Cubs blow it in 9th against Milwaukee

For the first time since April 19, the Cubs will play a game as the National League Central's second-place team on Friday.

And it's not just any game they're playing, but one that starts a three-game series against the upstart Cardinals in St. Louis.

That would be the first-place Cardinals, who enjoyed a day off on which they moved past their archrivals in the standings.

After a disheartening 4-3 loss to the Brewers on Thursday at Wrigley Field, the Cubs find themselves on a downward spiral that has seen them lose five of their last seven games and four of six to Milwaukee, which is only one game behind the North Siders.

This one, in which the Brewers rallied for three runs in the ninth inning, included some sloppy defense, questionable baserunning and a blown save by Kerry Wood. And it provoked manager Lou Piniella into a postgame tirade after he smacked a dugout water cooler in the fateful ninth inning.

"You got a two-run lead going into the ninth and you let one get away ... it's a tough loss," Piniella said.

He was just warming up.

The following question—the one that set Piniella off—was whether he'd thought about replacing sore-legged left fielder Alfonso Soriano with Reed Johnson in the ninth inning. Soriano helped the Brewers' ninth-inning rally get started when Gabe Kapler's fly ball sailed over his head for a double.

"You're damn right I thought about it," Piniella snapped back. "You think I'm stupid or something?"

The briefing ended with Piniella muttering profanities on his way out the door.

"We have to keep our head up and keep playing baseball," Carlos Zambrano said after losing out on what would have been his fifth victory. "We just have to move on, go to St. Louis and we'll see."

Zambrano, who said he had a small blister on his index finger, deserved better than Thursday's fate after giving up one run in 61/3 strong innings, handing the ball to Carlos Marmol for 12/3 scoreless innings. Marmol was dominant, striking out four of the six hitters he faced.

Then came the ugly ninth inning, which the Cubs entered leading 3-1. Wood hit the first batter, then came Kapler's double over Soriano's head, a single, a walk and finally a bases-loaded, one-out, two-run double by Ryan Braun, who drove in seven runs in the series.

Any hopes of a comeback ended when Felix Pie bounced into a double play.

"It would have been a big win for us," Wood said.

"We had a chance to win the series. 'Z' pitched great and the guys scored runs when we needed it. I didn't get it done."

Zambrano hit a solo home run to lead off the third inning, the 13th of his career, tying Ferguson Jenkins' club record for pitchers.

The Cubs scored two more in the sixth inning despite having one runner thrown out at third base and another at home plate.

In Soriano's return from a calf injury, he went 0-for-4 from the leadoff spot and did not hit the ball out of the infield.

The postgame attention, however, was on the Kapler ball that went over his head, one that appeared catchable.

"I was running the best I can, very hard, but I think the wind got that ball, because he didn't hit it good for that ball to go that far," Soriano said.

Now the Cubs try to regroup in St. Louis against three starting pitchers who are a combined 8-1.

"I haven't really thought about it," Derrek Lee said. "I've just been taking it game by game. We'll worry about them [Friday]."

dvandyck@tribune.com

Related topic galleries: Milwaukee Brewers, Major League Baseball, Gabe Kapler, Distilling and Brewing Industry, Derrek Lee, Alfonso Soriano, Kerry Wood

• INSURANCE

• CUSTOMER SERVICE

• ENVIRONMENTAL TECHY

• DENTAL HEALTH EDUCATOR

• FOODSERVICE

• View all Top Jobs