Chicago Cubs crush San Francisco Giants 11-4 - MLB Recap
Reed Johnson's bases-loaded triple in the seventh inning ignited an offensive outburst that the Chicago Cubs used to take down the San Francisco Giants, 11-4 in the opener of a three-game series, at Wrigley Field, Chicago on Friday, May 13.
Johnson finished 3-for-5 and drove in four runs overall for Chicago, which had opened their nine-game home-stand with series drops to the Cincinnati Reds and the St. Louis Cardinals.
Starlin Castro and Darwin Barney set the tone at the top of the Cubs’ line-up, combining for six hits and five RBIs for Chicago, which is in a good position to win this closing set after totaling 14 hits Friday
Ryan Dempster earned the victory after limiting the Giants to two runs in six innings and struck out a season-high 11 batters. He also halted a six game home dropping streak dating back to August 31 of last season.
Madison Bumgarner gave up only three runs in six innings for San Francisco’s bullpen, which suffered a rare breakdown. The Giants’ relievers had thrown 22 scoreless innings over the previous nine contests, helping San Francisco go 8-1. However, the bullpen
was unable to keep the contest close Friday.
"The wins and losses [are] something I'm not going to concern myself with," Bumgarner said. "I want to go out there and keep us in the game and give us a chance to win."
First baseman Aubrey Huff got San Francisco on the board by scoring the first two runs, as he hit an RBI single in the first inning and a run-scoring double in the fifth.
In between, the Cubs went on top by scoring three runs in the bottom of the second. Koyie Hill plated a run with a sacrifice bunt and then came home on Castro's single with two outs, as Barney added a single.
Barney's RBI double heading into the bottom of seventh kicked off a five-run outburst for Chicago’s 8-2 advantage, when Jeremy Affeldt took the mound for the Giants. Pinch-hitter Kosuke Fukudome initiated the Cubs’ rally with a one-out walk, rushed to second
on a Castro single and scored on Barney's double to right.
The ineffective Affeldt then hit Marlon Byrd with a pitch, prompting San Francisco to bring in Guillermo Mota. After Jeff Baker singled to plate a run, Mota struck out Alfonso Soriano.
However, Mota failed to get the Giants out of the inning without further damage, as Johnson followed with a triple to right-field.
"I had to tell myself ... it's a big situation, just settle down, do the things you've been doing the whole game to hit the ball," Johnson said.
Cody Ross hit a two-run homer in the eighth to cut the margin to 8-4, but Chicago added three more runs in the bottom half. With Dan Runzler on the mound, Castro smacked an RBI double before scoring on Barney's base hit. Johnson made a run-scoring single
later in the inning to account for the final score 11-4.
Tags: