CHICAGO (AP) -Mark DeRosa stumbled fielding a grounder. Derrek Lee booted another one and in a flash, Carlos Zambrano and the Chicago Cubs were trailing the Los Angeles Dodgers by five runs.
When the game was over, they were in an even bigger hole.
Errors by DeRosa and Lee fueled Los Angeles’ five-run second inning and the Cubs tied a division series record with four errors in an ugly 10-3 loss Thursday night.
The Dodgers, benefiting from Chicago’s five fielding blunders in the first two games at Wrigley Field, can wrap up the best-of-five series with a victory Saturday night in Los Angeles.
Swept in the first round by Arizona last season, the Cubs had big goals this time after leading the NL Central most of the way and turning in a league-best 97-64 record. Instead, there was just disappointment as they headed west, trying to keep their fading hopes for their first championship in 100 years alive.
Instead of cursing Billy goats or black cats, they should focus on their fielding.
The Cubs were counting on a big effort from their ace after losing the series opener 7-2, but there was little Zambrano could do with shoddy the defense behind him.
Each infielder got in on the act. The big ones came in the second.
Zambrano, who struggled late in the season, ran into trouble when Andre Ethier led off with a single and moved to third on a hit-and-run single by James Loney that deflected off shortstop Ryan Theriot’s bare hand into left field. Matt Kemp struck out, but the problems continued.
The usually steady DeRosa misplayed Blake DeWitt’s grounder to second as Ethier scored the first run, and three-time Gold Glove winner Lee booted Casey Blake’s bouncer to first, loading the bases with one out. Another run scored on Rafael Furcal’s two-out bunt single before Russell Martin cleared the bases with a double to left-center, making it 5-0.
Now the Cubs will try to join the 2001 Yankees as the only teams to win a best-of-five series after dropping the first two games at home, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. New York rallied to beat Oakland in the first round.
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