At least the Cubs didn’t give up on manager Don Baylor on Tuesday night.
Trailing by four runs in the ninth inning, they rallied off Florida’s erratic closer, Vladimir Nunez, and brought the winning run to the plate in Bill Mueller.
But in a season of disappointments, the Cubs added another one to the scrapbook when Mueller bounced out to end the game. The final score was 9-7.
The Cubs lost for the seventh time in their last eight tries, falling a season-high 15 games under .500. Their record stands at 33-48 at the season’s halfway point. Only 81 more games to go.
Not even the ultrareliable Jon Lieber could be counted on Tuesday. Lieber, 3-0 with two complete games and a 2.25 ERA in his last four starts, gave up at least one run in all five of his innings.
“We were playing catch-up all night,” Baylor said.
They had to do it without Moises Alou, who left after five innings because of a cramp in his right calf. That’s the same calf he strained two days before Opening Day, leading to a stint on the disabled list. Alou will be re-evaluated Wednesday.
The Cubs got a better dose of news from reliever Tom Gordon, who pitched a scoreless eighth inning in his return from a torn muscle near his right shoulder.
Gordon gave up one hit and struck out two, including his 1,500th career strikeout.
Lieber was less effective, giving up singles to the first two batters he faced, Luis Castillo and Andy Fox. Mike Lowell then hit a grounder up the middle, but shortstop Alex Gonzalez couldn’t transfer the ball from his glove in time for the force play.
It was Gonzalez’s second error in as many games and his 11th of the season, one more than he had all of last year. The Miami native allowed two runs to score Monday night when he misfired on a throw to second.
Is there such a thing as a fielding slump?
“I’ve heard of them,” he said. “But I hope not. I’ve had games where I missed a couple of plays or made a couple of errors. But you keep going at it.”
Gonzalez redeemed himself in the fifth with his RBI double to left that scored Fred McGriff to tie the game 5-5.
Lieber, however, couldn’t hold it. Cliff Floyd crushed his low slider over the right-field wall in the bottom of the fifth for his 18th homer.
The Marlins extended their lead in the seventh off Juan Cruz in an ugly inning that featured an error, two walks and four stolen bases off catcher Todd Hundley.
At least Hundley threw out Eric Owens on a pitchout to end the inning.
The Cubs rallied in the ninth after Nunez walked three batters. But it wasn’t enough.
– Baylor said the Cubs haven’t considered releasing struggling reliever Jeff Fassero, their only lefty in the bullpen.
“I always like to say `This is what he did for us last year’ and find something successful for him,” Baylor said. “His confidence can’t be at its highest right now.”
Lefty Travis Miller, whom the Cubs signed after Minnesota released him, was activated Tuesday for Triple-A Iowa.
