"I really didn''t have my best stuff tonight, but I was able to get guys out and put the ball in the location I wanted to," the rookie said. "My main goal was to throw strikes and not walk any guys."
It was a wild ending to an emotional day for Piniella, 66, who announced prior to the game that he''s heading home to Tampa, Fla., once the season is over. The Cubs have posted winning records in his three previous
seasons but have not topped .500 this year.
"Sure it was emotional and draining," Piniella said of his day. "But it''s over with and now my situation doesn''t have to be [discussed] anymore and we can concentrate on the team, which is the important component. I''m
just a small piece of it. Let''s hope we continue to play and win some baseball games and make it fun for our fans."
He had turned off his phone Tuesday morning. He''ll most likely have a few messages whenever he decides to turn it on.
"Playing for so long, coaching and managing for so long, I think he''s seen it all," Ryan Dempster said. "He''s been through it all, he''s won a lot of games as a manager. He''s won World Series titles both as a player and
coach and manager and he''s had a great career. Hopefully we can go out there and keep winning ballgames and end this season with something special."
It was night both second basemen would like to forget as both made errors that led to runs. The Astros had a 1-0 lead and two on in the second when Jason Castro hit a potential double play ball to Ryan Theriot, who
threw past Starlin Castro for an error, allowing a run to score.
One out later, Dempster walked Michael Bourn to load the bases, then hit Angel Sanchez and walked Lance Berkman to force in two more runs. Hunter Pence and Carlos Lee added RBI singles in the fourth and Johnson
hit a solo homer in the fifth to go ahead, 7-1.
The Cubs took advantage of Keppinger''s error in the fifth that was nearly identical to Theriot''s and led to five unearned runs.
"They opened the door for us by throwing the ball away at second," Houston''s Brad Mills said, "and we kind of opened the door the exact same way."
It''s the first time the Cubs have overcome a six-run deficit since May 30, 2008, when they trailed 8-0 and 9-1 against Colorado and won, 10-9.
"It didn''t start well," Piniella said of the game, "but sure ended well. I''m proud of our team and the way they came back and finished the job." |