Levine: Losing Unusual For Cubs
By Bruce Levine --
CHICAGO (CBS) -- To err (or error) is human. To lose in the Chicago Cubs' case is bizarre. Winners of eight straight entering Wednesday, the Cubs lost for only the seventh time in 32 contests when they fell 7-4 to the Padres in the opener of a day-night doubleheader at Wrigley Field.
The Cubs lost the usual way hat teams do. Errors and men left on base were their downfall. Javier Baez had a bad day at third base, making two errors. The second one led to four runs by San Diego off the Chicago bullpen in the seventh inning.
Any early pockmarks for the Cubs had been flushed away by good pitching and a ton of run production. On Wednesday afternoon, the offense still was effective but failed to get the big hit with runners on base. Chicago left three on in the fifth, the two on in the sixth and seventh innings without scoring a run.
Manager Joe Maddon was his same positive self despite the setback.
"Listen, we have done pretty good," Maddon said. "We did make a couple of mistakes today, but our pitcher was outstanding. We hit a lot of balls really well. They beat us. Sometimes you have to give the other side credit. Both sides are professionals. They got us."
None of the Cubs' seven losses have come at the hands of a team over .500 in the standings at the time. (The Cardinals moved to 8-7 on the season with their April 20 win over the Cubs.) On Wednesday, Kyle Hendricks pitched well enough to win, allowing three runs, two earned in 6 2/3 innings and getting a no-decision.
"It feels weird," Hendricks said of his team losing. "Well, we still have time. We have another one today at least. I felt good, although my fastball command was all over the place. I relied on my change-up early. After a couple of innings, my fastball command came back."
The Cubs' great start has been historic in many ways, but improvement in certain areas still needs to be made. That said, it's hard to look at one loss as anything but a mere blip for this loaded team.
"The biggest little yard in North America got us," Maddon said, referring to Wrigley with fog and the wind blowing in. "We hit some balls on a different day in a different yard (that would have gone out). We have grown accustomed to that. That is a part of the game here. We made a couple of mistakes, but Kyle was really good."
The good news is some of the hitters continue to rake. Co-National League Player of the Week Ben Zobrist is on a torrid pace, batting.469 during his current nine-game hitting streak. Zobrist had two hits in his first two at bats Wednesday, giving him seven straight hits.
Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score and CBSChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.
