When Eric Young returned to the Cubs’ dugout after his final at-bat, he tipped his cap to the small cluster of fans applauding his effort.
Considering the Cubs drew their smallest home crowd in almost 15 years, the ovation could not have shattered too many car windows on Waveland Avenue. But it sounded like a roar to Young.
“When you know that they appreciate what you’re doing, it makes my job even easier,” Young said.
Young was easy to appreciate Thursday. He had four hits and stole three bases in the Cubs’ 5-3 victory over Atlanta before a smattering of 5,267 fans at Wrigley Field.
“He created offense,” manager Don Baylor said. “Today he was the game.”
But he wasn’t the only contributor. Mark Grace returned from a three-week stint on the disabled list to drive in the Cubs’ second run. Joe Girardi had two RBI doubles. Damon Buford clubbed his ninth home run of the season. And Kevin Tapani limited the Braves to a three-run homer by Andres Galarraga over seven innings.
“It was an off-speed pitch and it was on the plate,” Tapani said. “[Galarraga] can swing it.”
Other than that, Tapani was terrific. He extended his streak of lasting seven or more innings to seven starts.
“That’s what I need,” he said. “I’m not an overpowering guy who’s going to shut a lot of teams out.”
Tapani’s effort came before the smallest Wrigley Field crowd since Sept. 23, 1986, when 4,684 fans showed up for a game against the Expos. The reason for the small turnout was simple: The game had been rescheduled after Wednesday’s rainout and season ticket-holders were given refunds.
“It doesn’t matter to me,” Young said. “I once played in front of two people in [rookie ball] and both of them were scouts.”
