MILWAUKEE -- Corey Patterson saw one pitch he loved up close and plenty more he admired from far away.
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| Corey Patterson watches as just the second 17th-inning home run in Cubs history goes over the fence.(AP) |
"I just wanted to get the game over with," Patterson said.
Kieschnick said the fastball was a mistake: right down the middle, thigh-high. But the ones that Patterson saw from the dugout and then center field really caught his eye.
"I get a kick out of watching our pitching staff," said Patterson, who pinch-hit for Kerry Wood in the eighth and ended up going 3-for-5.
The Brewers set an NL record for strikeouts in an extra-inning game with 24, two more than the previous mark, set by the New York Mets on May 31, 1964, and tied by Cincinnati on Aug. 8, 1972.
"I wish we wouldn't have done that. I'd rather it happened in regulation," Cubs manager Dusty Baker said.
And the Brewers shrugged off their new futility mark.
"Who cares?" Geoff Jenkins said. "It's just a win or a loss. It doesn't really matter about the punchouts."
Royce Clayton said it was just the byproduct of a great game -- or two.
"That was two games, basically," he said. "I mean, I'm not really paying much attention to setting a record. Yeah, the strikeouts loom big, but Kerry Wood got a lot of them and they have a good bullpen.
"And it wasn't like they were throwing out a bunch of hits, either."
Wood fanned 13 in seven innings, but the Cubs struck out 14 times themselves.
Ending what began as a pitcher's duel between Wood and Ben Sheets, Patterson connected with two outs for his eighth homer, hitting a 2-0 pitch from Kieschnick (0-1).
"I was patient in that at-bat and fortunately it worked out," Patterson said.
It was only the second 17th-inning homer in Cubs history -- the other was hit by Keith Moreland against Houston on Sept. 2, 1986.
Kyle Farnsworth (2-0) pitched three innings for the win, and Todd Wellemeyer struck out the side in the 17th for a save in his major league debut.
It was the second-longest game in the majors this season. St. Louis beat Florida 7-6 in 20 innings on April 27.
"What can I say? I'm numb right now," Baker said.
The Cubs, who won their fifth straight, improved to 5-0 in extra innings this year. The Brewers, losers of five straight, fell to 1-3 in extra innings.
After both teams scored in the 10th, the Brewers stranded runners at third base in the 12th and 13th innings, denying 28-year-old right-hander Leo Estrella his first major league victory.
The Brewers also stranded a runner at second in the 15th when Richie Sexson, who was 0-for-7, struck out for the fifth time.
"We came out of those with some gas out of the bullpen," Baker said. "I don't know about tomorrow because everybody's spent. Hopefully, Matt Clement will throw a real gem (against St. Louis)."
The Cubs stranded a runner at third in the 14th when shortstop Clayton jumped to rob Damian Miller of a line-drive RBI single, and left fielder Jenkins robbed Alex Gonzalez of a homer in the 15th.
The Cubs spilled out of the dugout, thinking it was a home run.
"I was running in and I hadn't shown the ball yet and the umpire said, 'Are you going to show me the ball?"' Jenkins said.
Patterson's single off Mike DeJean in the top of the 10th scored Ramon Martinez from second. But pinch-hitter Brady Clark's RBI single on a 3-2 pitch from Joe Borowski scored Eric Young from second with two outs to tie it again.
Wood allowed three hits, and stood to get the win until Scott Podsednik hit a 415-foot homer off Antonio Alfonseca with two outs in the eighth. It was the second homer of the year for Podsednik, who struck out three times against Wood, as did Sexson and Wes Helms.
The Brewers whiffed 11 more times against the Cubs' bullpen.
"You look at their staff over there and they've got guy after guy after guy coming in and throwing 96-101 mph," Brewers manager Ned Yost said.
In a matinee matchup of power pitchers, Sheets allowed one run and four hits in eight innings, striking out eight. He gave up two hits, both by Moises Alou, until Eric Karros homered in the seventh.
"It was a great game," Yost said. "It was great defense, great pitching, great plays."
And plenty of Ks.
Notes
- Wood has 29 career double-digit strikeout games, including three this season.
- The Cubs' previous four-game sweep was April 3-6, 1998, against Montreal at Wrigley Field. Their last four-game sweep on the road was Aug. 2-5, 1991, against the Mets at Shea Stadium.
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