Bullpen blows it, but Cubs still win

Not since Nomar Garciaparra's arrival from Boston in the summer of 2004 has a Cub debut been as anticipated as Rich Harden's first start Wrigley Field.

And while he did everything he could Saturday to show the Cubs made the right move in acquiring him from Oakland, Harden ultimately was relegated to the role of innocent bystander before the end of a wild 8-7, 11-inning victory over San Francisco.

After Carlos Marmol allowed five runs in the ninth to let the Giants rally from a 7-0 deficit, the Cubs bounced back on Reed Johnson's opposite-field, RBI single off Brian Wilson in the 11th.

"When you're growing up as a little kid, you're always '5, 4, 3, 2, 1 …' shooting the basketball, trying to make that game-winning shot or get that game-winning base hit," Johnson said. "So you put yourself in that situation since you've been in Little League and all the way up to [the majors]."

The Cubs won for the fifth time in their last six games, improving to 37-11 at Wrigley with one game remaining before the All-Star break.

Harden pitched 51/3 scoreless innings, striking out 10 and allowing five hits before leaving after 96 pitches. The Cubs had staked him to a 7-0 lead on a two-run homer and four RBIs from Jim Edmonds, and the crowd gave Harden a standing ovation to show its approval.

"It was a pretty cool feeling," Harden said. "I never really had anything like that pitching in Oakland."

But Harden's exit opened the door to a major meltdown. The Giants scored two off Kevin Hart in the eighth before Bob Howry bailed them out of a jam, and with Kerry Wood unavailable because of a blister on his right index finger, manager Lou Piniella turned to the unpredictable Carlos Marmol.

With a man on third and one out, Marmol botched the scoop a dribbler off the bat of Jose Castillo, allowing Castillo to reach on an infield hit because he didn't want the run to score.

"He boots the ball, instead of making a nice, easy play," Piniella said. "Let them get a run in and get the second out. That was the inning as far as I was concerned. I hope you learn from that. Forget the run. You have a five-run lead. All you want is outs in the eighth and ninth innings with leads. You don't need spectacular things."

After two more singles and a walk, Marmol got a fielder's choice grounder for the second out as a run scored to make it 7-5. Sean Marshall was warming up, but Marmol hit Rich Aurilia to load the bases. With the crowd booing Piniella's decision to stick with Marmol, Eliezer Alfonzo reached on an infield hit to short, and Ryan Theriot made an ill-advised flip to second while on his rear as the second run scored on the hit to tie the game.

Piniella pointed out that Theriot should "have eaten the ball." Theriot admitted that "looking back on it, it wasn't the right play."

Marmol was booed off the mound, but Marshall saved the day with two innings of strong relief and a leadoff single off Wilson in the 11th. After a walk to Mark DeRosa and a force at third on a poor bunt by Mike Fontenot, Johnson singled DeRosa home to send the crowd of 41,555 into a state of delirium.

"You can't beat walk-off fashion," Marshall said. "That was a lot of fun."

psullivan@tribune.com

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