There goes the sweep

Add comment April 17th, 2008

Ted Lilly cruised through the first three innings today. His control and low pitch count were convincing enough that his bad start to the season was out of his system.

Then came Joey Votto. With one out in the fourth, Lilly loaded the bases for Votto to clear with a double. And in Lilly’s final inning in the sixth, Votto took one deep for two runs.

Although Lilly went a season-high six innings, the damage was already done in the fourth to keep pace with his three other starts (IP: 4.1, 3.2, 4.2).

And with Jason Marquis and Rich Hill (next two starters) averaging just 4.8 innings with a combined 10.23 ERA in four starts, it’s making every Cubs fan mumble under their breath “Thank God for Ryan Dempster”.