Astros pitcher Pete Harnisch came off the disabled list in time to start-and win-Thursday night’s game, and Cubs manager Tom Trebelhorn pretty much knew what to expect.
Asked what he thought Harnisch would look like after 39 days on the disabled list with a partially torn tendon, Trebelhorn flashed his trademark impish grin.
“He’ll probably look like an unmade bed,” he said. “He doesn’t wear his uniform real well. He definitely has a certain look.”
Trebelhorn was just joking, of course. But he is right. The portly Harnisch probably doesn’t have a career as a male model waiting for him after his playing days, but that hasn’t diminished his effectiveness.
Crazy eights: Shawon Dunston’s homer off Harnisch in the top of the first inning was the eighth time this season the Cubs have opened a game with a home run. Dunston has done it twice, Sammy Sosa twice and Tuffy Rhodes four times.
Hill toppers: Glenallen Hill has homered in the last three games, all solo shots.
Moving on down: Trebelhorn took Mark Grace out of the No. 2 spot and put him back in his usual spot hitting third. Grace, a lifetime .303 hitter, was batting .244 (11 for 45) in 11 games in the No. 2 spot.
Special K: With his six strikeouts Thursday, Kevin Foster has 27 in 37 innings, an average of 6.6 per every nine innings. Even counting the six hits and four earned runs he gave up Thursday, Foster still has a 2.92 ERA and opponents are batting just .185 against him.