For starters, recently acquired right-hander Ed Lynch of the Cubs and the Padres` Lance McCullers looked impressive Friday night.
It was the ending that will further discourage the Cub faithful.
Making the first starts for their respective teams, McCullers and Lynch pitched magnificently in front of 49,070 fans, but neither was involved in the decision.
Pinch-hitter Bruce Bochy`s two-out homer off reliever Ray Fontenot in the ninth inning gave San Diego a 2-1 triumph. Bochy`s homer on a 3-1 pitch barely cleared the left-field wall. It was his fifth home run of the season.
You have to admit the Cubs have a knack for losing in dramatic fashion at Jack Murphy Stadium. You could look it up.
”The pitch was down here, about a foot off the ground,” Cubs` manager Gene Michael said of Fontenot`s offering.
McCullers, a hard thrower who was primarily a starter in the minors, made his first start in the majors after 58 relief appearances. He allowed two singles over 6 1/3 innings. He walked one and struck out four.
”I hadn`t seen this guy McCullers before and I was kind of wondering if he could keep it up and throw hard for a long time as a starter,” Michael said.
Lynch, acquired from the New York Mets on June 30, gave up one run on three hits over seven innings. He struck out three and had one intentional walk.
”I started every fifth day last year for the Mets,” said Lynch. ”I didn`t pitch against the Padres, but I knew from reputation and watching them play what to pitch everybody.”
In the first inning, the Cubs had a man on third base with two outs when clean-up hitter Keith Moreland tried to squeeze Davey Lopes home but popped the ball up for the third out.
”People get bent out of shape just because the clean-up hitter tries to bunt,” Michael responded testily when asked about the play. ”I don`t understand that. If Steve Balboni (of Kansas City) does it, yeah, I say it`s a horsefeathers play because he can`t bunt. If a guy happens to be a clean-up hitter who can bunt, why not?”
Lopes got on when he was hit by a pitch. He left the game after the first inning and probably will miss a few games because of a bruised left forearm.
The Padres took a 1-0 lead in the second on an RBI single by Terry Kennedy, but Gary Matthews tied the game in the eighth when he greeted reliever Goose Gossage (4-3) with a home run to right-center field. It was his sixth homer of the year.
Lynch gave way to Fontenot (3-4) in the eighth. It was the second time Fontenot has been beaten by a ninth-inning homer in San Diego this year. Kennedy victimized him on April 29 with a three-run homer.
The Cubs didn`t provide Lynch with much offensive support, but he is confident they`ll back him in future starts.
”I pitched against the Cubs enough to know that they are competitors,” said Lynch, who had knee surgery April 19 to repair a torn cartilage. ”My arm is fine. It was just my knee that was a question.
”It`s just a matter of getting my arm back in shape. I threw 80 pitches last Saturday in a rehabilitation program, so I didn`t expect to go more than 80 or 90 pitches tonight,” said Lynch, who threw 71.
Lynch showed no signs of favoring his knee. ”I was examined by a doctor in Chicago the day I came over to the team and he said my left leg that was operated on is stronger than the good one,” he said.
Lynch credited catcher Jody Davis with helping him make his Cub debut a good one.
”Jody is another ex-Met (in their farm system) and I played with him in the minor leagues. So we`ll have no trouble communicating this year,” said Lynch.
He said he is quickly adjusting to being traded from the first-place Mets.
”Anytime you spend six years anywhere, whether it`s with IBM or the New York Mets, it`s traumatic. The Mets were the only big-league team I`ve ever been with,” he said. ”Walking into the park and not knowing anybody at Wrigley Field the other day, having to convince the guard at the door that I actually am on the Cubs . . . I mean, I realize it wasn`t the most highly publicized trade in baseball history. That made the change even more traumatic.”
