Aramis Ramirez has been part of the City Series the last four years but never had experienced a game that meant more to the Cubs than Saturday’s 11-6 comeback victory at Wrigley Field.
“I think this is the best game we’ve played against the White Sox,” Ramirez said. “Coming back the way we did, not just today, but [Friday] too. We’re playing good baseball.”
Ramirez’s second triple of the year gave the Cubs the lead for keeps during their six-run eighth inning, which matched their season high for the second time in a week.
The Cubs also scored six runs in the seventh at Philadelphia on May 12, only to have the bullpen give up six in the bottom of the inning in an 11-7 loss.
They did it again Tuesday night in New York, with Ramirez’s grand slam capping a six-run sixth in a 10-1 victory over the Mets.
Manager Lou Piniella said in early April the Cubs wouldn’t be successful if they played in 40-degree weather all year. But with the thermometer at 77 degrees and the wind blowing out, the Cubs’ offense has bloomed in May just like the ivy on the outfield walls.
After hitting .270 as a team with 19 home runs and 112 runs in April, the Cubs are hitting .280 in May and have 20 homers and 88 runs with 10 games left in the month.
“What we’re seeing here now is we’re starting to score runs late in games, and that’s important,” Piniella said. “We did it some on this past road trip, and now we’re doing it here in this big series against the White Sox. And you need to do those things. It’s starting to come together from an offensive standpoint.”
Ryan Theriot, hitting .304 in the leadoff spot — where he’s likely to stay even after Derrek Lee’s return to the starting lineup — started the eighth-inning rally with a triple and eventually scored the tying run.
Theriot’s energy and speed atop the lineup seems to have a residual effect on the rest of the batting order, making him the “spark plug” in Piniella’s mind.
“I don’t know if it’s a job,” Theriot said. “I just go out there and play hard, man. I just try to get on base and have good at-bats and score runs for the big guys behind me. If that’s a spark plug, I guess that’s what I am.”
Saturday’s big blow was Lee’s grand slam, which had thousands of fans jumping in the aisles as if they were on pogo sticks.
“He’s the anchor, both offensively and defensively,” catcher Michael Barrett said. “He plays the game the way it’s supposed to be played. Just him [playing] alone can be a huge boost to this team, and you saw why today.
“He hadn’t hit in a week. He has been hitting batting-practice stuff, but hadn’t seen a live pitch in a week, and then he goes up there and hits a grand slam in a pressure, pressure, pressure situation. It truly amazes me. … It shouldn’t amaze me, but it does.”
