| July 31, 2003 |
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| San Francisco |
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| Chicago |
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WP C. Zambrano (9-8) 8IP 9H 4R 4ER 5BB 5SO 1HR 3.33 ERA
LP J. Brower (7-3) 5IP 7H 5R 4ER 2BB 1SO 0HR 3.87 ERA
Kirk Rueter was scratched from the starting lineup less than ten
minutes before the first pitch due to stiffness in his left shoulder.
With Woody injured, the Giants summoned Buzz Lightyear to the rescue.
Reliever Jim Brower was pulled up to the starting rotation again to
face the hard throwing young arm of Carlos Zambrano.
The Cubs jumped on Brower early as they made him work through their
entire lineup in the first inning. Kenny Lofton led off with a single
and Mark Grudzielanek had a bunt single. Sammy Sosa hit a stand up
double to score Lofton and to give the Cubs an early lead. With no
outs, Moises Alou continued his damage against the Giants as he doubled
to clear the bases. Damian Miller capped the scoring for the Cubs in
the first as he singled to bring in Eric Karros for the Cubs’ fourth
run.
The Cubs added to their lead as Grudzielanek scored on a sacrifice fly
by Karros in the fifth inning.
In the top of the sixth, the Giants prevented a shut out as Andres
Galarraga started the inning with a base hit. Edgardo Alfonzo continued
his hot hitting by bolting one into the bleachers to get the Giants on
the board.
Chicago shut the door on the Giants in their half of the sixth as they
loaded the bases and Yorvit Torrealba let a pitch pass by him. With all
the base runners being the responsibility of Jason Christiansen, who
came in relief of Brower, he was thrown out of the game by arguing with
the home plate umpire about the calls being made. Matt Herges entered
the game and gave up a three run roundtripper to Sosa as the Cubs
bloated their lead to 2-9.
The Giants added a little more to their score as Jose Cruz, Jr.
collected his 50th RBI of the season by grounding out with Jeffrey
Hammonds on third base. Hammonds was walked and Galarraga had a double
to move him over. With Galarraga on third, Zambrano was called for a
balk that enabled Galarraga to score the fourth run of the game for the
Giants.
Herges finished off the seventh inning for the Giants and Scott Eyre
pitched a scoreless eighth.
Game Notes: Sosa’s jack puts him ahead of Willie McCovey and Ted
Williams on the all-time homerun list. The Giants loaded the bases in
the fourth with only one out, but with Marquis Grissom popping out and
Barry Bonds lining out, they were unable to get anything from that
situation.
Players of the Game: Edgardo Alfonzo has lived up to his name as a late
July/August player by having back-to-back games with a homerun. Brownie
points to Rich Aurilia for going 2-4 and for making impressive
defensive stops to prevent the Cubs from scoring more. On a day where
the bullpen overall was struggling, Scott Eyre continued to be lights
out, quietly retiring the side without giving up any runs.
Sara Kwan was born in San Francisco and raised in the Bay Area. She
currently writes game recaps, other articles, and is the Giant Prophet for
SFDugout.com. Any comments or questions about the article, baseball, or the
meaning of life can be sent to Sara at kwanchino@alpha-q.net
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