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Sunday, May 28 4:05pm ET
Bonds' pop turns into unlikely rally killer | |||||
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RECAP
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GAME LOG
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- No matter how strange, a double play remains a pitcher's best friend to the delight of Kerry Wood and the chagrin of Barry Bonds. Wood pitched seven strong innings and used an unusual double play that began with a bases-loaded pop-up by Bonds that dropped in fair territory to escape a fifth-inning jam as the Chicago Cubs beat the San Francisco Giants 4-1 on Sunday. "Those are the kinds of things we've been looking for, some breaks for us. We got them today," said Sammy Sosa, who homered in the ninth. With the Cubs leading 3-0 in the fifth, Wood walked Rich Aurilia and gave up an RBI double to Doug Mirabelli. Pinch-hitter Armando Rios and Bill Mueller walked around Marvin Benard's strikeout to load the bases for Bonds. Wood went to a full count before Bonds hit a pop-up that soared straight up. Catcher Joe Girardi, Wood and Bonds, all apparently unable to see the ball against the bright sky, barely moved and the base runners also held. When the ball landed in fair territory just in front of home plate, Girardi stepped on home for the force and then threw out Bonds at first to complete an inning-ending double play. The umpires did not call an infield fly because there was no real attempt by the Cubs to catch the ball. "It has to be an ordinary effort (for an infield fly to be called)," said crew chief Jim McKean. "No one knew where the ball was. It would have been the same if it was in the middle of the infield." Wood had no arguments with the umpire's interpretation. "That changed the whole game right there," Wood said. "I knew the ball was in the infield somewhere. It went straight up but it was right in the sun and I don't think anybody saw it. Joe saw it coming down at the last second but couldn't get a glove on it. Fortunately for us, it bounced fair and Barry didn't run so he was able to step on the plate and go to first for the double play." Bonds said the pop-up appeared to be going back into foul territory but was blown back over the field by the wind. He said he didn't run initially because he wasn't sure what to do in that situation. "I was confused," said Bonds, who was sorry afterward he didn't run it out. "It was very foul. Then when the umpire told me to get out of the way, I thought it was an infield fly rule. I saw it hit in fair territory and I was confused running to first base. I'll take the blame for it." San Francisco manager Dusty Baker said in baseball, you can't assume anything, even a catch on a pop-up. "You always should (run it out). You look bad the one time you don't," Baker said. Wood (2-2), who missed all of last season after undergoing reconstructive elbow surgery, allowed three hits and six walks to win for the second time in five starts since his May 2 return from the disabled list. He struck out five and had the Giants off balance. "He was up in the strike zone and had us swinging out of the zone in key situations," Baker said. Wood said he felt like he has taken one more step in his continuing comeback. "My stuff feels better every time out," he said. "Today I like to say I was effectively wild. I've just got to locate my fastball better and go from there. My consistency was a little shaky but I feel like I've learned something from today and I still have stuff I need to work on." Sosa hit his 16th homer of the season and first in San Francisco's new Pacific Bell Park in the ninth off reliever Felix Rodriguez. Sosa has homered in 32 ballparks. Damon Buford had a two-run single and another run scored on Sosa's sacrifice fly, which was dropped by right fielder Ellis Burks for an error. It was the first time the Cubs, who beat the Giants 3-2 in 11 innings on Saturday, had won consecutive games since May 2-3 and marked just their second road series win of the season. Rick Aguilera worked the ninth for his ninth save and second in as many days. Kirk Rueter (2-4) allowed three runs _ one earned _ and six hits in five innings but still lost a third straight decision. He walked four and struck out one. Wood used a slightly more conventional double play to get out of the seventh. He issued consecutive walks to Aurilia and Mirabelli to start the inning and then reliever Aaron Fultz, attempting to sacrifice, bunted the ball back to the mound, and Wood started a third to first double play before fanning Marvin Benard. Game notesYoung's double to lead off the game snapped an 0-for-13 skid. ... Giants CF Calvin Murray, after entering the game as a defensive replacement in the eighth, made a sensational basket catch of Girardi's warning-track drive. ... The Cubs last won a road series when they took two of three at Houston on April 25-27. ... Bonds, who went 0-for-4 for the second straight game, went hitless in successive games for just the third time this season. ... Sosa also has a homer in the other new NL park in Houston, going deep at Houston's Enron Field on April 26. | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard Chicago Cubs Clubhouse San Francisco Clubhouse RECAPS Toronto 12 Detroit 7
Chicago Cubs 4
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