Wood, bullpen fire two-hit shutout at Cincinnati
Published 12:00 am Wednesday, September 24, 2003
CINCINNATI - As soon as the ball smacked home plate and soared high in the air, Kerry Wood knew his no-hit bid was gone.
He didn't even flinch.
On a cool autumn evening with thousands of Cubs fans in the stands a whiff of postseason in the air, the major leagues' strikeout leader knew there was a lot more at stake than a no-hitter.
The Cubs got a breakout win Tuesday night, beating the Cincinnati Reds 6-0 to take a one-game lead over Houston in the NL Central. They hadn't been alone in first place so late in a season since 1989, the last time they won a division title.
''The guys are starting to feel it,'' outfielder Kenny Lofton said. ''Once you start to feel it, it takes you to another level.''
Wood (14-11) allowed only Wily Mo Pena's infield single in seven innings, and the bullpen finished off a two-hitter as thousands of Cubs fans in the crowd of 26,124 rooted them on.
''It's great,'' Wood said. ''The fans have come out for us all year. We come to Cincinnati and they're out in big numbers. Anytime you're on the road and you can hear the crowd cheering for you, it feels like a home game.''
The crowd let out a big cheer when the scoreboard showed Houston trailing San Francisco by 10 runs in the second inning. The Cubs and Astros had identical records when the day began, setting up a decisive six-game stretch.
Chicago has the scheduling advantage - two more in Cincinnati, then three against Pittsburgh at Wrigley Field. Their win on Tuesday put them in first place alone for the first time since Sept. 8.
''We're sensing that we've gotten into the position we wanted to be in all year long,'' Wood said. ''We're in it, and now we've got to step up and play good baseball.''
Wood was about as good as he can be. Relying on his fastball and slider, he fanned 10 in the first five innings. He hadn't yet allowed a ball hit out of the infield when Wily Mo Pena came to bat with one out in the seventh.
Pena hit a high-hop grounder off the plate and cleanly beat it out for the Reds' first hit.
''He was nasty, just like when we faced him in Chicago,'' Pena said of Wood, who has beaten the Reds three times this season. ''It was the same thing. He was nasty then, too. I'm just glad I got the base hit.''
Wood didn't care that the no-hit bid was gone. He had thrown so many pitches already that he knew he couldn't go nine innings.
''I didn't think realistically that I had a chance for the no-hitter because of my pitch count,'' Wood said.
Wood left after the seventh inning, having thrown 122 pitches. He struck out 12 and allowed only one ball to be hit out of the infield - Jason LaRue's fly to left following Pena's infield hit.
Mike Remlinger gave up Sean Casey's ninth-inning single - the only other ball the Reds got out of the infield - as the Cubs wrapped up their sixth victory in the last eight games.
Wood, who came into prominence by striking out 20 Astros as a rookie in 1998, has been steady this September, allowing only five earned runs in five starts.
''Potential's only going to take you so far,'' Wood said. ''At some point, you've got to step up and get the job done at this time of year.''
Notes: Wood's 14 victories are a career high. His 266 strikeouts are the third-most in Cubs history. Ferguson Jenkins struck out 274 in 1970 and 273 in 1969. … The Reds have struck out 1,297 times, most in the majors. … RHP Scott Randall (2-4) became the 16th pitcher to start for the Reds this season, a franchise record. They used 15 starters in 1912 and 1945. … The Reds have lost 90 games for only the 14th time in franchise history.