Cubs Open Key Road Trip with 6-1 Loss to Cardinals

It wasn't fun to watch. I'm talking about the Chicago Cubs' loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday night. The final score was 6-1 in favor of the Cardinals -- the Cubs never had a chance and this was just the first game of 10 the Cubs are playing on the road against very tough opponents.

Carrie Muskat has posted an article at the MLB.com website titled "Banged-up Cubs drop opener of road trip."

I sat down at the beginning of the game with my hot dog, fries and soda hoping for a Cubs' win. In my hometown of Peoria, I.., there is an equal division of Cardinals and Cubs fans; the teams' close proximity and history make them deadly enemies.

I had just dipped the first fry in ketchup when ex-Cub Ryan Theriot ("The Riot") smacked a double. He was sacrificed to third and then slugger Albert Pujols walked. This was followed by Lance Berkman's 12th homer of the year and gave the Cardinals a three-run first-inning lead. I was no longer hungry.

The starter for St. Louis was Jaime Garcia, (6-1, ERA 3.05). He had a horrendous performance against the Colorado Rockies in his last start giving up seven runs in the first two innings. There was concern as to whether or not he would bounce back; he did, holding the Cubs to just one run.

Taking the loss for Chicago was Ryan Dempster, (4-5, ERA 6.32). Dempster pitched well in May earning a three-game winning streak. He hoped to continue it Friday but it was not to be. He did not pitch well but neither did he get any run support.

In the fifth inning Pujols added insult to injury by hitting a two-run blast. That gave the Cardinals their six runs -- more than enough against a Cubs' offense that couldn't cope with Garcia's stellar pitching.

The Cubs are now nine games under .500 and falling fast. In addition to the regular ups and downs that a team has they are battling many, many injuries.

In the outfield alone the Cubs have lost Marlon Byrd who plays center field and Alfonso Soriano who plays left. Further they have two pitchers injured and several role players on the disabled list.

Things could get a lot worse.

References:

MLB.com Website, Carrie Muskat, "Banged-up Cubs drop opener of road trip"

MLB.com Website, "Jaime Garcia Statistics"

MLB.com Website, "Ryan Dempster Statistics"