Chalk this loss up to the bullpen, specifically Kerry Wood and Carlos Marmol. Wood managed to get two quick outs in the 8th inning before allowing an opposite field home run to Espinosa and coming unglued.
After two more hits, Sveum turned things over to Marmol who faced four additional batters without getting a single out. Either Marmol has just lost his stuff or the Cubs are trying to change his style without success. He is throwing more fastballs and his slider is not biting. Whatever is wrong, both he and Wood stink so far.
If this continues, it is going to be a really long season for Cubs fans. Really long. They have gone from being a team with potentially a very strong bullpen - Russell, Samardzija, Cashner, Wood, Marshall, Marmol - to one that is simply a train wreck.
One plus is that Sveum managed to pull both of his troubled hurlers, albeit only after each had allowed four consecutive batters to reach base with two outs in the 8th inning which began with the team seemingly cruising to victory with a 4-2 lead.
Garza, like Dempster, pitched well, this time under substantially less favorable conditions for pitchers than on opening day.
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