TOP OF THE . . .
SOX: Small ball took an early hit when a Greg Maddux pitch hit Tadahito Iguchi-stay tuned for retaliation-but he was thrown out trying to steal.
CUBS: Henry Blanco gunned down the first Sox would-be base stealer, something Michael Barrett probably couldn’t have done with his sore shoulder.
BOTTOM OF THE . . .
SOX: There’s one way Ozzie Guillen’s team handles a hit batter. It retaliates. In fact, Freddy Garcia nearly got Jerry Hairston before drilling Derrek Lee.
CUBS: Iguchi for Lee? That’s hardly fair. Garcia smoked big guy in the lineup, but umpires issued warning so Maddux wouldn’t have an opportunity to get back.
INNING: 1
Sox 0, Cubs 0
TOP OF THE . . .
SOX: A.J. Pierzynski poked a single, but Jermaine Dye went back to old ways by hitting into double play. Dye may sit in favor of Carl Everett in second game.
CUBS: This is perfect Maddux-type day at Wrigley Field, with the wind blowing in and his sinker working. Double play was his third ground ball of day.
BOTTOM OF THE . . .
SOX: Garcia looks extra sharp, but why wouldn’t he? He had a 10-1 record and 2.57 ERA in his last 14 daytime games. The sun was shining as bright as could be Friday.
CUBS: It would have been nice to see Barrett (.278, 18 RBIs) up with two outs and man on instead of Blanco (.143, one RBIs). But defense is important vs. Sox.
INNING: 2
Sox 0, Cubs 0
TOP OF THE . . .
SOX: Small ball lives. Joe Crede reached on error, Garcia, who is good with the bat, sacrificed him to second and Crede scored on Scott Podsednik’s infield hit.
CUBS: Bad inning for the defense. Gold Glover Lee made rare error and then Hairston let bouncer go off his glove instead of knocking it down, allowing run.
BOTTOM OF THE . . .
SOX: Garcia still hasn’t had 1-2-3 inning but with wind blowing in, he doesn’t seem afraid to throw strikes, which has been his trouble in the past.
CUBS: Wall ball isn’t going to work, not with wind from northeast at 16 m.p.h. Hairston deep drive in first and Lee long fly in third were both easy outs.
INNING: 3
Sox 1, Cubs 0
TOP OF THE . . .
SOX: Pierzynski had second single and he is hot. Maybe Guillen should move him to cleanup and drop Paul Konerko to fifth or sixth for rest of the weekend.
CUBS: Two meaningless singles and, thank goodness, it wasn’t those guys at the top of the Sox order because Maddux is not good at holding runners on base.
BOTTOM OF THE . . .
SOX: Garcia always has labored when he works slowly, so maybe having Maddux doing his quick-work act on the other side has helped him. He is fast and good.
CUBS: The first legit hit, a Corey Patterson single, but of course it came with two outs. Every one of the four baserunners have come with two outs.
INNING: 4
Sox 1, Cubs 0
TOP OF THE . . .
SOX: Wall ball and small ball in the same inning. Crede smoked one out against the wind, and Podsednik started two-run rally with a nifty bunt single.
CUBS: What happened to Maddux? The homer was bad enough but four singles after that? Four runs could be hard to make up with the wind blowing like it is.
BOTTOM OF THE . . .
SOX: Garcia’s first inning without a baserunner and all three outs were on grounders. Man, the crowd-decidedly in blue-sure has turned quiet.
CUBS: Why did Maddux bat for himself when he was down four runs? There’s no use saving pinch-hitters because the game might not be this close again.
INNING: 5
Sox 4, Cubs 0
TOP OF THE . . .
SOX: Best thing about going down in order is that it brings up Podsednik and top of order in the seventh. Podsednik and Iguchi have been on base four times.
CUBS: Right after his worst inning, Maddux had his first 1-2-3 inning. But you get the feeling, with Garcia pitching, the damage already has been done.
BOTTOM OF THE . . .
SOX: Garcia has done his job, made it through the sixth inning. The bullpen should be able to cover him the rest of the way if he tires.
CUBS: Guess what? Two more singles–but of course with two outs. Garcia is getting off too easily. This time Patterson was guilty of making the third out.
INNING: 6
Sox 4, Cubs 0
TOP OF THE . . .
SOX: Like most of the time, the Sox did damage early. At one point this past week they had scored 36 of 41 runs in the first five innings. They scored four Friday.
CUBS: This will be Maddux’s last inning, so he finished the afternoon with seven straight outs. It was strange day: He allowed only one extra-base hit, the homer.
BOTTOM OF THE . . .
SOX: Hey, Tadahito, welcome to Wrigley Field. Iguchi let a popup behind first base fall off his glove when he battled wind and sun. But one run shouldn’t matter.
CUBS: Finally a run, earned or not. Hairston’s RBI single broke an 0-for-16 skid against Garcia, But Todd Hollandsworth made the third out with a man on this time.
INNING: 7
Sox 4, Cubs 1
TOP OF THE . . .
SOX: Pregame hype was that Cubs had big power advantage. Ha. Dye hit one over left field wall that would’ve been a homer in a hurricane. Two homers to none.
CUBS: Maybe that’s why Maddux batted for himself in fifth inning. Mike Remlinger couldn’t stop Sox either. But offense has to contribute more than one run.
BOTTOM OF THE . . .
SOX: Just like it was diagrammed. Seven innings from the starter, then Luis Vizcaino taking care of the righties and Damaso Marte lefties in eighth.
CUBS: For first time, leadoff hitter got on, but result was the same. Hitters have to start stringing hits together or this is going to be a long weekend.
INNING: 8
Sox 5, Cubs 1
TOP OF THE . . .
SOX: Crede mashed one to the vines in center, closer than any Cubs came to hitting one out. No problems here, enough arms in bullpen to hold 5-1 lead.
CUBS: Joe Borowski looked good in first day back from DL, getting more comfortable each pitch. He struck out Podsednik, eighth hardest to fan in AL.
BOTTOM OF THE . . .
SOX: Sweet victory after being swept here last year. Final verdict: Almost perfect combination of small ball and wall ball, with great pitching.
CUBS: Oh-oh. If Carlos Zambrano comes up with tennis elbow again, the bullpen could be worn out completely by the time Houston comes to town.
INNING: 9
Sox 5, Cubs 1
