After Alfonso Soriano rescued the Cubs’ bullpen Saturday night with a go-ahead two-run home run in the ninth, manager Lou Piniella pulled out a big surprise in the bottom of the inning.
Piniella brought in Carlos Marmol instead of Kevin Gregg to close out the 6-5 comeback victory over Milwaukee, opening the door to another closer controversy.
In a seesaw game in which both teams’ bullpens blew late leads, Soriano’s two-run shot off Carlos Villanueva in the ninth erased a one-run deficit and led the Cubs to victory. Marmol got Prince Fielder to look at a third strike with the tying run on and two outs in the ninth, punctuating the victory with a double fist pump.
Kosuke Fukudome and Aramis Ramirez also homered for the Cubs, who will send Ryan Dempster to the mound Sunday night in the rubber game of the series.
The bullpen may be a work in progress, but the more it struggles, the more likely it seems Piniella will blow his top.
Is he ready to erupt?
“I hope not,” Brewers center fielder Mike Cameron said. “When you have a good team I don’t think you really worry about those kinds of things.”
With the game tied 3-3 in the seventh, Angel Guzman and Neal Cotts loaded the bases on three straight walks. Piniella was so disgusted he sent pitching coach Larry Rothschild out to yank Cotts and bring in Aaron Heilman.
J.J. Hardy’s two-run single quickly gave the Brewers a 5-3 lead, but Heilman settled down to get through the eighth and eventually was rewarded with the victory.
Carlos Zambrano returned to the site of his no-hitter, only to discover his Miller Park magic had worn off. Struggling to find his rhythm early against a Milwaukee lineup that was much deeper than the one Houston trotted out in his no-no, Zambrano ran up his pitch count and had to be removed after six innings and 118 pitches.
Fielder’s two-run homer on a 95 m.p.h. fastball in the third gave the Brewers an early lead, but Fukudome sliced it in half with a shot to right off Dave Bush leading off the fourth.
Rickie Weeks’ run-scoring single in the fourth made it 3-1, but Zambrano struck out the final two batters in the inning and didn’t allow a hit in the fifth or sixth. Back-to-back doubles by Soriano and Fukudome brought the Cubs to within a run in the sixth, but Fielder threw out Fukudome at the plate off a Milton Bradley grounder to end the threat.
Soriano’s bases-loaded fielder’s-choice grounder in the seventh tied the game 3-3 before the bullpen did its thing once again.
The Cubs continued to play without catcher Geovany Soto, and backup Koyie Hill was playing in pain after being hit by a pitch in the right foot Friday. The Cubs cut the top of Hill’s shoe out, leaving him with an exposed pinkie toe.
“He’s a tough kid now,” Piniella said. “But, at the same time, it’s hard enough to catch when you’re not 100 percent physically. It’s the toughest, most demanding position on the field.”
But being a reliever on a team Piniella manages is no less demanding, especially when you’re not throwing strikes.
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psullivan@tribune.com
