Yesterday, the Chicago area started out the late afternoon under severe thunderstorm warnings as Cubs fans anticipated game two against their old rival, the St. Louis Cardinals.
Early in the game, the ESPN booth sportscasters were also jokingly anticipating the bad weather, when the sky suddenly opened up and a gully-flooding rain storm had fans seeking cover and the grounds crew struggling to get the infield covered.
The flags around the field flapped wildly as the grounds crew stretched the tarp across the field, using all the strength they could muster to keep the tarp down as high winds screamed into the field.
At this point in the game, the Cubs were down 1-0, but at the end of the 53-minute rain delay, the game took a magnificent turn when the Cubs bats heated up as suddenly as the rain storm swept through the area. Lighting was not only in the sky, it was flying from the Cubs bats as the ball hitting melee began.
The Cubs came back hitting as they loaded the bases with one man out in the third. Then Kosuke Fukudome and Darwin Barney each singled and Marlon Byrd was hit by a pitch. Aramis Ramirez hit an RBI single and Carlos Pena smacked a two-run double to chase Jake Westbrook (2-3). The Cubs bats continued hitting until they won the game 11-4.
Manger Mike Quade went onto say, “We needed one of these — we did, I don’t care if it took four hours, eight hours, whatever. It was good for us, and good for me, to be able to relax and enjoy these guys.”
Quade was correct, the Cubs needed a confidence-building win at Wrigley, and the fans needed to see the Cubs victorious over the Cards.
