News
Cubs rout Pirates behind 10-run second
Chicago sets season high in runs as Lee drives in seven
By Andrew Simon / MLB.com
08/14/09 7:00 PM ET
CHICAGO -- The Pirates arrived in town, and all of the Cubs' troubles melted away, at least for a day.In a 17-2 clubbing of Pittsburgh on Friday, Chicago set a season high for runs in the process. Kosuke Fukudome homered and Derrek Lee tied a career high with seven RBIs, as the Cubs gave starter Randy Wells (9-5) all the support he could want.
"It was fun," Lee said. "I think this team needed it. We had some built-up frustration probably, with the way the Phillies beat on us for three days."
Chicago has struggled all season against teams with records better than .500 -- it just lost three of four to Colorado, then suffered a three-game sweep against Philadelphia to fall 4 1/2 games behind St. Louis in the National League Central before routing Pittsburgh.
Luckily for the Cubs, the stretch they started Friday has them playing 28 of their next 32 games against teams with sub-.500 records.
With fighter jets periodically thundering over Wrigley Field in preparation for this weekend's Air and Water Show, Chicago's offense put on an even more impressive display against Bucs starter Charlie Morton and reliever Chris Bootcheck. Fukudome's three-run homer off Morton (2-6) capped a four-run first before the Cubs pounded out 10 runs in the second for their biggest inning since they plated 10 in the fourth against the Cardinals on June 10, 2004.
The last time the Cubs had scored 14 runs in the first two innings of a game was June 7, 1906, against the New York Giants. They matched that Friday by batting around without recording an out in the second.
"You're going to get that from time to time in the Minor Leagues or maybe college or even below that, but in the Major Leagues, that's few and far between," said catcher Koyie Hill, who started the second with a triple. "So I don't know if it was special, but it sure was fun to watch."
After Jake Fox ripped a two-run double to make the score 8-0, Bootcheck relieved Morton, who ultimately was accountable for 10 runs in one-plus inning.
"Everything went wrong," Morton said. "I didn't do anything right. It was just embarrassing. As you could see, I couldn't throw a pitch where I wanted."
The pitching change didn't help the Pirates much. The Cubs scored six more times in the inning, capped by Lee's two-run double.
What a day | ||||||
| For the second time in 2009, Derrek Lee drove in seven runs. Below, a look at the season's top single-game run producers. | ||||||
Player | Team | Date | Opp. | RBIs | H | AB |
| Josh Willingham | Nationals | July 27 | Brewers | 8 | 3 | 5 |
| Albert Pujols | Cardinals | April 11 | Astros | 7 | 2 | 4 |
| Derrek Lee | Cubs | July 27 | Brewers | 7 | 2 | 4 |
| Shin-Soo Choo | Indians | July 3 | A's | 7 | 4 | 5 |
| Luke Scott | Orioles | July 7 | Mariners | 7 | 3 | 4 |
| Paul Konerko | Cubs | July 7 | Indians | 7 | 3 | 4 |
| Jim Thome | White Sox | July 17 | Orioles | 7 | 2 | 4 |
| Justin Morneau | Twins | July 20 | A's | 7 | 3 | 5 |
| Troy Tulowitzki | Rockies | Aug. 10 | Cubs | 7 | 5 | 5 |
| Derrek Lee | Cubs | Aug. 14 | Pirates | 7 | 3 | 3 |
Lee pounded another double off Bootcheck in the fourth, this time driving in three to match a personal best he set July 2 against the Brewers. He came out of the game in the fifth and said he was not tempted to keep going.
"I wanted to be fresh for [Saturday]," Lee said. "I think it was 17-2 when I came out. I figured we had that one pretty much wrapped up."
Lee had plenty of help. Five other Cubs had multihit games, including Wells, right fielder Sam Fuld and third baseman Jake Fox. Fuld and Fox were subbing for Milton Bradley and Aramis Ramirez, who were out with a tight hip and an infection of the tonsils, respectively.
Fukudome's home run, which nearly cleared the right-field bleachers and made it onto Sheffield Avenue, was his 10th of the year, tying his total for all of 2008.
"I am comfortable right now, and the result is definitely better right now than it was last year, so hopefully I can continue doing this," Fukudome said through his interpreter.
Wells continued his fine rookie season by holding the Pirates to two runs over six innings. He won for the ninth time in 11 starts.
"It was pretty nice," Wells said of the run support. "In this stage of my career, those games are welcome any time. But for me to learn to put all that aside -- and even when the game is kind of out of hand, to still stay focused and pitch like it's a 0-0 game and stay as sharp as I can -- that will teach me for down the road, on the stretch run, when the games aren't like that, to be able to be as sharp as I can."
The Pirates have lost 11 of their past 12, the past three by a combined score of 35-3. In the midst of Friday's blowout, did the Cubs feel any sympathy?
"I don't think, in the big leagues, you can ever have a sense of that," Hill said. "I don't think you can have that emotion. ... You take advantage of the opportunities that you get to go out there and produce some runs and some hits, and whoever it is in the other dugout, that just happens to be who it is that day."
Andrew Simon is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
