Faithful, Too: “Game 19 L - King’s Dominion?”

“One run is not going to win this ball game,” I told my girlfriend, after we watched one of the game’s greatest cheaters, Fernando Tatis, Jr., hit a towering home run to left field in the bottom of the third to put the Padres up 1-0. We weren’t at the beautiful Petco Park in San Diego. We were watching from the comfort of our home on the Marquee Sports Network, the only way to watch non-national broadcast Cubs games. I’ll elaborate on how this came to be at some point this season. Hey, it’s a long one (the story, and the fact that there are over 140 games to be played).

One run wasn’t enough. In the top of the 4th, Michael Busch homered for the third straight game to put the Cubs up 2-1. Later that inning, PCA, who I watched strike out in his first at-bat, came to the plate. I told my girlfriend that every time I’ve watched him this season, he’s either struck out or popped up. He’s been hot lately, but I never see it live. She told me to close my eyes and that she’d describe what happens next. Lo and behold, the speedy youngster hit an RBI-double, with my girlfriend describing it all the way. The Cubs now led 3-1, and such is why I believe in the idea of the jinx. Especially when it pays off in my favor.

The team looked like they were going to somehow get yet another victory against the otherwise peerless Pads. I went to bed after the top half of the sixth thinking the same thing I thought last Saturday night: the Cubs are gonna win, and I’ll see by how much in the morning. Well, much like that Dodgers game, many more runs were scored. Sadly, they weren’t by the Cubs. The Padres scored nine runs in their final three innings, eight of them coming off Cubs relievers. Remember when I discussed the value of having starters pitch deep into games so you don’t wear out your relievers? Of the seven, solid relievers that pitched in the bullpen game on Sunday, only one of them pitched on Monday.

And he was bad and discombobulated. Brad Keller only recorded one out, gave up three hits, a walk, and allowed the tying run to score in the sixth. The next two pitchers, Nate Pearson and Eli Morgan, stink! However, they were the rare fresh arms available to pitch, and while they did just that, they combined for only one inning in which they allowed five hits, four walks, and seven runs. In one inning! The Cubs went on to lose 10-4. There were some fielding blunders, but this came down to a beleaguered bullpen. May they find a new starter soon.

Shota’s pitching in a rematch against Randy Vasquez tonight. Last time they matched up, both pitchers were great, with the Cubs ultimately winning 3-1. Hoping he can bounce back from his Rangers outing and get the team back on track. The less I have to see of Pearson and Morgan the better!