Dwight Smith had his biggest hit of the year Sunday, and hopes the 25 general managers with offices outside of Wrigley Field were paying close attention.
Subbing for injured right-fielder Andre Dawson, the seldom-used Smith ignored a 17 m.p.h. wind blowing in from left and knocked a game-tying, three- run home run in the sixth inning of the Cubs` 7-4 comeback win over St. Louis.
Afterward, Smith called his clutch homer ”an opportunity for me to shop my skills.” Obviously, it would be General Manager Jim Frey who would be doing the shopping, with Smith being the ”shop-ee.”
But does Smith`s postgame comment mean he wants to be traded to a team where he can play regularly?
Smith said his inner wishes were ”irrelevant,” and added: ”I`m not one to verbally demand a trade. That`s not my style.”
Nevertheless, with only 66 at-bats in the Cubs` first 75 games, it is no secret the 27-year-old wouldn`t mind getting a chance to show some ballclub his rookie season in 1989, when he hit .324 and helped the Cubs win the National League East title, was no fluke.
With the Cubs signing free-agent outfielder George Bell this year, along with having Andre Dawson in right, Smith knew his role would be reduced and accepted it without making any noise. He`ll get a few more opportunities to shop his skills in the next few games, as Dawson will be held out of the starting lineup for a couple more days after taking cortisone injections Sunday morning to help relieve the pain in his sore right shoulder.
The pain of the Cubs` recent losing streak appears to be fading somewhat, as they posted their first back-to-back victories since winning three straight from June 12-14.
Next come the division-leading Pittsburgh Pirates for a four-game series that should determine whether the Cubs` chances of getting back into the race are slim-or none. A Cubs sweep would still make it slim, while a Pirates sweep would probably mean none.
”I don`t really think in terms of looking to take a certain number of games from the Pirates,” said manager Jim Essian. ”I`m just preparing for tomorrow night`s game.”
With the luck the Cubs have been having lately, Essian couldn`t be blamed if he just sat back and savored this one for a while.
Shawon Dunston`s error and the ineffective pitching of Greg Maddux staked the Cardinals to a 4-0 lead in the first, and St. Louis starter Jose DeLeon threw two-hit, shutout ball through the first five innings.
But Jerome Walton solved DeLeon with a pinch-hit single to start the sixth. That was followed by a double over the first base bag by Doug Dascenzo. DeLeon (3-6) then bore down, making Mark Grace look bad on a strikeout and battling Ryne Sandberg for 10 pitches before striking him out.
Bell, hitting .477 (17 of 38) in his last 11 games, followed with a grounder that sent Gold Glove shortstop Ozzie Smith over to his right, and Bell beat Smith`s throw to first to put the Cubs on the scoreboard and keep the inning alive.
Next came Smith, who greeted DeLeon with his three-run shot to right to tie the game 4-4. The home run produced the loudest cheering heard at Wrigley in the last month.
”The home run is not what got us,” said St. Louis manager Joe Torre.
”What did us in was the infield single. We should have got out of the inning.”
Reliever Chuck McElroy (4-0) came on in relief of Maddux in the seventh and was made the winner after Jose Vizcaino`s pinch-hit sacrifice fly scored Dunston with the lead run in the bottom of the inning. McElroy, who pitched three scoreless innings, added to his own cause with an RBI double in the eighth for insurance. It was his first RBI as a Cub, and it got him fired up- literally.
”I was trying to catch my breath and my foot was burning,” he said of the unexpected trip to second base.
One batter later, Dunston added a run-scoring sacrifice fly to end the scoring.
A day full of wild plays almost ended with another one in the ninth, when Grace made an over-the-shoulder catch in right of Felix Jose`s pop-up, then tried to lob the ball to first to McElroy to double off Pedro Guerrero and end the game. McElroy and Guerrero collided at the bag, the ball bounced away, and the Cubs reliever had to settle for a game-ending strikeout of Milt Thompson instead.
His ”hit” on Guerrero was just as satisfying as his RBI single.
”I used to play football in high school,” McElroy explained. ”I love to hit.”
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Next: Pittsburgh, Monday 7:05 p.m., WGN-TV Ch. 9
