Astros drub Cubs

New communication system fails to give Cubs a spark

By Paul Sullivan
Tribune staff reporter
Published June 13, 2006, 11:18 PM CDT

The Cubs introduced wireless phones in the dugouts Tuesday night, bringing the team into the era of modern communications.

But they continued to phone it in on the field, as evidenced by a lackluster performance in a 9-2 loss to Houston.

After coming off a respectable 6-4 road trip, which included wins in their final three games at Cincinnati, the Cubs took a giant step backward against Astros left-hander Andy Pettitte who limited them to one run on five hits over seven innings.

The resurgent Astros have won six of their last seven, moving to within three games of wild card-leading Cincinnati. The Cubs remained two games ahead of last-place Pittsburgh, and have lost 13 of their last 19 home games.

"I just hope our guys don't get gun shy here in our ballpark," manager Dusty Baker said.

Rookie left-hander Sean Marshall, who had held Houston to one run on four hits over seven innings in his last start June 7, wasn't quite so effective the second time around. Marshall allowed five runs on seven hits in four-plus innings, falling to 3-5.

Marshall's command was lacking, and he blamed it on a mechanical problem afterward.

"I fell behind guys," he said. "I was asking for a little bit of trouble."

Although Pettitte (6-7) has been one of the game's most dependable starters for years, he's fallen on hard times this season, entering Tuesday's game with a 6.66 earned-run average over his previous nine starts.

The Cubs lineup, however, has been a cure-all to most left-handers this year, and Pettitte was no different. He was in control most of the night, with five strikeouts and 10 groundouts. Of the 21 outs Pettitte recorded, only four were hit to the outfield.

After Phil Nevin's leadoff double in the second, the Cubs managed only an infield hit off of Pettitte over the next four innings, until Nevin homered leading off the seventh.

On paper, the matchup against Pettitte appeared one-sided from the outset, even though he was 0-2 against them in six career starts. The Cubs came in hitting .229 against left-handers, and six of the eight position players in the starting lineup were hitting .220 or under when facing a lefty.

"A lot of the teams that come in and outslug us have more guys that can slug," Baker said. "We just have to figure out a way to outhit 'em in this ballpark."

The Astros took an early lead and never looked back. Marshall served up a solo home run to Chris Burke with one out in the first, and was nicked for two runs in the second on a pair of walks and three singles. Lance Berkman's two-run double in the fifth made it 5-0, sending Baker to the wireless to call his bullpen.

The call went through but it was too late to matter.

Trailing 6-1, the Cubs made some noise in the eighth, loading the bases with one out after Pettitte's exit. But reliever Dan Wheeler struck out Nevin and induced Matt Murton to ground out on the first pitch, sending most of the remnants of the crowd of 40,563 to the exits.

Despite a recent hot spell by the Cubs' offense, the team remains on pace to score only 648 runs, which would be its lowest total in a non-strike season since 1980, when the Cubs finished with 614 runs while finishing with a 64-98 record.

Technology marches on at Wrigley Field, but the Cubs remain on hold.

psullivan@tribune.com