Cubs Swept by Rays, Prepare for the Sox

The Chicago Cubs entered Thursday night in Tampa Bay with a couple of streaks on the line.  They hadn’t been swept or had a 3 game losing streak all year (the only team to avoid both).    Both of those streaked were snapped Thursday in a very unlikely way.

Entering the seventh inning, the Cubs were trailing 1-0.  After scratching 4 hits together and taking a 3-1 lead it appeared the Cubs were ready to break the game wide open with runners on second and third and only 1 out for Derrek Lee who already had 3 hits on the night.  Lee struck out and cleanup hitter Aramis Ramirez flied out weakly to right.  Although they didn’t put the game out of reach, the Cubs had taken the lead, and were giving the ball to all world reliever Carlos Marmol.

Marmol, who has an ERA of just over 2 entering the game (just under 3 after the game), simply had his worst outing of the year.  He walked the first two hitters of the inning and with 2 strikes on the next two hitters, hit them both with his devastating slider.  He simply couldn’t get a strike over the plate and was taken out for Scott Eyre.

Eyre, who recently set a Cubs record for consecutive games appeared in without allowing a run, was arguably worse than Marmol.  Coming into a 3-2 game with the bases loaded and facing Carl Crawford, Eyre allowed the first hit of the inning; a grand slam.  Eyre would face 4 more batters and gave up a triple, two doubles and a sacrifice fly. 

After the seven run seventh inning for the Rays, the score was 8-3 and you could tell from the body language that the game was over.  The next 2 innings for the Cubs offense went six up, six down with 3 strikeouts. 

The next opponent for the Cubs is the inter-city rival Chicago White Sox, who they face for a 3 game series at Wrigley, and then on the south side next weekend for 3 more.  While the Cubs were getting swept in Tampa, the Sox were nice and comfy in their own beds waiting for the Cubs to arrive sometime in the middle of the night from their flight from Tampa back to Chicago.

The Cubs still have the best record in baseball, and the White Sox hold the best record in the A.L. Central.  It will be an exciting week and a half of baseball in Chicago, and for the first time of the year the Cubs are facing some adversity due to injuries.  Carlos Zambrano is set to have an MRI on his shoulder today, and Alfonso Soriano is still out for another month after getting hit on the hand.