Game #23: D-backs 13, Cubs 5
With an outbound gale blowing at Wrigley Field Thursday afternoon, Ted Lilly surrendered five fly balls in five innings, and three of them landed in the bleachers, two off the bat of first baseman Adam LaRoche.
By the time Kosuke Fukudome connected for a grand slam in the home eighth, the Cubs were already losing 13-1.
That’s three defeats in a row, and the Cubs already trail the Cardinals by (gulp!) five-and-a-half games. Only four other MLB clubs are further behind their respective division leaders: the 4-18 Orioles (13 1/2 games behind the Rays), the 8-14 Royals (6 games behind the Twins), and two of the Cubs’ NL Central brethren, the Brewers (6 back of St. Louis) and Astros (6 1/2 out).
