Source: Cubs.com Diamondbacks at Cubs
May 20, 2001
Final Score: Chicago 6, Arizona 5
CHICAGO -- Oh what a relief. After giving up just two hits and no runs through eight innings, the Cubs relief corps fell apart in the ninth, only to be rescued by one of their own to beat the Diamondbacks 6-5.
Flash Gordon began the inning by walking the first batter and giving up a home run to the second hitter he faced. After giving up a single and another walk, Kyle Farnsworth came in to try to stop the bleeding. Two doubles later -- and still no outs -- he was out and Jeff Fassero was in with the score 6-5.
Diamondback David Delucci popped up a bunt that Ron Coomer at first caught on the fly for out number one. Augie Ojeda -- who entered the game in the seventh as a pinch-hitter and stayed on to cover the hot corner -- flattened a groundball hit to third and fired across to first for the second out.
Jay Bell's check-swing strikeout ended the game, giving Fassero his 10th save on the season, tying his career total coming into the 2001 campaign.
Jeff Fassero is the guy I'd like to pin a star on today, Cubs manager Don Baylor said. Fassero called down during the ballgame and he had pitched four-our-of five days and I was planning to give him a day off, the phone rings when we were in trouble and he volunteered for one inning. He's the ultimate professional.
Fassero was just trying to deliver on a promise that he made his fellow hurlers.
[Starter Kevin Tapani] threw the ball well for seven innings. That's all we ask the starters to do, Fassero said. I told the starters just give us six or seven good innings and we're going to do what we can to win the game for you.
Gordon, who had asked Baylor to pitch him in Sunday's game no matter what the score so he could see how his arm would respond to pitching back-to-back games, reported no problems with his arm, just his control.
He was overthrowing his breaking ball, Baylor said. He couldn't throw that over for strikes. They were sitting on fastballs most of the time.
I have no complaints other than walking those guys and not being able to make them put the ball in play, Gordon said. Thank god everything worked out well for the team and we won the game. Today was more of a team effort than anything.
A team effort keyed by Tapani's pitching and a couple of big days at the plate for Ricky Gutierrez and Coomer.
Coming off his second-shortest outing of the season, Tapani seemed to get stronger as the game went on.
Having worked just four innings in a no-decision eventual 9-7 loss to the Astros last Tuesday, Tapani worked seven solid innings, walking and hitting just one batter while striking out four. < p/> At one point the veteran right-hander retired 10 Diamondbacks in a row and 13 of the last 14 batters he faced, interrupted only by Mark Grace's leadoff double in the seventh.
Tapani pitched an outstanding ballgame. He breezed right along, he had his changeup working today, his split finger, Baylor said. He gave us every chance to win that game with a shutout.
The pressure to keep up with the offense is what kept Tapani going.
As a pitching staff it was important to win today, Tapani said. We put up a lot of hits today...and it was good to make it stand up [for the hitters] to keep things on a positive note for them instead of having it snatched late when they did everything they could.
The Cubs posted 15 hits in the contest, with Gutierrez going 4-for-5 with two RBIs and Coomer going 3-for-5 with a pair of RBIs.
Miguel Cairo, who started his second-consecutive game at second and in the lead-off position, reached base three out of the five times, with two hits and a walk.
[Cairo and Gutierrez,] those guys were on all day for the bottom of the lineup and the middle of the lineup to drive in, Baylor said.
Coomer drove home the first run of the game with his one out single to left that scored Cairo from third, and the Cubs scored one more in the second on Gutierrez's single to right that scored Dunwoody with two outs in the inning.
The Cubs scored four runs on six singles and an error in the fourth frame. Gutierrez, Sosa, Coomer and Stairs all posted RBIs in the inning as the team returned to playing small ball, instead of waiting for the long ball.
With the victory, the Cubs are now 23-30 and won their first series since sweeping the Dodgers at Wrigley two weeks ago. The team is idle on Monday and pick up divisional play when they match up against the Reds on Tuesday night at The Friendly Confines.
The third baseman returned on crutches and dressed in street clothes to meet with Cubs team doctors. Mueller is expected to miss at least seven more weeks.
Anytime you can't be with the club you're going to feel bad, said Mueller, who was one of the strongest candidates for team MVP before he went down. Obviously you're disappointed from the injury and when you can't do something you really enjoy doing, you're disappointed and frustrated as well. You just have to look to the other side and be positive and do the rehab and try to get back as soon as you can.
A St. Louis-native, Mueller recuperated at home with his parents until returning to Chicago a few days ago.
If you're going to get injured where there's somebody that can take care of you that's somebody you trust and you're close to, said Mueller, an only child whose parents were at the game last week. If there's any sort of sliver lining that may be it. I was with my mom and dad, but it wasn't a very good Mother's Day present.
For a player who even on crutches is in a state of perpetual motion, having to watch from the sidelines is hard pill to swallow. But the former Giant has done it before.
I broke my foot in '99 and I was out for about six weeks, so I understand a little bit about rehabbing and getting back and you're going to be out there as soon as you're able to play as best you can, Mueller said. Until then you just have to think about getting better and doing the correct things in rehab and doing nothing more that because it will just drag you down that you're not out there helping the guys.
Young is nursing a scratched cornea, and Baylor is just waiting for EY to give him the go-ahead to put him back at second.
It's not one of those strained muscles or something where you say he'll be back tomorrow or anything like that, Baylor said. He's going to have to come up to me Tuesday and tell me that his vision is a little bit better.
It's his left eye and obviously I'm not going to have him stand in against somebody throwing. His depth perception was off the day before, and he played with it, but it's groundballs. We'll see where he is on Tuesday.
History says he will produce, Baylor said. That's what I'm banking it on. He's too good of a hitter not to produce. He's playing on two good legs finally and he will produce...I guarantee you he will hit.
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Addison was introduced at the May 20, 2001 
