Cubs 10-6, -1.5 GB (2nd)
Pirates 7-9, -4.5 GB (4th)
POTG: SP Rich Hill (5 IP, 3 H, ER, 3 BB, 4 K, W [1/18])
Runner Up: RP Carlos Marmol (2 IP, 2 H, ER, BB, 5 K, HR), SS Ryan Theriot (3B, 2H), LF/2B DeRosa (2B, 2 H, R, RBI), C Soto (2 BB, 2B), CF-LF Johnson (2 H, RBI)
I can’t believe I’m ten games behind. Things pile up pretty quick. I would’ve missed this live – plenty of other things going on, but have a vague impression that I read the game stories. It was nice to get Hill back on a winning side, but I was concerned about how quickly he was pulled. Things got close and Pinella was more than willing to over manage to get a win, including grinding two more innings out of Marmol.
Sometime this week, Pinella talked about how little he bought into chemistry, but he certainly buys into getting guys in positive grooves. That’s why everything was thrown at the window to beat the Pirates (to get Hill a win) and I think that’s why Fukudome is still batting fifth (because it’s easy enough he shouldn’t run into some early struggles, even if he makes more sense elsewhere.)
POTG list, thru the first ten:
4 D Lee
2 Fukudome
2 Soto
2 Z!
1 Lieber
1 Dempster
1 A Ram
1 Hart
1 Johnson
1 Hill