Cubs closer Kevin Gregg forgot this weekend he no longer plays for the Marlins, blowing a pair of saves against Florida while thinking he was throwing batting practice to his former teammates.
Chicago was able to bounce back from Gregg’s lapse Saturday night, pulling out a 9-8 win in extras after Gregg surrendered three ninth-inning runs to Florida. They didn’t have a chance to come back Sunday afternoon, as Gregg entered the ninth with a 2-1 lead only to give up a pair of solo homers to players he thought he was supposed to be helping improve.
The first homer came to struggling second baseman Dan Uggla. Cody Ross came up next and deposited a Gregg fastball in Land Shark Stadium’s sparsely populated outfield bleachers to end the game.
“I knew Uggie’s been having a tough season, so I figured I’d groove him a slider,” said Gregg. “It was really nice to see him crush it roughly 550 feet. It should do wonders for his confidence at the plate.”
Ross’s walk-off was his second solo homer of the afternoon. Gregg was happy about that too.
“If the Marlins are going to make a push for the postseason, we’ll really need Cody to come up big,” said Gregg. “I’m just happy I was able to contribute to our cause.”
By Brad Zibung, founder and editor in chief. Idea by S. Spain
