CHICAGO -- Matt Murton raced home on Brett Myers'
bases-loaded wild pitch in the bottom of the ninth Wednesday night
as the Chicago Cubs beat the Philadelphia Phillies 5-4 and took
over first place in the NL Central.
Murton started the inning with a sinking liner to left that
Jayson Werth dove for but couldn't keep in his glove. Murton got a
leadoff double and made third on Myers' wild pitch as Ronny Cedeno
tried to bunt.
After Cedeno walked, Myers (1-3) also walked Jacque Jones
intentionally to load the bases. Jason Kendall struck out, but with
a 1-1 count on pinch-hitter Cliff Floyd, Myers unleashed the wild
pitch that gave the Cubs the win.
The Cubs, who were 8½ games behind on June 23, finally overcame
the Milwaukee Brewers. Chicago's win, coupled with the Mets' 8-5
win at Milwaukee, puts the Cubs percentage points ahead of the
Brewers.
The Phils had threatened in the top of the ninth. Jimmy Rollins
singled and stole second and third before Aaron Rowand and Burrell
drew two-out walks off Ryan Dempster (2-3) to load the bases,
before Carlos Ruiz grounded into a force play.
Cubs starter Rich Hill, batting just .108, hit an RBIs single in
the second to score Kendall, who had doubled, putting the Cubs up
2-1. Derrek Lee opened the third with his second double, but after
getting the next two batters, Phils starter Jamie Moyer gave up a
two-out RBIs single to Ronny Cedeno and run-scoring bloop double to
Jones that made it 4-1. The 44-year-old lefty threw 38 pitches in
the inning.
The Phils rallied against Hill in the fifth as Tadahito Iguchi
blooped a double in front of Jones, Rollins had an RBIs single and
Ryan Howard delivered with a run-scoring double. When Jones' throw
got past the cutoff man, Howard tried to race to third but was cut
down on Lee's strong throw. And it cost the Phils a run when Rowand
followed with his 16th homer to tie the game at 4.
Moyer, who began his career with the Cubs after they chose him
in the sixth round of the 1984 draft, lasted five innings and gave
up nine hits and four runs.
Hill's error and wild pitch helped the Phillies score a run in
the first, but he escaped a big inning after the first three
batters reached. Hill threw wildly past first after fielding
leadoff hitter Chris Roberson's slow grounder for a two-base error,
Iguchi singled and Hill hit Rollins to load the bases.
After striking out Howard and Rowand, Hill was nearly out of the
inning before uncorking a wild pitch to allow Roberson to score.
Burrell walked to re-load the bases before Ruiz popped out.
Murton hit a two-out RBIs single in the first just past a fully
extended Rollins at short to score Lee, who'd doubled.
Game notes
Moyer made it to the majors with the Cubs in 1986. ... Cubs
RBIs leader Aramis Ramirez was out of starting lineup to rest a sore
knee but pinch-hit in the eighth when the Cubs also loaded the
bases. ... Werth was activated from the 15-day disabled list before
the game. He had been out since June 28 with a strained left wrist.