Mark Grace does not get his fashion tips from GQ. He goes by instinct and his instincts told him during the All-Star break that he and his teammates needed a new look.
So Grace led a brigade of players by shaving his head and donning camouflage-style bandannas and dog tags.
The message?
“We’re going to war,” Grace said. “You’re not beat until you surrender–and we’re not surrendering. We’re playing with reckless abandon.”
It shows. The Cubs won their fourth straight game and improved to a major-league best 9-3 since the All-Star break with their 8-7 victory over the Phillies.
Cubs starter Jon Lieber was spotty, giving up five runs and 11 hits in six innings, but he was saved by an unusually robust Cubs offense.
Damon Buford broke a 6-6 tie in the eighth with a run-scoring triple and Grace did his part by driving in two runs with a double and homer.
“He’s not just flipping the ball out there,” Baylor said of Grace. “He’s driving the ball to all fields.”
Grace also played the good soldier by sacrificing himself in the fifth. Instead of seeking his third straight hit, Grace advanced Ricky Gutierrez to third after a double.
Sammy Sosa then walked for the first of three times. That could become a pattern if Baylor continues to bat Gary Matthews Jr. fifth as he did for the second time this season.
With the Phillies starting lefty Randy Wolf, Baylor opted to use the switch-hitting Matthews instead of lefty Henry Rodriguez in left field. Sosa did not get much to hit in the cleanup spot Tuesday, but the Cubs’ offense still flourished.
Baylor said he’s hesitant to flip-flop Grace and Sosa in the order.
“We’ve won a few games and [Grace] is on an eight-game hitting streak,” Baylor said. “We can’t change it right now.”
