The Cubs moved into a first-place tie Wednesday afternoon for the first time since Aug. 6, 2009, after they had won the opener of a day-night doubleheader against the Padres.
Only a few thousand fans remained after Reed Johnson’s home run capped a 2-1, 11-inning victory and they were asked politely to exit the ballpark quickly so the Cubs could get the place ready for the nightcap crowd.
The Cubs then promptly lost the second game 5-4 to leave them with a split for the day and a 9-9 record.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t get the sweep,” losing pitcher James Russell said. “But two out of three is just as good.”
Not quite, but as horse-racing buff Mike Quade pointed out, no bettor gets money when his horse is leading at the 1/116th pole.
The combined attendance was announced as more than 72,000 for the two games, but the real figure was much less than half of that. Either way, it was a long and interesting day for everyone.
Russell served up three home runs in four-plus innings to put the Cubs in an early Game 2 hole, and they never could recover off Aaron Harang and the Padres bullpen.
Alfonso Soriano hit a two-run homer off Chad Qualls to pull the Cubs to within 5-4 in the eighth, giving them a shot at another late-inning triumph.
But Padres closer Heath Bell struck out Darwin Barney with the tying run on first to end the night.
Asked if Russell would get a third start next week, Quade replied: “Right now, I’m too baseball-ed out. I haven’t had a chance to think about it.”
The Cubs didn’t play their best ball Wednesday, though they showed they are capable of coming back. Johnson was the hero in the first game, but he made an ill-advised base-running gaffe in the fifth inning of Game 2 when he tried to stretch an RBI double into a triple.
“If you had to do it over, if I had a crystal ball and knew the three guys behind me were going to get base hits I would have just held up,” Johnson said. “I got around second and I knew I was in trouble. I just hit the wall.”
In the opener, Johnson led off the 11th with a home run off Luke Gregerson to win it after Carlos Marmol suffered his second blown save in the ninth, ruining Matt Garza’s chance at his first Cubs victory.
After Marlon Byrd’s RBI single in the third gave the Cubs a 1-0 lead, Garza threw six shutout innings, striking out nine in his best outing since being acquired from the Rays in January. But a one-out walk, a stolen base, a bunt single and a sacrifice fly tied it off Marmol in the ninth.
Jeff Samardzija bailed himself out of jams in the 10th and 11th to earn the victory in relief.
“There’s a lot of fight in us,” Garza said. “We don’t quit after nine. We play hard ’till it’s over, till they ring that final bell …”
Twitter @PWSullivan
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