5/5 Nationals @ Cubs 12:05pm; TV: CSN, Radio: WGN

[Madden King]

GAME TIME: Sat., May 5, 2007 @ 12:05pm (ct)

Talk about the game between the Washington Nationals and the Chicago Cubs here.

PITCHING MATCH-UPS: John Patterson (1-4, 6.44) -vs- Rich Hill (3-1, 1.77)

[ryno4ever]

Wow, after the last couple of games, I am really excited about today's game!This is the kind of baseball you can get really pumped about! Go Cubbies! It's warm out, and hopefully the wind will be blowing out....

[ryno4ever]

The wind is blowing in, kind of strong from CF. (They just showed it on Comcast.)

[ryno4ever]

Dan Pleasac is saying it has to be a smallball/manufacturing runs kind of day.

[jmorrison1]

It will be nice to reach .500 on 5/5. Happy Cinco de Mayo.

GO CUBS!

[ryno4ever]

Game Details
Umpires: HP--Ron Kulpa. 1B--Dale Scott. 2B--Paul Emmel. 3B--Dan Iassogna.
Weather: 53 degrees, cloudy.
Wind: 7 mph, in from center.


Game Notes



Top of 1st inning:
- F. Lopez grounded out to second
- R. Belliard grounded out to shortstop
- R. Zimmerman singled to left
- R. Zimmerman stole second
- R. Church struck out swinging

1 hit, 0 runs

Score: Nats 0, Cubs coming up!

[ryno4ever]

- A. Soriano grounded out to third
- R. Theriot walked
- R. Theriot caught stealing, catcher to second
- D. Lee singled to left
- A. Ramirez singled to right center, D. Lee to second
- J. Jones singled to right center, D. Lee scored, A. Ramirez to third
- M. Barrett flies out to right

3 hits, 1 run

Bottom of 1st inning:
Nationals 0, Cubs 1

CHICAGO FIRST BASEMAN DERREK LEE SINGLED IN THE FIRST INNING TO EXTEND HIS HITTING STREAK TO 13 GAMES.

[ryno4ever]

Hi Jim! Nice to see ya!

[Sheffield_&_Waveland]

This team is finally coming around. I knew they were able to play well, they showed us that in ST. A win today to win the series and go for the sweep tomorrow would be nice!!

[ryno4ever]

Top of 2nd:
- A. Kearns flies out to right
- D. Young grounds out to third
- J. Flores singles to left
- K. Casto flies out to center

0 runs, 1 hits, 0 errors
Washington 0, Chi Cubs 1

[ryno4ever]

Hey there Sheffield and Waveland! Not to mention, a win today wil put us at .500.

[ryno4ever]

Bottom 2nd: Chi Cubs
- M. Murton safe at first on shortstop F. Lopez's throwing error, M. Murton to second
- M. DeRosa singled to left, M. Murton to third
- R. Hill sacrificed to pitcher, M. DeRosa to second
- A. Soriano struck out swinging
- R. Theriot walked
- D. Lee grounded out to third

0 runs, 1 hits, 1 errors
Washington 0, Chi Cubs 1

[ryno4ever]

Top of 3rd
- J. Patterson strikes out looking
- F. Lopez hit by pitch
- R. Belliard strikes out swinging
- R. Zimmerman singles to left (runners at the corners)
- R. Church walks to load the bases
- Mound visit by the bullpen coach? Rothchild must be unavailable, no one seems to know where ole Larry is.....
- A. Kearns up (not exactly who you want up with the bases loaded, but here we are) drive to center, but Jones halls it in right in front of the 368 sign! whew!

The Nats leave them loaded!

0 runs, 1 hits, 0 errors
Washington 0, Chi Cubs 1

[ryno4ever]

Bottom of the third inning

Larry Rothchild is at a first communion today that is why he is not at the park
-A. Ramirez homers against the wind to left center for his sixth of the season! Go Ram!
- J. Jones singles to right (Very nice patient at bat.... he watched pitches he normally would have swung at!)
- M. Barrett is due for some offense! He singles through a hole at short!
Can we hope for a big inning here?
-M. Murton...need some offense from him, as well!
Nationals starting pitcher, Patterson, leaves after an arm injury.... the new pitcher will get as much time as needed to warm up.

- L. Speigner relieved J. Patterson

- M. Murton walks to load the bases (Jones to third, Barrett to second)
-. Derosa gets a walk...walks in a run (Jones scored, Barrett ot third, Murton to second)
-. Hill gets his first RBI after drawing another bases loaded walk! (Barrett scores, Murton to third, DeRosa to second)
-A. Soriano still has bases loded with no outs. Strikes out
-R. Theriot takes a little chin music and almost takes a pitch off the face....walks in another run! (M. Murton scored, M. DeRosa to third, R. Hill to second)
-D. Lee grounds into the 5-4-3 double play


4 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors
Washington 0, Chi Cubs 5

[Madden King]

That was a beautiful 3rd inning!! And Lee was safe on that last play, IMO.

[ryno4ever]

Top 4th: Washington
- D. Young popped out to shortstop (on an awesome play by Theriot after DeRosa had it pop out of his glove, Theriot catches it, bobbles it, then gains control....great play!)
- J. Flores singled to right (Murton dives for it but misses it, but keeps it in front of him to keep Flores at first)
- K. Casto flied out to left
- M. Restovich hit for L. Speigner and strikes out

0 runs, 1 hits, 0 errors
Washington 0, Chi Cubs 5

[ryno4ever]

That was a beautiful 3rd inning!! And Lee was safe on that last play, IMO.

A couple of great things about that inning.... first, that had to be the easiest inning in which the Cubs have broken it open....

Second, the patience at the plate. Now, if that doesn't prove that to a team that used to swing at just about every pitch, I don't know what will! Awesome inning!

I think that we will be .500 after today!:D

[ryno4ever]

Bottom of the 4th inning:

- S. Rivera relieved L. Speigner
-A. Ramirez tried to hold up and called out on a check swing.... Ram NOT happy!
-J. Jones (with 2 hits, an RBI, and a run already, in the 4th) draws a walk (the 7th by the Cubs today! :) The pitchers for the Nats seem to have very little command and control today!
-M. Barrett throws hit bat at the pitch to stay alive for a foul ball.... popped it up to the shortstop near the mound. Two down.
- M. Murton grounded out to second

0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors
Washington 0, Chi Cubs 5

[ryno4ever]

NL Scoreboard Update:

Houston is leading the Cardinals 7-0 in the bottom of the 5th.

[ryno4ever]

Top of the 5th inning

-F. Lopez gets hit by pitch
-R. Belliard hits into a 4-6-3 double play
-R. Zimmerman flies out to right field

0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors
Washington 0, Chi Cubs 5

[ryno4ever]

Bottom of the 5th inning:
- M.DeRosa flies out to the right field corner
- R.Hill grounds out back to the pitcher
- A.Soriano flies to right field

0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors
Washington 0, Chi Cubs 5

[ryno4ever]

Top of 6th:

-R.Church doubles to centerfield
-A. Kearns base hit to right, Church holds at third
-D. Young grounded into double play shortstop to first, R. Church scored, A. Kearns out at second

Rocky Cherry and Will Ohman warming up in the pen

-J. Flores flies out to left field

1 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors
Washington 1, Chi Cubs 5


NL Central Scoreboard update: Houston now leads the Cardinals 9-0 in the sixth.

[ryno4ever]

Bottom of the 6th inning:

- J. Colome relieved S. Rivera
- K. Casto at first
- R. Langerhans in left field

-R.Theriot (who has 3 walks in 3 plate appearances and an RBI, with a caught stealing in the first inning) flies out to deep left center.
-D.Lee (who has brought is batting average down from .422 to .420 today) draws a walk after a very good at bat fouling a lot of balls off.
-A. Ramirez stikes out swinging
-J. Jones strikes out swinging at a ball in the dirt!

0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors
Washington 1, Chi Cubs 5

[ryno4ever]

Top of the 7th inning

Will Ohman replaces Rich Hill (sorry, even with a 4 run lead, I am not comfy with Ohman on the mound)

-K. Casto strikes out looking (yep, Ohman recorded an out!)
- R. Langerhans struck out looking
- F.Lopez safe on a hit to shortstop (backed Theriot up, had to backhand it, spin around and throw to Lee.... Just got in there)

Rocky Cherry coming in for relief of Will Ohman

[VanMan]

Hey Heather, thanks for subbing on the play-by-play. I'm just getting caught up on other posts, myself. I was in the car on my way from the car wash to the gas station when the Cubs had that "big inning." Nice to see a lot of good eyes. Unfortunately, Lee just couldn't find a hole with the sacks juiced.

[VanMan]

Bottom 7th, John Raush relieving, facing Michael Barrett, and he gets a called strikeout.

[VanMan]

Murton grounds to Lopez, just entering the game, for the second out.

[VanMan]

Len asked George Will if he's going to buy the Cubs! LOL! He said he was about $700 million short.

[VanMan]

DeRosa, on a 2-1 pitch, scoots one under the glove of Josh Wilson, scored an error.

[ryno4ever]

Boy, you timed that well... I was in the middle of posting the top of the seventh inning an my Internet Explorer crashed!

Top 7th: Washington
- W. Ohman relieved R. Hill
- K. Casto struck out looking
- R. Langerhans struck out looking
- F. Lopez singled to shortstop
- R. Cherry relieved W. Ohman
- F. Pie in center field
- F. Lopez stole second
- F. Lopez to third on passed ball
- R. Belliard lined out to left center

0 runs, 1 hits, 0 errors
Washington 1, Chi Cubs 5

Bottom 7th: Chi Cubs
- F. Lopez at second
- J. Rauch relieved J. Colome
- J. Wilson at shortstop
- M. Barrett struck out looking
- M. Murton grounded out to second
-M. DeRosa safe at first on shortstop J. Wilson's fielding error
- F. Pie grounded out to second

0 runs, 0 hits, 1 errors
Washington 1, Chi Cubs 5

*Note that Cherry/Pie both came into the game at the same time :)

[VanMan]

Pie takes a curve for strike one. The 0-1 is in the dirt. Pie grounds to Lopez to retire the side.

End 7th, Cubs 5, Nationals 1

[VanMan]

Boy, you timed that well... I was in the middle of posting the top of the seventh inning an my Internet Explorer crashed!
I'm just all about timing!

[VanMan]

Top 8th, Zimmerman up, takes a strike on a two-seamer from Cherry. He lines one to center over Pie for a double.

[ryno4ever]

I'm very excited.... I am taking my son to the game on Thursday, and it looks like we are going to get to see Zambrano pitch! Of all of the games I have been to, I have never seen Z pitch!

[VanMan]

Church takes an off-speed pitch for a strike, just as George Will compares Wrigley to religious buildings around the world. He then fouls off the 0-1. Breaking ball misses low and in. Another breaking ball misses outside, 2-2. Fastball, swung on and missed, Church is out.

[ryno4ever]

Assuming we pull this off today...it will be our third winning series in a row!

[VanMan]

Kearns takes a two-seamer for a strike. He then sends a fly ball to left, Soriano can't get the ball, drops in for a double. Zimmerman comes around to score, it's now 5-2 Cubs.

[ryno4ever]

Yikes...maybe I spoke too soon....

[VanMan]

Lou's coming out to pull Cherry. Cotts coming in out of the bullpen with one out in the top of the 8th and Kearns on second.

[ryno4ever]

We really haven't seen a lot of Cotts lately....

[VanMan]

Oh, just want to mention quick, while I was out taking my mom to lunch, I stopped into Hat World and got myself the Cubs' road cap, the new 59Fifty. Now I have both new caps.

[VanMan]

Fick in to pinch hit, he took a strike and then swings and misses, 0-2. Cotts misses low and away, 1-2. Fastball is low, 2-2. Dempster is up in the pen just in case. The 2-2 only makes it 58 feet to fill the count. A fastball misses inside, Fick walks. Piniella back out to talk to Cotts.

[ryno4ever]

Not good...tying run at the plate and Eyre up in the pen (with Demp), but oh boy, it's getting too close for comfort.

[ryno4ever]

weird, as I typed that, Lou says the same thing!

[ryno4ever]

Ugh.... fair ball. 5-3 now with the tying run in scoring position.

[VanMan]

Flores up. Eyre has joined Dempster in the pen. Fastball misses just outside. Foul tip into Barrett's glove, 1-1. Fouled back, makes it 1-2. Sinking fastball misses low and in, 2-2. Flores shoots one into the Nationals bullpen fair for a double, Kearns around to score, Fick to third. Still one out and now the tying run is at second. 5-3 Cubs.

[VanMan]

Casto swings at the first pitch and misses. Off-speed from Cotts misses low, 1-1. Fastball looked at, called strike. Another fastball, swung and missed, he's out! Two down for Langerhans.

[ryno4ever]

Houston is blowing the Cardinals away 13-0 in the 9th

[ryno4ever]

Here comes the big Wrigley Crowd Standing O

[VanMan]

Barrett consults with Cotts prior to the Langerhans AB. Cherry had 2/3 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 K. Off-speed from Cotts to Langerhans, swung and missed. Fastball in there for strike two. Crowd now on its feet. Foul to the left, still 0-2. Fastball called strike three!!!!

Two runs, three hits, two left.

Middle 8th, Cubs 5, Nationals 3

[VanMan]

Houston is blowing the Cardinals away 13-0 in the 9th
Is that right? 13-0??? Maybe Hancock's death really dampened the Cardinals' spirits, especially the way he died and the circumstances.

[ryno4ever]

Is that right? 13-0??? Maybe Hancock's death really dampened the Cardinals' spirits, especially the way he died and the circumstances.

Yep, it's right...here is the scoring summary:

Scoring Summary
Top 1st: Houston
- L. Berkman singled to left center, M. Ensberg scored, M. Loretta to second


Top 4th: Houston
- L. Scott doubled to deep center, C. Lee scored, L. Scott to third on center fielder J. Edmonds' fielding error


Top 5th: Houston
- M. Loretta singled to center, B. Ausmus scored, M. Ensberg to second

- C. Lee doubled to deep right center, M. Loretta, L. Berkman and M. Ensberg scored, C. Lee to third advancing on throw

- L. Scott doubled to deep center, C. Lee scored


Top 6th: Houston
- M. Ensberg singled to left center, B. Ausmus scored

- L. Berkman singled to center, M. Ensberg scored, M. Loretta to third


Top 8th: Houston
- H. Pence homered to deep center, O. Palmeiro, C. Burke and L. Scott scored

[VanMan]

Soriano to lead off the bottom of the 8th. He takes a Cordero off-speed pitch for a strike at the knees. Fastball over for a strike, 0-2. Jammed him foul. Roller to short, Soriano beats out the throw from Wilson for an infield single.

[ryno4ever]

Looks like a grand slam in the 8th for the 'Stros

[VanMan]

With Theriot up, Cordero makes two pick-off attempts at first. Theriot bunts, Cordero to Casto for the sacrifice, Soriano to second, one out.

[VanMan]

Lee takes one seemingly below the knees, but a strike was called. The 0-1 bounces to the catcher, 1-1. Lee 0-for-5 with a K against Cordero. Another one bounces to the catcher. Lee fouls one off into the stands, 2-2. Fastball is low, full count. Lee lifts one to left-center, Church over to make the catch, two out.

[VanMan]

Ramirez shoots one foul into the right-field stands. Fastball misses outside, 1-1. Ramirez fouls another one off. The 1-2 travels only 55 feet. Low and away, full count. Ward is on deck. Ramirez swings and misses a change up to retire the side.

No runs, one hit, one left.

End 8th, Cubs 5, Nationals 3

Here comes Dempster to close it out.

[VanMan]

Looks like a grand slam in the 8th for the 'Stros
That's what it looked like when three men scored ahead of a homer. Sometimes it just isn't worth it to get out of bed, eh?

[Sheffield_&_Waveland]

Did anyone else hear that Carpenter is having surgery? They mentioned it on the radio about 2 innings ago.

[VanMan]

Dempster to try for his seventh save in as many attempts. Lopez takes one that's low and in. He's been hit twice. The 1-0 catches the low-inside corner for a strike. Lopez swings and misses. The 1-2 is low, a sinker. The 2-2 is outside to fill the count. A sinking fastball is called for strike three!

[VanMan]

Did anyone else hear that Carpenter is having surgery? They mentioned it on the radio about 2 innings ago.
I hadn't heard that myself.

[VanMan]

Wilson takes a strike, then grounds to DeRosa for the second out. Fans getting on their feet to cheer a possible win.

[VanMan]

Zimmerman takes one high, a curve. Fastball over for a strike on the outer portion. Zimmerman calls time, adjusts gloves and steps back in. He swings and misses, a hearty cut, and the count is now 1-2. Next pitch breaks low and away, 2-2. Fly ball, Murton is there, and the Cubs have won four in a row, seven of their last eight, and now have a .500 record!

Final score, Cubs 5, Nationals 3

[ryno4ever]

Did anyone else hear that Carpenter is having surgery? They mentioned it on the radio about 2 innings ago.

Are you serious? I thought they were planning on having him back on the roster very shortly!

[ryno4ever]

I hadn't heard that myself.

Just found this:
Carpenter to undergo elbow surgery
Carpenter to undergo elbow surgery

By R.B. FALLSTROM, AP Sports Writer
May 5, 2007

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Cardinals pitcher Chris Carpenter, sidelined since opening day with an elbow injury, will undergo arthroscopic surgery early next week after suffering a setback in his rehab program.

Carpenter, a 15-game winner last year and the NL Cy Young award winner in 2005, will be out at least three months, the team said Saturday. An exam on Friday with Dr. George Paletta, the team's medical supervisor, revealed recurrent swelling, stiffness and loss of motion.

Carpenter threw about 60 pitches to teammates in a simulated game on Tuesday in Milwaukee, and said he felt fine afterward. He went on the 15-day disabled list on April 10 with swelling in the elbow that developed a few hours after he allowed five runs in six innings in a season-opening loss to the New York Mets on April 1.

The surgery was announced during the game against the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday. The Cardinals had been hoping Carpenter would return to the rotation on Tuesday.

[ARamfan]

Hi Everybody! CUBS WIN! CUBS WIN! Great weekend so far. :cool:

[Sheffield_&_Waveland]

Yep its true I posted a new thread in Rival Central with a link.

[VanMan]

Cubs, 5 runs on 8 hits, no errors, the winner is Rich Hill, he's now 4-1 with a 1.73 ERA. Ryan Dempster with his seventh save. Nationals, 3 runs on 10 hits, 2 errors. The losing pitcher is John Patterson, he's now 1-5 after leaving in the third with soreness in his biceps near his elbow.

Cubs win in front of 40,267 paid in 2 hours and 59 minutes.

Cubs hitting stars included Aramis Ramirez, 2-for-5 with a home run that started the third inning scoring. Jones was 2-for-3 with a walk and a two-out RBI. A statistical oddity in the game was Ryan Theriot. He was 0-for-1, but had three walks, an RBI and a sacrifice bunt.

[Sheffield_&_Waveland]

Get the brooms out!!! I hope Guzman is on top of his game.

[ryno4ever]

Hi Everybody! CUBS WIN! CUBS WIN! Great weekend so far. :cool:

Hi Mara...It's an awesome weekend so far! Get out your brooms, and say your prayers tonight for Angel to have his top game tomorrow!

[VanMan]

Get the brooms out!!! I hope Guzman is on top of his game.
He was 0-2 in Iowa, but Ron was mentioning yesterday he was discouraged while in Triple-A.

[ARamfan]

Yep its true I posted a new thread in Rival Central with a link.

Thanks. I'm going to check it out.

[ryno4ever]

I hope Lisa is watching the post game show, Mara....Rich Hill has his hat off during the interview! LOL

[ARamfan]

I hope Lisa is watching the post game show, Mara....Rich Hill has his hat off during the interview! LOL

Oh wow, I hope she's watching too! I didn't get the game on this end, blacked out today, but I got to listen to Pat and Ron. :)