Manager Lou Piniella made nice with the media prior to Tuesday’s game with Milwaukee after blowing off his post-game press conference the night before to scold his players for dropping another extra inning heart-breaker.
“Basically, I told the team that they have to stop sucking,” said Piniella. “I’m not going to be booed out of this town like Tom Trebelhorn, Jim Essian or, god forbid, Dusty Baker.”
The Piniella pep talk did nothing to awaken the dormant Cub bats, as they extended their scoreless inning streak to 17, before scratching across a meaningless ninth inning run, falling 4-1 to the Brewers. Cub hitters went 0 for 10 with runners in scoring position and hit into three double plays.
Rich Hill, who had been brilliant in three previous starts, made just a couple mistakes Tuesday night, but they were costly. Prince Fielder deposited a looping 38 mph Hill curveball into the seats for a two-run tater in the fourth and Kevin Mench hit a solo shot in the sixth. That’s all the Brewers needed against the anemic Cubs, who dropped their third in a row at home
“I guess I’ll have to pitch a no-hitter or a perfect game if we’re ever going to win again,” said Hill. “Since our season is effectively over already, I’m just hoping the Bulls continue to beat up on Miami. I really can’t stand Pat Riley.”
Number of the Night: 7
Of his 35 career home runs, the number of round-trippers Brewers slugger Prince Fielder has hit at Wrigley Field.
