Cubs get best of drained Phillies’ ace

CHICAGO (AP) — Roy Halladay was bent over, dizzy and light-headed. That sent a shiver through the Philadelphia Phillies on a hot and steamy night.
No worries, though. Their ace should be ready for his next start, so there was some good news to go with the misery.
Aramis Ramirez and Carlos Pena homered to back a dominant start by Rodrigo Lopez, and the Chicago Cubs beat Philadelphia 6-1 Monday on a night when Halladay left the game because of the heat.
Team spokesman Greg Casterioto said Halladay “absolutely” expects to make his next start against San Diego on Sunday. The pitcher was not available for comment.
Halladay (11-4) doubled over and was visited by a trainer after Starlin Castro led off the fifth inning with a single. Drew Carpenter came in to replace him.
Halladay was drenched in sweat on a humid night in which the game-time temperature was 91. The heat clearly affected him.
“He got a little dizzy,” manager Charlie Manuel said. “We were a little concerned about dehydration, brought him in here and got (the Cubs’) doctor and he was looking at him.”
Lopez (2-2) could sympathize. He, too, was soaked, but he got through it “with a lot of Gatorade.”
Halladay gave up three runs and seven hits and took his first loss since May 15. He had his first outing since starting for the National League in last week’s All-Star game and pitching two perfect innings, and pitching coach Rich Dubee said the hectic schedule might have contributed to the problem.
“You have to have the All-Star game, I understand that, but guys who go to the All-Star game come back a little drawn,” he said. “It’s a busy three days. You’ve got (New York Mets CF Carlos) Beltran out with the flu, Doc tonight.it’s just a hectic schedule.
“They fly out there, different time zones.there’s a bunch to it. This guy takes tremendous care of himself. He’s doing better now, and that’s what we’re hoping for.”
This was Halladay’s shortest outing since he pitched three innings for Toronto against Florida on June 12, 2009, and it ended a string of 63 road starts in which he lasted at least six innings.
It was the longest such streak since Walter Johnson went 82 straight road starts from 1911-15.
Ramirez gave the Cubs a 1-0 lead in the first when he drove his 17th homer — and 12th in 23 games — to the basket in left-center field.
Chicago added two runs in the third when Lopez led off with a single and scored on Ramirez’s bases-loaded sacrifice fly to deep right.
Pena then lined a single, making it 3-0, and it was during that inning when Manuel started noticing his pitcher wasn’t quite right.
Lopez gave up a leadoff homer to Jimmy Rollins in the fourth after retiring the first nine batters, but that was all the scoring he allowed.
He gave up five hits and left to loud cheers, tipping his cap as he headed to the dugout after John Mayberry Jr. singled with two outs in the seventh.
The Cubs got RBI doubles from Darwin Barney and Kosuke Fukudome in the sixth, and another run in the seventh when Pena drove his team-leading 20th homer out to center, making it 6-1.
Embattled closer Carlos Marmol worked the ninth after being shut down following two brutal outings against Florida on Thursday and Friday. He issued two-out walks to Carlos Ruiz and Domonic Brown before striking out Mayberry to end the game.
“Better, better,” manager Mike Quade said.
Good enough to put him back in the closer role?
“Right now, I’m just happy that he threw well today,” Quade said.
Marmol spent the past few days working with pitching coach Mark Riggins, trying to correct a mechanical issue, and he thinks it’s paying off.
“I have to throw strikes ... but I feel good,” he said.
Notes: The Phillies plan to activate OF Shane Victorino, out with a sprained right thumb, from the 15-day disabled list when he’s eligible on Tuesday after they optioned IF Pete Orr to Triple-A Lehigh Valley following the game. Quade said he hadn’t heard from Major League Baseball about his postgame rant against the umpires on Sunday. Quade let loose after a 7-5 loss to Florida, saying the umpires made unprofessional comments to his players. He took issue in particular with one call at second base in the top of the eighth. The Cubs thought they had picked off Brett Hayes, but umpire Lance Barrett called him safe. Hayes went on to score the go-ahead run. “I obviously disagreed with a few calls,” Quade said. “It was a rough series in a lot of different ways. It was frustrating.” Quade added he has “all the respect in the world” for the umpires. ... Ramirez again made it clear he’s not waiving his no-trade clause. “Right now, I’m not interested in a trade,” he said. ... Pena’s homer was his 250th.

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