Castro, Barney Shine in Cubs Victory Over Mets

The Chicago Cubs walloped the New York Mets in the first game of their three-game series last night 11-1. It was an exciting game for any Cubs fan to watch. The game had 13 hits by the Cubs, and while there were three errors in the contest, they were all made by the Mets.

Carrie Muskat has posted an article at the MLB.com website titled "Kids are all right, lifting Cubs over Mets."

When Muskat is speaking of the "kids," she is referring to a couple of very young players on the roster. They are Darwin Barney and Starlin Castro. In fact, Castro is just 21 years old. He is currently hitting .330. That's not too bad for the "youngest player in the Major Leagues," according to Sports Illustrated.

Barney is a rookie. He is starting at second base and batting .318.

While Chicago scored 11 runs, Ryan Dempster (3-4, ERA 6.29) pitched a one-run game through seven innings until Carlos Zambrano came in to pinch-hit for him. Zambrano got a hit.

The Cubs scored five runs in the second inning and four more in the seventh. They were helped by the sloppy New York fielding.

This game was a relief for the Cubs. Chicago came home sporting a record five games under .500.

To make matters worse, the Cubs' third starting pitcher, Matt Garza, went on injured reserve. He follows already-injured pitchers Randy Wells and Andrew Cashner. Further, starting center fielder Marlon Byrd is out for an undetermined period of time from being hit in the face by a pitch a couple of nights ago.

All of this "bad news" makes the performances of Barney and Castro all the more important.

Chicago manager Mike Quade is quoted in Muskat's article as saying, "The interesting thing is neither one (Starlin or Barney) is hitting home runs." In fact, they have tied Alfonso Soriano for the Chicago lead in RBIs with 23 each.

The Cubs are hoping to win their second in a row when they play the Mets again Wednesday. Considering the fact New York is a solid defensive team, I wouldn't count on another three errors.

References:

MLB.com Website, Carrie Muskat, "Kids are all right, lifting Cubs over Mets"

SI Vault Website, Joe Sheehan, "On a Contact High"

MLB.com Website, "Darwin Barney Statistics"

MLB.com Website, "Starlin Castro Statistics"

MLB.com Website, "Ryan Dempster Statistics"