CHICAGO (AP) -This was no way for Ryan Dempster to back up his bold prediction.
The man who turned heads by forecasting the Cubs would win the World Series went wild and failed to make it out of the fifth inning as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat Chicago 7-2 Wednesday in their NL playoff opener.
Dominant at Wrigley Field during the regular season, Dempster tied a career-high with seven walks and gave up a grand slam to James Loney. It certainly wasn’t a good start for the All-Star or for a team looking to end a 100-year championship drought.
Which is exactly what Dempster predicted the Cubs would do on the first day of spring training, even though he wasn’t guaranteed a spot in the rotation.
“I think we will win the World Series. I really do,” he said in Arizona that day.
ason manager Lou Piniella had him start the opener over Zambrano.
But in first playoff start and second postseason appearance, Dempster found little comfort in the Friendly Confines.
Dempster was wild from the start, allowing runners to reach base in every inning.
He threw 32 pitches in the third inning when the Dodgers got two walks and an infield single by Manny Ramirez to load the bases with two out, but Andre Ethier struck out.
Ahead 2-0, Dempster wasn’t as fortunate in the fifth.
Rafael Furcal, Ramirez and Ethier walked to load the bases for Loney, who hit a drive far over the center-field wall with two outs for 4-2.
Loney swung at and missed the first two pitches, fouled off the third and took a high fastball before connecting on a changeup. That silenced the crowd, and Matt Kemp chased Dempster with a double to left-center.
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