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Dodgers Sweep Away Cubs' Hopes
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Chicago once again didn't bother to show up at the plate. And after scoring just one run on Saturday, Chicago was outscored 20-6 by Los Angeles in the series.
"Let me tell you this," Cubs Manager Lou Piniella said. "You can play postseason between now and another hundred years. If you score six runs in a three-game series, it's going to be another hundred years before you win here. So we've got to score more runs, that's it, period."
Before the game, Piniella drew from his memories as a player to caution against pressing.
Playing for the New York Yankees in Game 3 of the 1981 World Series, Piniella recalls facing the legendary Valenzuela with two runners on. After working the count to 3-1 against Valenzuela, Piniella doomed himself.
"I wasn't a home run hitter; I was more of a gap hitter," he said. "I said, 'I'm going to crowd the plate and hit a home run.' Well, he threw me a screwball and I hit a nice double play ball where if I had just done what I had done all year and stayed within myself and hit the ball to right-center field, we probably would have scored a couple runs and given our pitchers some runs to work with."
The moral of the story: "You can't try to overdo."
But overdo, they did.
Chicago looked to start a rally in the fourth inning when Geovany Soto led off with a double down the left field line, then advanced to third on Jim Edmonds's grounder to the right side. But with one out -- and the Cubs needing just a fly ball or even a grounder to the right side to get on the board -- DeRosa grounded out to third base on the first pitch.
Dodgers Manager Joe Torre called for the intentional walk of Ryan Theriot, bringing pitcher Rich Harden to the plate. Harden, just 2 for 23 this year, struck out on a meek swing, ending the rally.
In the seventh, the Cubs put runners on first and third. But Soriano flew out on the first pitch he saw. Mike Fontenot then lined out to center, though for an instant, it appeared that center fielder Matt Kemp misplayed the ball.
Indeed, it was night of bad luck for the Cubs, who were bad enough on their without the baseball gods working against them, too.
Bad break No. 1 came in the first inning when Russell Martin barely avoided being thrown out at third base while trying to advance on Manny Ramírez's single through the hole. Left fielder Soriano came up throwing, and fired a strike to Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramírez.
