosterso they could recall lefty Glendon Rusch from Class AAA Iowa.
The veteran Rusch signed with the Cubs late in spring training. Hehas an out in the minor-league contract that permits him to leaveafter June 5 if another club is interested. That could influence thematter as well.
Baker shuffled his starting lineup Tuesday night, seeking to getat-bats for reserves Hollandsworth and Tom Goodwin. They actuallyfared pretty well.
Besides his homer, first baseman Hollandsworth walked twice in thecleanup spot, a role usually held by Moises Alou, who sat out hissecond game of the season. Goodwin singled in the first inning to tryand set up an opportunity for a quick strike vs. Arizona starterBrandon Webb.
But Aramis Ramirez grounded out to end the first with two men onbase, and Ramirez bounced into a double play in the fourth with twoon and none out.
Wuertz's ERA jumped to 10.38 after he allowed a run in one-thirdof an inning. A spring surprise, Wuertz now could be in danger ofbeing shipped to Iowa when second baseman Mark Grudzielanek comes offthe disabled list.
CUBS RECAP
Cubs AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
TWalker 2b 3 0 0 0 1 0 .327
Goodwin lf 4 0 1 0 0 0 .158
SSosa rf 4 0 1 0 0 1 .286
Hollandsworth 1b 2 1 1 1 2 0 .294
ARamirez 3b 4 0 0 0 0 1 .313
CPatterson cf 2 0 0 0 0 2 .276
Macias cf 2 0 0 0 0 0 .077
ASGonzalez ss 4 0 1 0 0 2 .254
Barrett c 3 0 1 0 0 1 .327
Mitre p 1 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Wuertz p 1 0 0 0 0 1 .000
Wellemeyer p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --
a-REMartinez ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .222
Farnsworth p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --
Hawkins p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --
Totals 31 1 5 1 3 8
Arizona AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
Kata 2b 5 0 0 0 0 0 .351
Koplove p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --
Valverde p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --
Cintron ss 3 2 2 0 2 0 .286
LGonzalez lf 4 2 2 3 1 2 .303
Sexson 1b 5 0 1 0 0 1 .250
SFinley cf 4 2 1 2 1 0 .210
DBautista rf 4 2 2 1 1 0 .390
Tracy 3b 5 1 3 3 0 1 .423
Hammock c 3 1 1 1 0 1 .190
Webb p 3 0 1 0 0 2 .231
b-Sadler ph-2b 1 0 0 0 0 0 .333
Totals 37 10 13 10 5 7
Cubs 000 000 001-- 1 5 1
Arizona 010 511 02x--10 13 0
a-grounded out for Wellemeyer in the 7th. b-fouled out for Webb inthe 7th.
E--Hollandsworth (1). LOB--Cubs 6, Arizona 9. 2B--Sexson (4),DBautista (6), Hammock (3). HR--Hollandsworth (4), off Valverde;SFinley (2), off Hawkins; LGonzalez (6), off Wuertz; Tracy (1), offMitre. RBIs--Hollandsworth (5), LGonzalez 3 (17), SFinley 2 (7),DBautista (15), Tracy 3 (7), Hammock (2). SB--SFinley (4). SF--Hammock. GIDP--ARamirez.
Runners left in scoring position--Cubs 3 (Goodwin, ARamirez,CPatterson); Arizona 3 (Cintron, SFinley 2). Runners moved up--SSosa, Sexson, DBautista. DP--Arizona 1 (Tracy, Kata and Sexson).
Cubs IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
Mitre L, 1-1 3.2 6 5 5 3 5 81 4.43
Wuertz 0.1 2 1 1 0 0 14 10.38
Wellemeyer 2 3 2 2 2 0 41 3.00
Farnsworth 1 0 0 0 0 0 14 5.00
Hawkins 1 2 2 2 0 2 27 1.93
Arizona IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
Webb W, 2-1 7 4 0 0 3 5 104 2.10
Koplove 1 0 0 0 0 1 12 6.10
Valverde 1 1 1 1 0 2 10 4.09
Inherited runners-scored--Wuertz 2-2.
Umpires--Home, Rick Reed; First, Ed Rapuano; Second, Ted Barrett;Third, Alfonso Marquez. T--2:49. A--33,781 (49,033).
How they scored
Diamondbacks' second Finley walked. Finley stole second. Bautistagrounded out, Finley to third. Tracy infield single, Finley scored.One run. Diamondbacks 1, Cubs 0.
Diamondbacks' fourth Bautista doubled. Tracy homered, Bautistascored. Hammock doubled. Webb struck out. Kata flied. Cintron walked.Wuertz pitching. L.Gonzalez homered, Hammock scored, Cintron scored.Five runs. Diamondbacks 6, Cubs 0.
Diamondbacks' fifth Bautista walked. Tracy singled, Bautista tothird. Hammock hit a sacrifice fly, Bautista scored. One run.Diamondbacks 7, Cubs 0.
Diamondbacks' sixth L.Gonzalez walked. On Wellemeyer's balk,L.Gonzalez to second. Sexson flied out, L.Gonzalez to third. Finleygrounded out. Bautista infield single, L.Gonzalez scored. One run.Diamondbacks 8, Cubs 0.
Diamondbacks' eighth Cintron singled. L.Gonzalez struck out.Sexson flied out. Finley homered, Cintron scored. Two runs.Diamondbacks 10, Cubs 0.
Cubs' ninth Hollandsworth homered. One run. Diamondbacks 10, Cubs1.
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