Wolfmeyer: Fantastic 4th spurs Cubs to victory

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CHICAGO – One inning. That’s all it took. For one inning, the Cubs were baseball gods.

A pair of Jim Edmonds opposite-field home runs bookended an eight-hit, nine-run, four-homer explosion in the fourth inning Saturday at a jam-packed Wrigley Field for the season’s second game of the crosstown series against the White Sox.

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A three-run deficit suddenly became a six-run lead, and the Cubs cruised to an 11-7 win.

“That was a nice inning. It really was,” Cubs manager Lou Piniella said in the understatement of the season.

Piniella’s “nice inning” was historic, actually.

Edmonds became the third player in Cubs history to hit two homers in the same inning. The four homers tied a team record, matched in 1930 and 2000.

The nine runs were the most for the team in a single inning since 2004. And a day after Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez clubbed back-to-back homers, the Cubs (47-28) did it again – twice – in the same inning, the fourth.

So yeah, it was a nice inning, especially for Edmonds, who ingratiated himself to Cubs fans.

“It’s always a strange feeling when you see people bow to you,” said Edmonds, once a member of the rival St. Louis Cardinals. “It’s just a great feeling. It’s great to be a part of [the Cubs]. I’m having a lot of fun.”

There was little joy in the game for the Sox (41-33), who saw their 4-1 lead vanish in lightning-quick fashion.

“Blink of an eye, before you know it, you look up and they’re up on us by [five] runs,” said Sox outfielder Jermaine Dye, who gave the Sox a 2-0 lead with a two-run homer in the first.

Starter Jose Contreras (6-6) allowed all but one of the nine fourth-inning runs before calling it a day.

“[I] never felt bad,” Contreras said through a translator. “[I] felt great all the way through the fourth inning, left some balls up in the zone and … made some mistakes, and they were able to capitalize on them.”

In addition to defending his decision to leave Contreras in the game to face Lee, who subsequently rapped out the team’s fourth straight single of the inning, and Aramis Ramirez, who continued to torment the Sox this series with a three-run homer, Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said he wasn’t concerned about Edmonds.

“I don’t worry about a guy hitting [.238] this year,” Guillen said. “He just had a good day. Good for him. I’d rather have him out there than have Soriano. … He’s not going to scare me. I will pitch to him any time.”

Trouble for the Sox on Saturday was just about the entire Cubs lineup had a big day. Six players had at least two hits, including outfielder Eric Patterson, who went 3-for-5 after being called up Saturday to replace pitcher Carlos Zambrano, who went on the 15-day disabled list.

The offensive support made life easier for starter Jason Marquis (6-3), who needed a pick-me-up after allowing four runs through the first four innings.

“To throw a crooked number, especially nine, up there like that – it gives us a little more breathing room, especially on a day the ball is flying all over the place,” said Marquis, who hung in for the win, going seven innings and allowing five runs.

The Cubs will look for the series sweep today, as well as their 14th straight home win.

“It’s confidence,” Piniella said. “You’re playing in your home ballpark, and you’re winning games, and you’re playing well, and you expect to continue to play well.”

Wolfmeyer: Despite win, Cubs’ pitching loses big

CHICAGO – Forgive the pessimism, but regardless of the score, or the white and blue ‘W’ flag hanging over Wrigley Field, regardless of the post-game revelry, the hearty cheers heard at the corner of Clark and Addison, the Cubs didn’t win Saturday.

Far from it.

They lost. Big time.

Yes, they beat their crosstown rival, blah, blah, blah.

Who cares. They lost.

In more ways than one.

They lost their ace, Carlos Zambrano – he’s out until Independence Day, placed on the 15-day disabled list with a mild shoulder strain.

And they lost, or are losing, patience with their key reliever, Carlos Marmol, who continued his Rick Ankiel impersonation, walking three in an inning.

It was a frustrating, maddening, pull-your-hair-out kind of day.

Manager Lou Piniella knew it – the first thing he wanted to discuss after the game was not his team’s nine-run inning, their four-homer inning ... the first thing he wanted to discuss was Marmol, why his once lights-out reliever suddenly can’t find the plate.

“Today we brought him in just trying to get him some work ... we’ve got to find out what’s causing this lack of control,” Piniella said seconds after sitting down.

Your typical post-win jubilation, it wasn’t.

But when you’re it in for the long haul, as the Cubs are – “Our job is to look at the calendar at the end of the year,” general manager Jim Hendry said – if a pressing matter arises, you set a win, any win, especially a June win, to the side and deal with it.

And a reliever’s sudden wildness ... that’s a pressing matter.

A month ago, Marmol’s ERA was 1.04. A week ago, it was 2.09.

Now, it’s 3.07. The highest it’s been since September 2006.

In his last two outings, Marmol has thrown 51 pitches – 20 for strikes. He’s walked five and hit two others. He’s faced 10 batters – seven have reached safely.

Saturday, he threw a 2-2 slider behind Alexei Ramirez.

It’s not just his devastating slider, either.

It’s his fastball, which he isn’t throwing as hard – his velocity is down – or over the plate. He threw 13 fastballs Saturday; only three went for strikes.

“I don’t know [what’s wrong],” Marmol said. “I feel great. My stuff is there. But I’m all over the place. I can’t throw my fastball for a strike.”

And if a team’s set-up guy can’t throw a fastball for a strike, it’s a big deal.

“About the only concern now is getting him straightened out,” Piniella said. “He’s been such an integral part of our success. He’s been our go-to guy.

“We’ve got to figure out why he’s not throwing strikes.”

At least he’s throwing at all.

Zambrano isn’t – and won’t be for a still-to-be-determined amount of time.

“I felt it was a good time to get it all cleared up, get all the inflammation out, have him fresh and ready to go for the next 18-20 starts,” Hendry said. “It really wasn’t a hard decision for us, knowing the long haul is more important than the next 10 days.”

Zambrano fought the decision. He wanted to go Tuesday.

Only after listening to reason did he acquiesce.

“I have to accept it,” he said. “It’s the best for the team, the best for me. We don’t want a major problem in my shoulder, so I’ll give it a little rest.

“I know this will help me, to take a little break. [Hendry] told me they need me for the end of October.”

Piniella repeatedly said this was the “prudent” move. That he was going to miss a start or two anyway, so why not give him the 15 days?

Right move or not, this is the thing to remember – the Cubs’ ace is on the DL.

With an injury to his pitching arm.

Doesn’t sound like a win to me.

– Timothy Wolfmeyer is a Northwest News Group sportswriter. Write to him at twolfmeyer@nwherald.com and read his “Payoff Pitch” blog at ChicagoBaseball365.com.