So much for Home Sweet Home. After an awful 1-5 road trip,the Cubs were greeted by windy, cold conditions at Wrigley Field, but the warm weather Florida Marlins made themselves at home with a come from behind 4-2 win. Former Pirate Rony Paulino’s second homer of the season keyed a three run in the Florida 7th and Ted Lilly,despite pitching pretty well, took the loss. Starlin Castro made his Wrigley debut with three errors and Alfonso Soriano’s three hit effort went to waste.Just a day after Oakland’s Dallas Braden threw a perfect game at Tampa Bay, the Cubs Lilly toyed with a no hitter through 5.1 innings against the Florida Marlins. The only two base runners in that stretch were the results of throwing errors by Castro. The Cubs gave Lilly a 1-0 lead by scoring in the bottom of the second off Nate Robertson when Xavier Nady doubled over the head of the Marlins Cody Ross and he scored on a line single one out later by Soriano down the left field line. Lilly did not allow a base runner until Ross’s grounder was fielded by Castro in the top of the third,but the throw pulled Derrek Lee off the bag for error #1. Brett Carroll reached on Castro error #2 leading off the sixth,and this one proved costly. After Robertson sacrificed Carroll to second, lead off man Chris Coghlan broke up the no hitter and shutout with a game tying double down the left field line. That run of course was unearned. Lilly got out of the frame with no more damage.The Cubs regained the lead in the bottom of the sixth with a little help from the wind which blew Aramis Ramirez’s one out pop up away from 1B Gaby Sanchez and Robertson behind the mound and it dropped for a single.After Ramirez took second on a wild pitch, he scored on Soriano’s third hit of the game-giving him two RBI’s,but the Cubs 2-1 lead didn’t last long. In the Florida 7th, Dan Uggla singled to left with one away and Paulino lifted one through the cross wind,barely into the LF Bleachers to give the visitors a 3-2 lead which they would not give up.They weren’t finished. Ross reached on an infield single to deep short,took second on Carroll’s grounder to second,and advanced to tird on a pinch single by Cameron Maybin. With Coghlan at bat, Marbin appeared to be picked off when he broke for second. Lilly threw to Lee who saw Ross heading home,but his throw was not in time. Thus the Marlins pulled off a perfect double steal and led 4-2 heading to te bottom of the seventh.In the Florida eighth inning, Castro booted a grounder for error #3. It was that kind of a night in what’s developing to be another of those kind of miserable seasons.
NOTES—Brad Stevens, Coach of National Runner Up Butler,was the Guest Conductor.
LES