No matter how bad it has gotten for the Cubs this year, they always could count on Philadelphia being worse.
Almost always.
After the Cubs’ 6-5 loss to Florida Wednesday, their 77th in ’97, they tied the Phillies for most losses in the majors.
After splitting the first four games of the nine-game road trip, the Cubs wound up with a 3-6 record, dropping to 19-47 on the road.
The Cubs might have had runners on the corners with one out in the ninth when Doug Glanville nearly beat out an infield hit. But umpire Terry Tata ruled Robb Nen beat Glanville to the bag.
“If anything, it was a tie,” Glanville said. “Sometimes things don’t go your way. That kind of sums up our season.”
Mark Grace then flied out to end the game. After watching replays, manager Jim Riggleman wasn’t sure if the call was right.
“But that wasn’t why we lost the ballgame,” he said.
The Cubs finished 0-5 in Miami and are winless in seven games against the Marlins. They grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first on Lance Johnson’s leadoff homer and a sacrifice fly by Sammy Sosa, but Kevin Tapani (2-3) gave up three runs in the bottom of the inning and Gary Sheffield’s two-run homer in the second made it 5-2.
Tapani was knocked out in the fourth trailing 6-2, and his earned-run average climbed to 5.29. Is the absence of the split-fingered pitch hurting Tapani?
“It doesn’t affect me,” Tapani said. “It’s more my command and control and changing speeds that matter most.”
The Cubs scored three in the sixth, pulling to within a run on Manny Alexander’s two-run double. But that was it. Cubs starters combined for a 5.91 ERA on the nine-game trip.
