BY MIKE KILEY Staff Reporter
On their deathbeds Tuesday, the Cubs needed a miracle cure. And the fumbling
Washington Nationals, the only guys in the nation's capital with poll ratings
lower than the president's, turned out to be just what the doctor ordered.
Whether their renewed pep and energy carries over against a good team such as
the White Sox this weekend remains to be seen, but the Cubs have a pulse with a
winning streak of two for the first time since a three-game winning streak April
23-25. And both wins have been shutouts, with the latest 5-0 whitewash Wednesday
night, when the Nationals generated just one hit.
"It starts with your starting pitching,'' manager Dusty Baker said.
"Hopefully this can become contagious to everybody. If you're not giving up
anything, you can play small ball.''
CUBS
5
NATIONALS
0
Sean Marshall didn't allow a hit until Alfonso Soriano's leadoff single in
the sixth. The Cubs left-hander walked four while striking out six and labored
only occasionally with his 100 pitches (56 strikes). He has given up two runs or
fewer in five of his eight starts.
"This year, more than before, I have done good changing speeds in
different counts,'' Marshall said. "It's a matter of building up my
confidence to have command of all my pitches. I pitched good with my changeup
today, because my fastball wasn't as good as it has been.''
Third baseman Aramis Ramirez came out of the game after two innings with a
lower-back strain. The Cubs said he is day-to-day. Ramirez has been bothered in
the past by the same injury.
"We think he's OK,'' Baker said. "He's been swinging kind of hard
lately and wrenched his lower back.''
The game was delayed by rain for 51 minutes at the start. But the Cubs knew
it was well worth the wait going up against Washington.
Freddie Bynum pinch-hit for Marshall to lead off the sixth and hit the Cubs'
first pinch homer of the year. For the struggling Bynum, maybe his first
major-league homer bodes a turnaround in his fortunes.
"All I want to do is come off the bench and give my team a boost,''
Bynum said. "It'll come more and more -- not necessarily home runs, but
hits. I didn't even know it was a homer until I got to second.''
Todd Walker knows there's a dirty little secret in baseball that some refuse
to acknowledge.
"Nobody wants to talk about at this level that a lot of it is luck,''
the Cubs first baseman said. "But that's the reality. If you don't have
good luck, it's going to be tough.''
Walker delivered a key two-run single for the second consecutive night. In
this game, his shot up the middle was the big blow in a three-run second.
Baker went to a squeeze play to push home the first run in the second. Baker
is using the squeeze very effectively this season.
Jacque Jones doubled to open the second, and Jerry Hairston's sacrifice bunt
got him to third. Jones took off for home from third as Ronny Cedeno laid down a
bunt. Jones scored, and Cedeno was safe at first, too.
The Nationals have given the Cubs extra outs in the first two games of this
series, and the home club has finally taken advantage of an opportunity. The
Cubs wouldn't have scored in the first without the aid of third baseman Ryan
Zimmerman's error. His two-out blunder allowed Juan Pierre to score from third.
Leading off, Pierre dragged a bunt down the first-base side that sucked first
baseman Nick Johnson into fielding it. But pitcher Zach Day couldn't outrace
Pierre to first, and Pierre had a single. His 13th steal carried him to second,
and Matt Murton's groundout to the right side sent him over to third.
"That's the blueprint,'' Pierre said. "It hasn't gone that way so
far, but it's a good time to get it going.''
Washington's Frank Robinson initially wasn't going to manage the game because
of back spasms. But after undergoing treatment, he limped his way to the dugout.
It was the best effort all night by the Nationals.
