Marlins outlast Cubs in 17th inning marathon |
MIAMI -- It wasn't pretty and it took forever as the Marlins defeated the Cubs 2-1 in 17 innings.
Kris Bryant got the only run in regulation for the Cubs with a solo homer to left field in the third inning. Former Cubs shortstop Starlin Castro immediately got the run back with an RBI single that scored Lewis Brinson to square the game at 1-1. Hendricks pitched a solid game going six innings giving up four singles, a run, three walks, and five strikeouts. One of the pitching stars of the game besides Hendricks was Cubs reliever Eddie Butler who pitched 7 of scoreless relief on 90 pitches which was the longest Cubs relief appearance since Scott Sanderson in 1989. Butler's a decent last roster spot if I have ever seen one. Jarlin Garcia was equally impressive going six innings of scoreless relief to keep the Cubs batter baffled all night. In case you were wondering, the Cubs record for longest relief appearance is 18.1 innings by Zip Zapel in 1915. The game would settle into a pitching duel but things got rather interesting in the 15th inning. Cubs backup catcher Victor Caratini walked, Bryant had a single up the middle, and Willson Contreras was intentionally walked setting the stage for possible heroics by outfielder Jason Heyward. However, he hit into a hard grounder into a 3-2 double play to end the inning. Brandon Morrow gave up a single to Miguel Rojas with two men on and with two outs in the 17th inning to drive in the winning run as it gave the Marlins the craziest 2-1 extra-inning win. Baseball can be cruel as Butler gets the loss despite going seven innings in relief. The Cubs had several chances to put across the winning run but their offense was brutal during the contest striking out an impressive 20 times, stranding 15 runners, and was an ugly 0-11 with runners in scoring position. Both teams will be back at it on Saturday at 6:10 p.m. CDT at Marlins Park. Newcomer Yu Darvish will try to get the North Siders back on track with his first start of the season.
