Cubs Use Peralta's Errors To Beat Tigers 4-3
CHICAGO (AP) — Darwin Barney had three RBIs and the Chicago Cubs used shortstop Jhonny Peralta's two throwing errors in the eighth inning to push across the winning run in a 4-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday night.
With two outs and two on, Tony Campana hit a grounder to Peralta, whose throw pulled Ramon Santiago off the bag at second. Starlin Castro then hit another grounder to Peralta and the veteran infielder threw wide of first, allowing Barney to scamper home.
Carlos Marmol (1-2) got the last two outs of the eighth for the victory and Shawn Camp finished for his first save as the Cubs snapped a seven-game losing streak against Detroit in their first match-up since the Tigers swept a three-game series at Comerica Park from June 23-25, 2009.
Barney had a run-scoring groundout and a clutch two-run double, helping the Cubs build a 3-0 lead hours after they fired hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo. James Rowson, the organization's minor league hitting coordinator, was promoted to replace Jaramillo on an interim basis.
Max Scherzer struck out eight in six innings for Detroit, and Phil Coke (1-3) got the loss.
Longtime manager Jim Leyland and the Tigers returned to Wrigley Field for the first time since 2006 and found a receptive audience at the cozy neighborhood ballpark. There were dueling chants of "Let's go Tigers" and "Let's go Cubbies" among the crowd of 41,164, and Detroit jerseys and T-shirts were common in the stands and concourses.
Prince Fielder also played his first game on Chicago's North Side since he signed with the Tigers over the winter. The big first baseman spent his first seven major league seasons with Milwaukee and was reunited Tuesday with Dale Sveum, who agreed to become the Cubs' manager in November after a six-year run on the Brewers' coaching staff.
"He's one of my favorite, if not my favorite guy I've ever coached," Sveum said. "He's just a guy that comes to the park every day to beat your butt and he's going to play as hard as he possibly can every single night. He wants to play. He loves to play and he loves to win and compete."
With the wind blowing in on an unseasonably cool night in Chicago, Fielder and fellow Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera each received a Wrigley refresher course when their long fly balls in the sixth each died in the outfield. Paul Maholm grinned as he walked off the mound following Fielder's inning-ending drive, but Detroit was just warming up at the plate.
The Tigers put the first two batters on in the seventh, chasing Maholm from the game. With one out and the bases loaded, pinch-hitter Ramon Santiago hit an RBI single off Casey Coleman and Austin Jackson singled in a pair to tie it at 3.
Jackson's clutch hit was his second in as many games. He also hit a tying two-run double off Aroldis Chapman in the eighth inning of Detroit's 7-6 victory at Cincinnati on Sunday.
Maholm allowed two runs and six hits, struck out seven and walked one. The left-hander is 0-3 with a 5.79 ERA in his past six starts.
Chicago began the day ranked No. 27 in the majors with a .304 on-base percentage. The Cubs also were ranked 27th with 222 runs scored and No. 19 with a .247 team batting average, leading to Jaramillo's dismissal.
"It's not based on results," president of baseball operations Theo Epstein said. "We're trying to get a new voice with a new message. We have a certain hitting philosophy we believe in, and we have a lot of growth that awaits us as an organization to try to get there."
NOTES: The Tigers placed reliever Octavio Dotel on the 15-day disabled list with inflammation in his right elbow and recalled right-hander Luke Putkonen from Triple-A Toledo. The DL stint is retroactive to June 3. ... Tigers RHP Doug Fister, who is on the DL with a strained left side, is scheduled to throw a side session on Wednesday. ... Two concerts during the Cubs' road trip did quite a number on the surface at Wrigley Field. There was a new section of grass that stretched from center to right field, and a damaged pathway that cut across the middle of the outfield. ... Tigers manager Jim Leyland said it's too early to tell if LHP Drew Smyly will be able to make his next scheduled start. Smyly left Sunday's victory with a blister on the middle finger of his pitching hand. "It's pretty raw today but it's a lot better than we expected," Leyland said. ... Cubs Cs Geovany Soto (left knee surgery) and Welington Castillo (sprained right knee ligament) are both out on minor league rehab assignments. "This weekend we'll evaluate, probably Thursday, we'll evaluate and see where they're at, but I know they're both doing pretty well," manager Dale Sveum said. ... Peralta was reinstated from the paternity list. Peralta and his wife, Molly, welcomed twin girls Gabriela Rosa and Laina Katherine on Saturday.
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