Chicago Cubs win rain-shortened game over Giants, 2-0

There are plenty of days where things get boring at Wrigley – with the team struggling to contend amidst a multi-year rebuilding effort – but last night was an altogether different experience.

Tuesday night, Diamond Dry took center stage at Wrigley Field, where a 15-minute downpour led to a four-hour, 34 minute rain delay that ultimately culminated in the game being called in the bottom of the fifth with the Chicago Cubs leading the San Francisco Giants, 2-0.

As the brief deluge began, the umpires waited momentarily before signaling for the tarp. That’s when the fun began. The groundscrew haphazardly attempted to get the enormous tarp over the infield dirt, failing terribly in the process. Then, as they took the tarp off, they dumped hundreds of gallons of water onto the right field grass and between first and second base, inundating a good portion of the field with water.

But before all of this, there was a game that began with a bang. A big bang.

Chicago first baseman Anthony Rizzo unloaded on a 2-0 pitch from San Francisco starter Ryan Vogelsong (7-9, 3.73 ERA), launching it onto Sheffield Avenue for his team-leading 29th home run of the season and giving the Cubs an early 2-0 lead that proved to be all the offense needed in the shortened affair. Prior to Rizzo’s blast, second baseman Javier Baez drew his third walk of his big league career – a promising sign for the free-swinging slugger.

San Francisco (65-59), a team caught in the throes of a playoff battle in the National League Wild Card race, actually outhit Chicago six to three, but never could push a run in against Cubs left-hander Tsuyoshi Wada.

Wada (3-1, 2.75 ERA) tossed all five innings, striking out three and allowing the aforementioned six hits. He continued his recent string of strong starts for Chicago (55-70), which is entering a very competitive part of its schedule as the season winds down.

Rizzo led the Cubs offensively, going 2-for-2 in the contest. Arismendy Alcantara accounted for the only other Chicago base hit in the game that lasted just over an hour-and-a-half excluding the rain delay.

Angel Pagan, the San Francisco leadoff man, and Joaquin Arias, the Giants’ second baseman, each tallied two hits in the loss. San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy has said he plans to appeal the decision to end the game in the coming days.