Originally Posted by collegesportsfanms
Consolation Bracket Game 9
(3) Cincinnati @ (11) Chicago Cubs
Pitching Match-Up
Homer Bailey (CIN) vs. Rich Hill (CHC)
Pregame
Cincinnati is playing their second straight game against an NL Central opponent after taking care of Pittsburgh in their first game, while the Cubs ran by a very good New York Mets team in their first game. Chicago has a much better offense than Cincinnati, but the pitching match-up in this one doesn't leave a lot to be desired. Bailey had a 7.93 ERA in the 2008 season, while Rich Hill had a 4.12 ERA. The problem with Hill is that his stamina rating is only 18.. so he's only good for 2 trips through the lineup without losing any control. If he gets in any kind of trouble, he may not make it 3 innings, let alone 5. That could play to Cincinnati's advantage. The Cubs will have to hope the offense is sharp tonight, as I expect a lot of runs to cross the plate in this one.
Game Report
As I thought, this was a wild one, lots of offense. As I also thought, it would be a short outing for Rich Hill, who lasted just 2 innings of work. In those 2 innings he gave up 8 runs, but with only 1 long reliever available for the Cubs, it was imperative to get him through at least 2. With the Cubs down 8-0 after 2 innings, they had to rely on the bullpen to get the job done.. and the bullpen came through giving up just 2 runs the rest of the game. Cincinnati starter Homer Bailey got through 5 innings, giving up 5 runs, but the Cincinnati bullpen wasn't nearly as sharp, giving up 2 in the 6th and 3 in the 7th to tie the game at 10 going into extra innings. In the bottom of the 10th, Micah Hoffpauir led off the inning with a double, but Francisco Cordero and Bill Bray combined to get the next 2 Cub hitters out. Cubs manager Lou Pinella went into panic mode, knowing his bullpen was down to Kevin Hart, who has a 30 control and would rather not be used in pressure situations. Had we gone to an 11th inning, it would have been Hart's game which could have spelled disaster. But it never got that far, as Kosuke Fukudome doubled to right as Red's right fielder Jerry Hairston just missed a sensational diving catch, but the ball got down and the Cubs, down 8-0 after 2, completed a miracle comeback, winning 11-10 in 10 innings! The Cubs will get some time to rest and recover as the undefeated bracket gets a break for a few games (after 1 more quarterfinal of course), but they will take on the Kansas City-Florida winner in an undefeated bracket semifinal. Location TBD. That is game 22 on the bracket. Cincinnati also gets a bit of a break, as they will play in game 16, but will have to mentally recover after blowing an 8 run lead. They take on the Oakland-Tampa Bay winner, location TBD.
WP: Jeff Samardzija (CHC)
LP: Francisco Cordero (CIN)
Players of the Game
Cincinnati- 2B Brandon Phillips (2-6, 2 HR, 4 RBI)
Chicago Cubs- RF Kosuke Fukudome (3-4, 1 BB, 1 2B, 2 RBI, game winning RBI)
Also want to give consideration to Cub's 1B Derrek Lee who was 2-5 with a double, homer, and 5 RBI's. But Fukudome gets the POTG award for the game winning RBI double.
Scoring Summary
Top 1st- 0 out, Jeff Keppinger doubles, scoring Jerry Hairston (1-0 CIN)
Edwin Encarnacion homers, scoring Keppinger and Encarnacion (3-0 CIN)
Top 2nd- 1 out, Keppinger singles, scoring Hairston (4-0 CIN)
Brandon Phillips homers, scoring Keppinger, Encarnacion, and Phillips (7-0 CIN)
2 out, Chris Dickerson doubles, scoring Joey Votto (8-0 CIN)
Bot 3rd- 2 out, Derrek Lee homers, scoring Kosuke Fukudome, Mike Fontenot, and Lee (8-3 CIN)
Top 4th- 1 out, Votto singles, scoring Encarnacion (9-3 CIN)
Bot 5th- 2 out, Lee doubles, scoring Fukudome and Fontenot (9-5 CIN)
Top 6th- 1 out, Phillips homers, scoring Phillips (10-5 CIN)
Bot 6th- 0 out, Reed Johnson doubles, scoring Alfonso Soriano (10-6 CIN)
2 out, Fukudome singles, scoring Johnson (10-7 CIN)
Bot 7th- 0 out, Fontenot homers, scoring Fontenot (10-8 CIN)
2 out, Soriano homers, scoring Soriano (10-9 CIN)
Micah Hoffpauir doubles, scoring Johnson (10-10 tie)
Bot 10th- 2 out, Fukudome doubles, scoring Hoffpauir (11-10 CHC)
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