Good pitching usually beats good hitting, including good new hitting.
With new additions Kenny Lofton and Aramis Ramirez a combined 0-for-8 Wednesday night, the Cubs fell behind early against All-Star left-hander Randy Wolf and managed just four hits in a 3-0 loss that dropped them back to .500. They now are 51 1/42 games behind Houston in the NL Central.
“Everybody wants immediate dividends from additions,” manager Dusty Baker said, “but sometimes it’s just not like that.”
Wolf (11-5) saw to that. Before a crowd of 40,377, second-largest this season, the Cubs managed threats but nothing more. Meanwhile, Matt Clement (7-9) was settling into a rhythm after a shaky start, throwing 113 pitches in seven innings.
But two of those pitches were devastating. Ricky Ledee homered into the right-field bleachers through a 12 m.p.h. wind for a 1-0 lead. Then, after Clement walked his fourth Phillie, Placido Polanco in the third, Jim Thome hit his 26th home run onto Sheffield Avenue to put Clement down 3-0.
“One of the purest sounds off a bat that I’ve ever heard,” Wolf said.
Clement allowed just three hits and faced just one over the minimum in retiring 15 hitters after Thome.
“I threw just two bad pitches,” Clement said, shaking his head. “Not much more you can do. And Wolf did it all.”
Mark Grudzielanek had three of the Cubs’ four hits. The Cubs blew opportunities in three of the first four innings and failed to take advantage of three Philadelphia errors.
The loss was the Cubs second straight after a three-game winning streak, the only time in six weeks that they have won more than two games in a row. The result is a gradual sinking that threatens to drop them too far down to have a shot at the playoffs unless they win the division.
Up next
Thursday: Vicente Padilla (8-8, 3.71) vs. Kerry Wood (10-6, 2.98). 1:20 p.m.; WGN-Ch. 9, WGN-AM 720
Lofton’s opening line
vs. Phillies
At bats: 4
Runs: 0
Hits: 0
RBI: 0
Walks: 0
Strike outs: 1
Left on: 4
Season avg.: .274
Ramirez’s opening line vs. Phillies
At bats: 4
Runs: 0
Hits: 0
RBI: 0
Walks: 0
Strike outs: 0
Left on: 1
Season avg.: .277
SOURCE: ESPN
