Another Walk-Off Win

The Cubs pulled out another one yesterday, this time in 10 innings.  Jeff Samardzija pitched very well.  He seemed to be back on track.  The same cannot be said for Carlos Marmol, who surrendered the lead after being summoned from the bullpen in the eighth inning.

Some of Sveum's bullpen decisions are a little eccentric.  I know he has limited options, but from the 7th on, things always get sticky.  I sometimes wonder if some of the troubles aren't due to Soto.  Late in the game, Cubs pitchers just seem to start nibbling and Soto just seems to set up all over the place as a receiver.  He calls a very nervous game from there out.  Look, as Sweet Lou would say, these guys have no idea where the ball is going to go, so maybe he should just sit in the middle and hope for the best.

Samardzija suddenly lost the strike zone in the 7th and had to be removed with two out and two on.  Camp managed to get the last out.  After that, until the 10th inning, the bullpen seemed to lose sight of home plate, with the exception of Marmol, who found it in time to serve up the two-run homer that nearly lost the game.

Dolis, who had pitched two innings in relief on Monday with nail-biting efficiency, continued to flirt with disaster on Tuesday.  The same with the new guy, Bowden, who looked as if he had no idea when to let go of the ball and where to do so in his unorthodox delivery.  He was lucky to escape the ninth without giving up a run.

Thanks to Bryan LaHair, who was allowed a rare plate appearance against a left-handed pitcher and promptly deposited the first pitch into the bleachers in left-center, the Cubs managed to tie the game.  James Russell, who has become the only reliable arm out of the bullpen and who is rarely used because he is afflicted with the disease of left-handedness and therefore can only be trusted to pitch to lefties most of the time, shut the door on the Cardinals in the top of the 10th.

That set the stage for a nice rally.  Campana sure is fast and a disrupting influence on the bases.  If this kid could only learn how to take pitches, work the count, and hit more ground balls, he could become a useful player.  He is hot now, though, and he pretty much gets into scoring position automatically when he does get on.  He was the beneficiary of a close call on his steal of second base that wound up with the Cards manager getting tossed.

I thought when they intentionally walked LaHair, the Cards might escape, but Soriano delivered an uncharacteristically thoughtful AB.  He hit a smash directly at 2B Tyler Greene on a 3-2 pitch that must have terrified the infielder as he chose to play it off to the side and wound up getting eaten up, the ball ricocheting over his shoulder for a single that allowed the winning run to score.