Cubs Forget How To Work Count

The Cubs gave a glowing example of yesterday’s post–Cubs Win With Patience–during its 4-2 loss against Cincinnati on Tuesday night.

Chicago’s lack of plate patience allowed Reds starter Mike Leake to reach a single game career-high of nine innings pitched, doing so on just 91 pitches.

The Cubs, impatient as usual, were first strike swingers all the way. Leake never tired, of course, and set the Cubs down one by one, inning after inning.

Leake needed a touch over 80-pitches to reach the eighth inning unscathed with the exception of Alfonso Soriano’s second inning single. Otherwise, Chicago never threatened offensively.

Until pinch-hitter Bryan LaHair reached the plate in the bottom of the ninth, the Cubs had hardly worked Leake into a hitter’s count all night.

Lo and behold, after Castro reached on a weak infield single, LaHair got ahead 2-0 before crushing his game-tying 2-R HR deep into the right field bleachers, ruining Leake’s bid for his first career shutout, and sending the game into extra innings.

If only the Cubs would learn to work the count sooner…