Matt Murton made no excuses for his botched fly ball in the third that led to two unearned runs off Carlos Zambrano.
“I just flat-out dropped it,” Murton said. “I was there and closed the glove too early. It hit off the toe of the glove. Unfortunately, sometimes in this game, things like that happen.”
A reporter asked Lou Piniella if Murton’s error was a “fluke,” which caused the manager to drop his jaw in disbelief.
“Why should I count that as a fluke?” he said. “It’s not a fluke that he dropped it.”
Overall, the Cubs’ pitching and defense was relatively strong on the 4-2 homestand.
“To me, looking at it, if the pitching stays the same, our defense stays the same and then we start throwing in that timely hitting, we’re going to have some fun with this equation,” Piniella said.
Jones watch
Jacque Jones figures to sit against most left-handers from now on. He’s 3-for-17 (.176) against lefties and stranded nine baserunners Wednesday.
Jones was said to have answered back at fans seated down the first-base line after they heckled him in the eighth inning, but Piniella didn’t seem concerned.
“He fights himself at times,” Piniella said. “What you need to do when you’re struggling is learn to relax. He has done a real nice job in center field and, until the last couple of days he has been on the rise with the bat. I think in a short period of time you’ll see him get hot again for us.”
Extra innings
First-base coach Matt Sinatro returned after having some respiratory problems over the weekend. Sinatro said he felt fine after the episode. … Longtime umpires room attendant Jimmy Farrell, 86, is retiring after the season after 25 years in the job. … Roberto Novoa has been sidelined at Triple-A Iowa with shoulder problems and isn’t expected to return until early July. … Wade Miller will go on his rehab assignment at Double-A West Tenn on Tuesday. Miller can pitch up to 30 days on rehab before the Cubs either have to bring him back or release him. … Zambrano has served up a major-league-leading 10 home runs in 46 1/3 innings. In 2003, his breakthrough season, Zambrano allowed nine homers in 214 innings.
