The Cubs were angry after getting swept by Arizona on Sunday and falling two games behind Houston in the National League Central.
But they directed their venom toward the Diamondbacks, not themselves.
Several players were irked that Reggie Sanders stole second base in the eighth inning with his team up by five runs. Arizona went on to win 13-6.
“Nobody in this clubhouse likes [that],” shortstop Ricky Gutierrez said. “If that’s the way they want to play the game … I don’t hold grudges, but I always remember.”
Gutierrez will also remember the Miguel Batista fastball that bruised his left elbow. It apparently was in retaliation for a Todd Van Poppel pitch that sailed past Luis Gonzalez to the backstop.
Gonzalez glared at Van Poppel after the perceived brushback.
It should have been a joyous day for Gonzalez, who set a career high with his 115th RBI and set a franchise record with 338 total bases.
Like most of his teammates, Gonzalez feasted on Cubs pitching.
Julian Tavarez recorded just nine outs and failed to preserve a 6-2 lead. Will Ohman allowed three straight batters to reach in the fourth inning.
And Van Poppel, after striking out five of the first seven batters he faced, ran out of steam in the sixth.
He gave up an RBI single to Steve Finley and a two-run double to Jay Bell. Bell’s liner to center came on Van Poppel’s 52nd pitch.
“I was trying to squeeze one more [inning] from him,” manager Don Baylor said, “because you don’t know what will be presented to you [Monday].”
The Cubs face Milwaukee in a twi-night doubleheader Monday, so Baylor was wary of overworking his bullpen.
As Arizona won its ninth straight, the three-game sweep left the Cubs 1-5 at Bank One Ballpark this season and 1-8 since the beginning of the 2000 season.
Not only did their pitching desert them Sunday, but they committed three errors, their most since July 1.
Sammy Sosa tried to play savior, reaching base five times and crushing a three-run homer, his 44th of the season. But it wasn’t enough.
“Forget about it,” Matt Stairs said of the loss. “We ran into a team that’s playing extremely well. Now we can go back home and get in a routine.”
With the team sputtering to a 9-13 mark since July 26, the Cubs have to hope that playing 11 consecutive games at Wrigley Field will be the answer.
They’re 35-21 at home and 33-33 on the road.
“We better start winning some games and we better start [Monday],” Baylor said.
