Rick Sutcliffe is a big reason Mitch Webster is delighted to be a Cub.
”I hated to face him more than anybody in the league,” Webster, the former Expo, said after his two-run single and Sutcliffe`s four-hit pitching sparked the Cubs to a 5-0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds Wednesday night.
”He`s got that herky-jerky motion, and he takes a long time to pitch,”
Webster said. ”Somebody with a little bit different motion plus a good arm . . . I didn`t like to face him at all.”
No one would`ve wanted to face Sutcliffe Wednesday night. The big right-hander had a one-hitter through four innings, and he retired the last 12 batters with only one ball leaving the infield. He struck out four, three called, and didn`t walk a man.
”That,” said manager Don Zimmer, ”was a masterpiece.”
”I kept the ball down and used all my pitches,” said Sutcliffe (10-10), who threw his ninth complete game, his third straight, on a night that began in 94-degree misery.
”This is the time of year when I should be getting better. My location should be better, and velocity-wise I usually don`t lose anything.
”I should pitch pretty well from here on out.”
The Cubs, for a change, gave him some runs to work with, and the first one, in the first inning, was a beaut. Singles by Ryne Sandberg and Mark Grace put Cubs on first and second with one out, and Sandberg took third on Andre Dawson`s deep fly.
With Rafael Palmeiro batting, Grace broke for second. Catcher Bo Diaz threw, Sandberg raced home as shortstop Barry Larkin took the throw on one hop, and the run counted as Grace, who had stopped short of second, was tagged out after a brief rundown.
Cincinnati starter Jack Armstrong (2-6) didn`t make it through the second. He walked Palmeiro and Vance Law to open the inning, and one out later Shawon Dunston`s double to left-center scored Palmeiro. Another out later, Webster lined a single to right that drove in Law and Dunston, drove Armstrong from the mound, earned him a ticket back to Triple-A Nashville and gave Sutcliffe some margin for error.
”It`s so much easier to pitch with runs,” said Sutcliffe. (In his 10 losses, the Cubs have scored 12 runs while he was in the game.) ”Getting those four runs the first two innings, that makes pitching fun.”
Nick Esasky`s solid single was the only fun the Reds had in the first four innings. Singles by Esasky and Jeff Treadway in the fifth were wasted when Sutcliffe got Ken Griffey, a returning hero, on a pop to short for the third out.
In the sixth, Kal Daniels led off with a double and wound up on third as Sutcliffe caught Chris Sabo and Eric Davis looking at strike three around Larkin`s ground out.
That was the Cincinnati offense.
Reds relievers Rob Dibble and Frank Williams held the Cubs in check until the eighth, when Grace put Tim Birtsas` 3-2 pitch into the seats in right. It was Grace`s sixth homer, his third against Cincinnati, his third against left- handers-and his sixth on the road.
”The fact that I haven`t hit any at Wrigley Field, that`s kind of discouraging,” Grace said. ”I can`t even hit one out in batting practice at Wrigley Field.
”I think it has to do with night games. I`ve always hit the ball better at night. I think my average this year is about .370 at night and about .270 in the daytime.”
His average everywhere is .314, and his at-bat on the homer finally gave him enough appearances to qualify for the daily Top 10.
Sutcliffe nominated Grace for more than that.
”We`ve got a kid who, in my mind, should be Rookie of the Year in Grace,” Sutcliffe said.
”We`ve got a kid (Greg Maddux) who`s leading the league in wins and has a great shot at the Cy Young. He`s carried our club. We`ve got two of the better players in the league in Dunston and Dawson.
”We`re just not going to quit. You may have seen a letdown from this ballclub at this time last year, but it`s not going to happen this year.
”Zim`s not going to let that happen. This is a good ballclub, and this ballclub is only going to get better.”
Sutcliffe never has been.
