Dusty Baker and Ozzie Guillen met behind home plate after the final out of the final game of the 2006 City Series Sunday, exchanging hugs and wishing each other good luck the rest of the way.
After the Cubs knocked off the White Sox 15-11 at Wrigley Field to cap one of the wildest season series in the 10-year history of Cubs-Sox showdowns, it was time for both managers to catch their breath before moving on to more pressing matters.
For Guillen, the primary goal is catching Detroit in the American League Central and going into the postseason from a position of strength.
The White Sox fell 2Q games behind the Tigers with Sunday’s loss but have 13 games left against them in what figures to be a great race to October.
For Baker, it’s all about keeping his team afloat and simply keeping his job. On Sunday, he was satisfied to come out the winner in a game that featured nine home runs and 34 hits.
“It was a great game to watch, a great game to manage,” Baker said. “It’s hard to outhit those guys, and that’s what happened today.”
A matchup of two pitchers who later would be chosen for the All-Star Game turned into a typical windblown Wrigley Field slugfest. Carlos Zambrano hit his third home run during the Cubs’ seven-run first inning and scattered seven runs in a six-inning stint, improving to 7-3.
Sox lefty Mark Buehrle gave up 11 runs on 13 hits in five innings, both career highs, falling to 9-5 in his most dreadful outing in three years. Buehrle’s ERA rose by more than half a run, from 3.22 to 3.86.
“On the drive to the game, you think this is going to be a pitchers’ duel,” Guillen said. “It wasn’t. They had their best pitcher. We had our best pitcher. It was an ugly game. Ugly on both sides.”
The Cubs finished the homestand at 2-5 and avoided getting swept at home. The seven-run first off Buehrle put the Cubs in control, though the Sox kept coming back. Former Sox closer Bob Howry pitched the final 1R innings as embattled closer Ryan Dempster got the day off.
Baker said before the game that the struggling Dempster was still his closer, and General Manager Jim Hendry reiterated that Baker still is his manager, at least until he decides otherwise.
W: C Zambrano (7-3), S: B Howry (2) L: M Buehrle (9-5)
HR: SOX – T Iguchi (9), J Uribe (10), J Thome (27), J Crede (16). CUBS – M Barrett (9), A Pagan 2 (2), N Perez (2), C Zambrano (3)
