Lackey Pitches a Gem, Not Enough Against Padres

That was a tough, long day and a hard way to lose back-to-back games for the first time in thirty-three games to start the season. On the other hand, the Cubs are thirty-three games in and finally lost back-to-back games. So, it’s really all how you look at it. It’s a luxury to be in the position the Cubs are in and of course they will be fine. These things happen in 162 game seasons.

Lackey was tough as nails tonight and you hate to see such a great pitching performance go unrewarded. He had a no-hitter going into the fifth inning and on one pitch everything changed. Christian Bethancourt hit a home run on an off-speed pitch that hung in the zone. It was probably John’s worst pitch of the night and he got punished for it.

Jorge Soler had a chance to get the Cubs back in the game, even take the lead, when he came up in the bottom of the eighth inning with two outs and the bases loaded. He whiffed and struck out on a 2-2 breaking ball. I have to be honest, I’m not sure how many more times I want to see Jorge Soler in clutch situations. In 76 at-bats this year he has 14 hits and 19 strikeouts. Something is wrong and it’s not getting any better. I keep thinking ‘hopefully it will’ but it’s hard to imagine how, given what we’ve seen unfold so far this year.

The Cubs had runners in scoring position four times in this game but couldn’t convert on any of the chances. They drop the second game in the doubleheader today by the score of 1-0 (box score).

Stats that mattered

• John Lackey pitched one heck of a game tonight – 8IP, 1ER, 7Ks
• Padres pitcher Drew Pomeranz pitched a great game too – 6 IP, 0R, 3H, 3BB, 10Ks
• Cubs were 0-7 with runners in scoring position

Next up

The Cubs have a day off tomorrow and will open up a three-game series against the Pirates at Wrigley Field on Friday. Game time Friday is 1:20 PM CDT with Jason Hammel taking the mound for the Cubs.