Giants Fall To Cubs In Rain-Shortened Game After Tarp Fail By Grounds Crew
CHICAGO (CBS / AP) -- Anthony Rizzo slammed a two-run homer, Tsuyoshi Wada pitched five strong innings, and the Chicago Cubs beat the San Francisco Giants 2-0 on Tuesday night in a game that was halted after 4 1/2 innings because of unplayable field conditions following rain at Wrigley Field.
After a brief but heavy downpour, the game was delayed 4 hours, 34 minutes before it was called off at 1:16 a.m. Fewer than 1,000 fans remained.
When the rain and the wind intensified in the middle of the fifth inning, home plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt stopped play. The grounds crew couldn't get the manual tarp fully in place, leaving large portions of the infield exposed to rain for more than 10 minutes.
The Giants lost for the seventh time in 10 games and fell 4 1/2 games behind Los Angeles in the NL West race.
Rookie Javier Baez walked with one out against Ryan Vogelsong in the first inning before Rizzo homered over the right-field bleachers for his 29th shot of the season. Of his 23 homers since May 8, 13 gave the Cubs the lead and two others tied games. He also had a single.
After the rain eased, it took nearly 1 1/2 hours for workers to remove water from the infield and spread dozens of bags of compound on the dirt area.
Wendelstedt, Giants manager Bruce Bochy and Cubs skipper Rick Renteria toured the infield, but after additional repairs followed by another lengthy delay with little or no activity, play was halted for the final time.
San Francisco had at least one hit in each inning but was 1 of 10 with runners on base. Angel Pagan and Joaquin Arias had a single and a double apiece.
Wada (3-1) scattered six hits and walked none.
Vogelsong (7-9) allowed three hits and two walks in four innings.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Giants: The status of C Hector Sanchez is on hold after he sustained his second concussion of the season last Saturday while on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Fresno. ... 2B Joe Panik is day-to-day because of a dislocated left pinkie. He was injured on a head-first slide against Philadelphia last Sunday.
Cubs: Top prospect Kris Bryant returned to the lineup with a double and a walk in four plate appearances for Triple-A Iowa on Monday. The third baseman sat out one game and was limited to a pinch-hitting role in another because of a bruised left foot.
UP NEXT: In a matchup of veteran right-handers, the Giants' Jake Peavy (1-3, 3.86) will oppose the Cubs' Edwin Jackson (6-13, 5.74) on Wednesday night. Peavy lost 12 of his last 13 decisions --the last nine with the Boston Red Sox. Jackson dropped six of his last seven.
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