With such right-handed thumpers as Ryne Sandberg, Andre Dawson and George Bell filling their lineup, the Cubs would figure to send left-handed pitchers ducking for cover.
So why are the North Siders a sickly 15-21 when the opposition tosses a lefty at them?
”Really, I don`t have an answer,” said Mark Grace, one of only two lefty-swinging Cub regulars. ”We should be hammering them.”
The latest example of the Cubs` futility against southpaws came in a 6-2 Friday afternoon whipping by Atlanta`s Steve Avery, a 21-year-old who seemed completely unawed by the muscle lined up against him in Wrigley Field.
The Cubs didn`t hammer Avery until it was way too late. They were trailing 6-0 with one down in the ninth when Dawson connected for his 16th homer to drive in both runs.
It was one of only five hits against Avery, who improved to 11-5. The rest of the Cub offensive output came on a pair of singles in the second and another pair of singles in the sixth. They sent the mininum three men to the plate six times, going meekly and quietly in front of 35,604.
The Cubs figured to be in for a long day when Avery caught leadoff man Chico Walker off first base in the first inning after Walker had drawn a base on balls. Avery struck out Grace, then walked Sandberg. And Sandberg was immediately tossed out trying to swipe second.
That set the tone for the Cubs, who seemed helpless against Avery`s mix of fastballs and changeups. Avery became old enough to buy himself a beer only three months ago, but he pitches as if he has been in the league for years.
Avery has been one of the many surprises that have lifted the Braves out of baseball`s third world and into a position to contend. Still, Avery has spent most of this summer toiling in the shadow of teammate Tom Glavine, whose 13 wins lead the league and make him the leading candidate for the Cy Young Award.
”He`s keeping me in the background, so I sneak up on people,” said Avery, who was only 3-11 in his 1990 rookie season.
The same might be said for Frank Castillo, the Cub rookie righty who`s only a year older than Avery. He surprised the National League with victories in his first three decisions, but on Friday he went through a painful learning experience.
With two down in the first, Castillo gave up back-to-back singles to Terry Pendleton and Ron Gant. Then he just missed on a two-strike pitch to Lonnie Smith-or so plate ump John McSherry ruled. Castillo thought otherwise. ”There was a pitch on the outside corner that was a strike,” Castillo said.
Castillo walked Smith, then watched in dismay as Luis Salazar booted Jeff Blauser`s grounder to put the Braves up 1-0.
Atlanta made it 2-0 on Pendleton`s sacrifice fly in the second. With two down and the bases loaded again, Castillo gave up a stinging two-run single to Smith to make it 4-0. It turned out to be more than plenty of room for Avery, who has won seven of eight decisions on the road.
Thirty minutes after the game, Castillo was still kicking himself for the pitch he threw to Smith.
”I had two strikes on him, and I had thrown two fastballs by him,”
Castillo said. ”I came back with a changeup, and he smoked it.”
Manager Jim Essian has been generally dazzled by his rookie`s performance, so he wrote the afternoon off to experience.
”Some better fielding and a call or two from the umpire would have helped Frank in the first two innings,” he said. ”He never had a chance to settle down. Still, he didn`t have his good stuff.”
Avery had his, especially after the Cubs gave away those two outs on the basepaths in the first inning. Once he settled down, he walked only two more hitters while striking out four. He has won five straight decisions and is unbeaten since June 22.
Avery was gunning for his first complete game in six weeks when he got Grace to pop up to open the ninth. But then he walked Sandberg to set the table for Dawson, whose vicious liner bucked a strong north wind and made it into the left-field seats.
Dawson`s pill snapped a six-game, 276-batter homerless streak at home for the Cubs, who lead the league with 96 home runs. They hadn`t gone that long without a homer in the Friendly Confines since the 1989 division winners went seven games without a homer. Maybe it`s an omen.
