News
Outburst in first gives Cubs win, history
Club matches hit record to lead off game, leave Bucs in dust
By Carrie Muskat / MLB.com
09/09/09 12:04 AM ET
PITTSBURGH -- Eight was enough for the Cubs.Chicago rattled off eight straight hits to lead off a seven-run first inning and tie a Major League record en route to a 9-4 victory Tuesday night over the Pirates. And it's the second time the Cubs have collected eight hits in a row to start a game against the Pirates.
"Where's that first inning been all year?" Cubs manager Lou Piniella said.
According to Elias Sports Bureau, the eight consecutive hits to lead off the first has been done five other times, most recently Sept. 25, 1990, when the New York Yankees did so against Baltimore. The Cubs did it to the Pirates back on April 21, 1973, at Wrigley Field. WGN Radio's Ron Santo took part with a double in the six-run first.
"The Cubbies are capable of everything," Piniella said.
On Tuesday, Aramis Ramirez, Geovany Soto and Kosuke Fukudome each drove in two runs during the hit parade to back Ryan Dempster (9-8), who scattered eight hits over 6 1/3 innings. One of those was a solo homer with one out in the Pirates third by Garrett Jones, his 19th. That, and seeing golf legend Arnold Palmer, who was toasted in honor of his 80th birthday, were the highlights for the Pirates fans in the crowd of 17,862.
Ryan Theriot got things started against Pittsburgh's Zach Duke (10-14) with a leadoff single and Milton Bradley was safe on a bunt hit. The Cubs loaded the bases on Derrek Lee's soft single to right. Ramirez kept it going with a single to left, driving in two. Jeff Baker then singled, and Soto followed with a two-run double.
Fukudome lofted a double down the left-field line, driving in two, and Bobby Scales finished the streak with an infield hit. Dempster made the first out of the game when he bunted for a sacrifice. However, the pitcher did make up for that with an RBI single in the seventh.
"I would've gotten a hit my second at-bat [in the first] but I didn't want him to feel bad," Theriot said of Dempster.
"They're all fining me -- the guys on the team will fine me," Dempster said. "I didn't know it was a record. It's pretty neat to tie one. Maybe we'll get nine tomorrow."
It wasn't as if the Cubs were pummeling Duke. The balls were just finding holes.
"Zach's a heck of a pitcher and definitely not a guy you want to face on a daily basis," Theriot said. "I had the infield hit, then Milton with a bunt, and D-Lee gets jammed and gets a hit. Things weren't going [Duke's] way for sure and we were just finding holes."
Quick starts | ||
| Below is a look at the six times in Major League history that a team has begun a game with eight consecutive hits. | ||
Date | Team | Opponent |
| 9/8/2009 | Cubs | Pirates |
| 9/25/1990 | Yankees | Orioles |
| 9/27/1981 | A's | White Sox |
| 8/26/1975 | Pirates | Braves |
| 8/5/1975 | Phillies | Cubs |
| 4/21/1973 | Cubs | Pirates |
"I'll tell you what," Duke said, "I made some pretty good pitches that ended up being hits. I really don't know how to explain it. There was one ball hit hard -- Soto's ball off the wall."
It was a fun inning for the Cubs. Having fun was part of Piniella's message on Monday during a team meeting prior to this series.
"Any time Lou talks and gets us together as a team, he obviously has everybody's ear," Theriot said. "[The message] worked, and guys listened. They respect Lou for what he's done on the field as a player and they also respect him for the type of manager he is and the passion he has for the game."
Was the timing right for a pep talk?
"I always like it," Theriot said. "I know everybody varies in their opinion on meetings. When Dusty [Baker] was here, it seemed like we had a meeting every day. I think everybody's different and when we get it, it's heartfelt and it means a lot and everybody listens. It's cool."
Micah Hoffpauir, who replaced Bradley defensively in the first, belted his ninth homer leading off the Cubs fourth off Duke, who served up 12 hits over four innings. Bradley was lifted as a precautionary measure because of tightness in his legs and is not expected to play Wednesday in the series finale.
Nobody on the Cubs knew they had tied the record until postgame.
"It's a pretty good feeling when your team reels off eight hits in a row and scores seven runs before you even take the mound," Dempster said. "It's a lot of pressure off anybody. it was fun to watch the guys to do that. I know it's been a struggle at times."
If he had known nine straight hits would be a record, would Dempster have tried for another knock?
"No, I just do as I'm told," he said. "It would've been fun to try, though."
With the win, the Cubs now are 25-7 against the Pirates since Sept. 1, 2007, and won their first road series since taking two of three against Cincinnati Aug. 3-5. The Cubs are 2-0 since Piniella's pep talk.
"Everybody in here would like to see a different record in the standings and us being in a better spot than we are," Dempster said, "but at the same time, everybody in here is very professional and continues to work hard and everybody wants to finish real strong and whatever it ends up being, that's what it ends up being. For us, we just want to play hard and win as many games as we can and take it one game at a time and have as much fun as we can.
"It's nice to win back to back," he said, "and hopefully go out tomorrow and get a sweep and go home on a really good note."
Carrie Muskat is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
