Cubs 1991 Season-Game 43
From Sports Library
Contents |
Cubs 8, Expos 6
- WP: Lester Lancaster (2-1)
- LP: Tim Burke (3-2)
- SV: Dave Smith (11)
The Cubs came into this May 26, 1991 game riding a four-game winning streak under new manager Jim Essian, who had been named Cubs manager on May 22, 1991, just one day after Don Zimmer was fired. The Cubs seemed to rally around Essian, who had a track record of success in the Cubs' farm system. Essian was manager of the Pittsfield Cubs teams of 1986 and 1987, considered by many to be among the best minor-league teams of the 1980s.
The Cubs began the day 22-20 and just four games behind first-place Pittsburgh. Veteran Rick Sutcliffe was making his eighth start of the season. Sutcliffe, the ace of the staff from 1984 until Greg Maddux emerged as the team's ace in 1988 and 1989, had spent almost all of 1990 on the disabled list with tendinitis in his shoulder. In his first seven starts of 1991, he struggled. Just five days earlier, Cubs 1991 Season-Game 38 Sutcliffe allowed six runs on six hits in 1-plus innings at Shea Stadium. Dennis Martinez was the starter for the Expos.
First Inning
Sutcliffe quickly retired the first two Expos, Delino DeShields and Marquis Grissom, but then allowed back-to-back singles to Larry Walker and Tim Wallach, both notorious Cub-killers. With two on and two out, Ron Hassey doubled off the wall in center, scoring Walker and Wallach. Hassey, an ex-Cub, had come to the Cubs in a 1984 trade with Cleveland in which Sutcliffe was the centerpiece. The next batter, former Cub Dave Martinez, hit a ball in the gap between third and short. Jose Vizcaino got to the ball, but his throw to first was late. Hassey broke for the plate, and first baseman Mark Grace's throw was too late to get him as the Expos took a 3-0 lead.
Cubs punchless
Meanwhile, Dennis Martinez had little trouble with the Cubs' offense, scattering two hits over the first four innings. He walked Doug Dascenzo to start the game and went 2-0 on Ryne Sandberg causing him to argue with home plate umpire Bryan Wickham. However, Martinez went on to retire the next 10 batters.
Fourth Inning
Montreal knocked out Sutcliffe in the fourth. Spike Owen singled with one out and Dennis Martinez moved him over to second on a sacrifice bunt. After DeShields walked to put runners on first and second with two out, Grissom singled to left to drive in Owen. Sutcliffe then walked Walker to load the bases. The next batter, Wallach, singled to center to drive in DeShields and Grissom and bring Essian out of the dugout to replace Sutcliffe with Steve Wilson.
Fifth Inning
The Cubs scored a run in the fifth inning 1989 Rookie of the Year Jerome Walton, pinch-hitting for Wilson, led off with a single. An infield single by Doug Dascenzo was followed by Ryne Sandberg's flyout to center, which brought Walton to third. Grace singled to score Walton and put runners on first and second with one out and star Andre Dawson coming to bat. However, Dawson flew out to right-fielder Walker, and Dascenzo was thrown out foolishly testing Walker's arm.
Seventh Inning
As a late-spring storm approached Wrigley Field from the Southwest, the Cubs heeded Harry Caray's customary Seventh Inning Stretch request to "get some runs." Native Chicagoan Erik Pappas led off the inning with a pinch-hit single, and Dascenzo followed with a single to center putting runners on first and second and nobody out. Sandberg again flew out to left, and Pappas and Dascenzo each moved up a base. A Grace double to right-center made it 6-3, and caused Buck Rodgers to bring in Tim Burke to relieve Dennis Martinez. Burke walked Dawson, and Chico Walker singled to score Grace and move Dawson to third base. At this point, an incensed Rodgers went to the mound to calm down Burke and then said something to Wickham on his way back to the dugout, drawing an ejection.
A Dwight Smith fielder's choice made it a 6-5 game, and Hector Villanueva singled to put runners on first and second with two out. At this point, Barry Jones was summoned from the bullpen. Jones was a former White Sox reliever who came to the Expos during an offseason deal for Tim Raines. Jones had held the hitters to a .199 batting average to that point in 1991, so Essian decided to have regular left-fielder George Bell, who had been given the day off, pinch hit for Vizcaino. Bell was an offseason free-agent acquisition who had spent his whole career in the American League, so he was a little more familiar with Jones (even if Bell had never collected a hit off of Jones in his career).
Jones threw a letter-high fastball to Bell, who launched it onto Waveland Avenue to give the Cubs an 8-6 lead.
Eighth Inning
The Expos had started a rally in the top of the eighth with two men on and one out against left-hander Paul Assenmacher, when the skies opened up. The teams cleared the field, and the grounds crew began to put the tarp over the infield. Just as the tarp was completely unfolded, the rain stopped and the came out. The grounds crew began to fold up and roll the tarp and had the field just about ready for play when another shower began. This time, the delay lasted nearly 20 minutes.
Dave Smith came in and retired Wallach and Hassey to end the threat. Smith also pitched the ninth to earn his 11th save.
Aftermath
The Cubs' euphoria quickly subsided as the hated New York Mets came into town the next day and swept the Cubs. Essian and the Cubs would go 54-63 the rest of the way, good enough for fourth place, 20 games behind Pittsburgh. Sutcliffe was demoted to the bullpen, where he made one appearance, before being placed on the disabled list.
This might have been the highlight of both Essian and Bell's tenures with the Cubs. Bell was traded on the last day of spring training 1992 to the Chicago White Sox for Sammy Sosa.
