On a night where the game time temperature was 34 degrees and players were playing quite fast, the Cubs/Padres game went into the ninth inning having not even reached the two-hour mark and with no score.
Part of the reason for this was the dominant pitching of Carlos Zambrano, who gave up only three hits and struck out 10 in eight solid innings. He was matched by San Diego’s Tim Stauffer, who gave up just four singles and struck out four in seven innings. For the first nine innings, only two runners reached third base — Cameron Maybin for the Padres in the second, and Starlin Castro for the Cubs in the sixth, both with two out. Neither scored, and no one had an extra-base hit.
That changed in the 10th, thanks to some hustle. Kosuke Fukudome drew a one-out walk and was forced by Geovany Soto — who managed to beat the relay throw because it appeared Padres 2B Orlando Hudson had trouble transferring the ball in his glove.
Tyler Colvin then batted for reliever Carlos Marmol and smoked a ball into the RF corner. Soto, not the fastest runner, motored home from first base with the winning run; it was the first 1-0 Cubs win at Wrigley Field in extra innings since May 31, 2003.
The win evened the Cubs record at 8-8 and moved them to within a game of the first place Reds. The two teams will meet again Tuesday night at Wrigley, weather permitting.