Nomar Garciaparra sat in the locker room after the game clad in a Peoria Chiefs home uniform, a smile on his face and satisfaction in his voice.
Yes, the two RBIs he gathered in his final at-bat Wednesday night, a first-pitch single to right-center field, were good things. So, too, was the double play he turned in the fifth, leaping over a sliding Dayton Dragon and firing to first to end the inning.
But the best thing of all? Ending the game without any pain.
Garciaparra, who has been sidelined since suffering a groin injury on April 20, said he played at nearly full speed Wednesday in the first game of a Chiefs’ doubleheader, a seven-inning affair Peoria won 7-3.
But he was still a bit slow coming out of the batter’s box, a precautionary measure intended to keep him from reinjuring his groin.
“It’s not fear. It’s just a matter of, I like to call it intelligence,” Garciaparra said. “I still ran hard. Am I going to absolutely explode there? No. That’ll come.”
When? Garciaparra wasn’t sure. He reiterated he doesn’t have a timetable for when he will be ready to return to the Cubs.
That he was able to stay on the field for the full seven innings Wednesday at O’Brien Field was a good step in his rehabilitation.
“I was pleased to be able to finish,” said Garciaparra, who did not play in the second game.
Part of the credit for that, Garciaparra said, went to Peoria starting pitcher Matt Weber, who allowed just two runs and made quick work of the Dragons over 6 2/3 innings. Weber’s efficiency allowed Garciaparra to stay loose in the field.
However, he did not have many chances to make plays, although he was responsible for all three outs in the fifth inning. He got the first out of the inning by cleanly fielding a ball up the middle and firing to first base for the out.
More importantly, he said, was how he handled the next two outs on the double play.
“[I had to] reach out with my left leg to touch [second base] and jump to avoid the runner,” Garciaparra said.
He then threw to first for the third out. Neither the twisting, the turning, the leaping nor the throwing, Garciaparra said, caused any pain.
Garciaparra followed up his fifth-inning fielding show by putting on a sixth-inning hitting clinic.
After going hitless in his first three at-bats, Garciaparra was afforded his final chance at the plate when Peoria teammate Eric Patterson, the younger brother of Corey Patterson, singled with two outs and a runner on base.
Patterson, who starred for Georgia Tech after Garciaparra played there, scored from first base on Garciaparra’s single.
“[It was] a sinker. I stayed in it, stayed inside the ball,” Garciaparra said. “Once again, it was about getting the timing right. . . . That’s what you do, take little things away from every at-bat.
“The way I’m feeling right now, I’m really not sore,” Garciaparra said. “I think I definitely can come back tomorrow.”
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Garciaparra watch
How the rehabbing Cubs’ shortstop fared in Class A Peoria’s 7-3 win Wednesday:
First inning: Hit a 1-0 pitch hard to right-center field for a flyout.
Third inning: Again hit the ball well–and again had nothing to show for it–flying out to right on a 2-2 count.
Fifth inning: With runners on first and third, popped up to short on the first pitch.
Sixth inning: Singled to right-center on the first pitch, knocking in two runs.
Totals: 1-for-4, 2 RBI
Next: at Peoria, Thursday
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apatel@tribune.com
