The Cubs jumped out to a 5-0 lead over the Yankees, in the top of the 1st inning. Paul Miles singled and stole second. After a strikeout of the Cubs' second hitter, Mike Girard doubled Miles home; Mike Reutter followed with booming RBI double, that looked like it would leave the park; Andy Hoyle singled; Dave Mitchell roped a RBI single; Jim Bonaparte was hit by a pitch; Ron McCarthy drove home the 4th run with a solid single; and one out later, newbie Chris Mason got a RBI single in his first at bat as a Cub. Yanks' starter Darrell Duncan ended the carnage by inducing Miles to fly out to left, in his second at bat of the inning. When the smoke cleared, it was Cubs 5, the Yankees coming to bat.
When the Yanks came to bat, in the bottom of the first, they faced a daunting task. They had to make up 5 runs off of Cubs' starter, Mike Girard, who they had not scored an earned run against in their previous two games against him. Girard scattered 4 hits over his 5 innings of work, while keeping the Yanks off the scoreboard yet again. Darrell Duncan, pitching with a severely split fingernail on his index finger of his pitching hand, settled in and only allowed 5 hits and 1 walk the rest of the way. That was a courageous performance.
The Cubs pushed across a single run in the top of the 5th, with two singles and a walk to load the bases, and a RBI ground out by Jim Bonaparte. Their 7th run would come in the top of the 7th when Dan Hernandez led off with a double, Girard was hit by a pitch, and a single by Mike Reutter (his third hit of the game) loaded the bases. The run was pushed across by an RBI groundout by Andy Hoyle.
The Yanks would eventually plate 3 runs. One in the 6th and two in the 7th, off of reliever Chris Mason. Chris had a full night in his debut for the Cubs. He had a RBI single in the first, threw a runner out at home with a perfect strike from left field in the 5th, and pitched the last two innings in a big 7-3 victory for his new team. Welcome to the club, Chris. Thanks goes to Jim Bonaparte for recruiting and signing this late season pick up.
The Yanks offense was led by Mark Marshall, who had 3 hits, and Doug Edick who had 2.
The Cubs are now 2-1 against the Yanks in the 2022 regular season, with the finale coming in two weeks. The Cubs move to 7-3 with the win, and the Damn Yankees drop to 6-4, with the loss. Next up for the Cubs, a Friday night tilt against the Giants at New Scotland next week. Ron Massaroni is slated to get the start for the Cubs against his former team. It should be a good one.
