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D-backs' bats fall silent against Cubs

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By Steve Gilbert / MLB.com

10/03/09 4:32 PM EST

CHICAGO -- One day after exploding for 12 runs, the D-backs offense was quiet.

On a chilly Saturday afternoon, three Cubs pitchers carved up the Arizona offense, dealing the D-backs a 5-0 loss in front of 39,138 at Wrigley Field.

The D-backs, who have lost four of five games, conclude the 2009 season on Sunday afternoon at Wrigley, and their manager, A.J. Hinch, does not want to end the season on the wrong note.

"I want to win this series [on Sunday]," Hinch said.

To do that, the D-backs will need to resemble the offense that collected 15 hits on Friday, rather than the one that could muster just three on Saturday.

"We didn't make a ton of adjustments," Hinch said. "We didn't have enough baserunners, we didn't piece together any hits and he shut us out."

Certainly a lot of credit has to go to Cubs starter Randy Wells. The right-hander struck out 10 and walked just one in his seven innings of work to raise his record to 12-10.

The 12 wins are the most by a Cubs rookie since Kerry Wood won 13 in 1998.

"[Wells] threw the ball well," D-backs outfielder Eric Byrnes said. "He threw strikes. He threw a cutter that I didn't even realize that he had. His fastball was cutting, and he was moving the ball around inside and out. He was mixing his pitches real well; he was throwing a slider. Really, you were up there and you had no idea what to expect, so I give a lot of credit to him. He pitched a good game."

One of the three hits for the D-backs was a double by Stephen Drew to lead off the game. Wells then retired the next 14 hitters before Byrnes singled to right.

Daniel Cabrera started for the D-backs and the right-hander, who was released by the Nationals earlier this year, was hoping to make an impression for next season.

Command has been the issue for Cabrera (0-6) in the past, and on Saturday, he walked three and hit a batter while allowing four hits in five innings.

However, Cabrera did manage to pitch his way out of a bases-loaded jam in the second and held the Cubs to just one hit through three shutout innings.

In the fourth, though, after a one-out walk, Cabrera allowed a double by Jeff Baker, a two-run triple by Reed Johnson and an RBI double by Geovany Soto as the Cubs built a 3-0 lead.

"That inning right there, that was the key to the game," said Cabrera, who will pitch for Licey in the Dominican Republic this winter. "I tried to make some good pitches and get a ground ball. With Johnson, the ball was supposed to be inside, and the ball stayed in the middle. With Soto, it was a good pitch inside, but he hit it well."

"One inning kind of came back to bite him," Hinch said. "I thought Cabera was fine. For having not pitched a significant amount in September, I thought his composure was good, his competitiveness was good and his command was good enough. He just got burnt by the one inning."

The Cubs added a pair of insurance runs in the sixth off reliever Bryan Augenstine, who was called up in September, so that he could stay on a throwing program heading into his stint in the Arizona Fall League.

"One, [Augustine] hasn't pitched a ton this month, and the goal wasn't to pile innings on him this month," Hinch said. "But I would like to see him get a little bit more of an edge, a little bit more dictating ground balls. He's got some stuff to work on in the Fall League, and I know the experience being up here in September and staying active was good for him. I just wish he would have had a better inning to end the season for him."

Steve Gilbert is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.