In this installment of ‘Name that Molina’ I’m talking about Bengie, Jose, Yadier Molina, the Cubs killer who’s a lifetime .281 hitter with 9 HR and 48 RBI through 101 games vs. Chicago.
This year alone he’s batting .346 with 1 HR & 9 RBI against the Cubs. Certainly numbers the Chicago coaching staff are aware of.
But with all due respect to Sveum and his staff, I don’t understand why the Cubs keep pitching to Molina, especially in clutch hitting situations?
Ryan Dempster staked to a 4-0 lead through five innings felt like money in the bank. Who wouldn’t bet he’d get that elusive first win?
Demps was cruising along needing just 27 pitches to retire 10 of 11 Cardinal batters from the second through fifth innings.
It was all the makings of a streak buster, a winless drought spanning 14 starts (now 15) without Dempster (0-1) earning a victory.
Go figure he’d allow four runs an inning later and leave his 300th career start with a no-decision.
All things considered, it was another strong start from the right-hander whose ERA jumped from 1.02 to 1.74. I mean, seriously. 1.74!
