Manager Lou Piniella was unapologetic Thursday talking about right-hander Carlos Zambrano throwing 130 pitches in eight innings during Wednesday's 2-1 victory over the Dodgers.
"It was cool," Piniella said. "He was throwing the ball well. I would have been booed out of the park if I took him out. Carlos wouldn't have been happy if I took him out. It was the right thing to do to keep him in the ballgame." Piniella added he'll "shorten" Zambrano up the next couple of times out to keep him fresh. Before Wednesday, Zambrano's highest pitch count this year was 114.
Under former manager Dusty Baker, Cubs starters frequently carried heavy loads. Piniella has been careful to watch pitch counts and give his starters the extra day when an off day falls in the schedule.
To save his beleaguered bullpen on Memorial Day, Piniella allowed right-hander Ryan Dempster to throw 117 pitches over seven innings.
CUBS 8, ROCKIES 4: The Cubs scored twice in the seventh inning and three times in the eighth to rally. They had a 2-0 lead in the third after Derrek Lee hit a solo homer. Jason Marquis had trouble every inning. The Rockies took advantage with two in the sixth. Geovany Soto hit a sacrifice fly to put the Cubs ahead 5-4 in the seventh. Each team committed two errors, and the Cubs took advantage of poor fielding in the eighth, with Micah Hoffpauir hitting an RBI single and Alfonso Soriano driving home two with a single.
