The Cubs' late clinching of the division title prevented them from optimizing their division series pitching rotation. Taking their first round series against the Braves to five games moved Chicago further away from their ideal scenario, putting #3 starter RHP Carlos Zambrano on the mound against the Marlins' nominal #1, RHP Josh Beckett, in Game 1 of the NLCS. Consequently, we were prepared for Florida to take yesterday's game.

Chicago appeared to have other plans when they jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first. CF-L Kenny Lofton led off the inning with a walk and then scored when 2B-R Mark Grudzielanek tripled into centerfield. CF-L Juan Pierre broke in on Grudzielanek's fly ball, uncharacteristically misjudging it. He then slipped while turning around and was late retrieving it, so there was no play on either runner. While RF-R Sammy Sosa hit a high pop up to 3B-R Miguel Cabrera at third base, LF-R Moises Alou smacked a soaring home run out of the park and onto Waveland Avenue beyond the left field bleachers. The Cubs almost had back-to-back homers, but 3B-R Aramis Ramirez's shot to dead center missed the basket and came down in the ivy. Rather than catch in the vines, the ball rolled away from Pierre, and Ramirez was able to beat RF-R Juan Encarnacion's throw to third, giving Chicago their second triple of the game. Ramirez waited on third while 1B-L Randall Simon struck out and then scored when SS-R Alex S. Gonzalez hit a line drive into left field. Playing deep, LF-R Jeff Conine was unable to come in and catch the liner. He slid and the ball bounced past him, so Ramirez was safe at home and Gonzalez at second before he retrieved the ball. The Cubs did not bat around in the first, as C-L Paul Bako popped out to left to end the inning, nevertheless the crowd was pumped going into the second.

In the top of the second, Conine hit a high fly ball down the right field line to add another triple to the game's total, but the Marlins were not able to make a dent in Chicago's lead at that time. Beckett went one-two-three through the Cubs' order in the bottom of the second and lined out to right to open the third. Pierre then drove a fly ball to the wall in right field and with his speed safely reached third before the ball could be relayed to the base. Less than three innings into the game, each team had two triples, which are by far the most rare extra base hit. Zambrano then issued a walk to 2B-S Luis Castillo, so C-R Ivan Rodriguez narrowed Chicago's lead to one when he knocked one into the last row of the bleachers in left-center. While Zambrano recovered to strikeout 1B-R Derrek Lee, Cabrera lofted one just over the left-center wall into the second row of the bleachers to tie the game at four, causing the Cubs to call the bullpen to get RHP Juan Cruz up and throwing. Before Cruz made it to the bullpen mound, Encarnacion launched a fly ball to the fence at the back of the mid-left field bleachers, giving Florida the lead. Since Chicago had no one ready to come in to relieve him, Zambrano remained in the game, and Conine popped out to right field to end the inning.

Alou hit into a double play to erase the break the Cubs' caught when SS-R Alex Gonzalez committed an error in fielding the ground ball hit to him by Sosa to lead off the bottom of the third. Ramirez also hit a bouncing ball to short, giving Beckett another three-batter inning. Beckett tried to help himself out with a single to right in the top of the fourth, but he was erased from the bases when Pierre hit into a fielder's choice. Bako then caught Pierre trying to steal second.

Between the top and the bottom of the fourth, the right field umpire came in to replace the home plate umpire, who was too ill to continue. The switch left the right field foul line uncovered, which is normal during the regular season, though baseball normally assigns right field and left field umpires during the playoffs, increasing the crews from four to six. While it is unusual for an umpire to exit a game early, I do not see why MLB does not send a reserve to each playoff game to avoid a shortage in case of injury or illness.

By the end of the fifth, Beckett and Zambrano had fallen into a bit of a pitchers' dual with neither offense having accomplished anything of note since the top of the third. The Marlins' bats began moving again in the top of the sixth. Cabrera led off the inning by rolling a ground ball past the glove of a diving Alex S. Gonzalez for a single. Encarnacion also singled past a diving Gonzalez and then the two advanced a base each on a passed ball by Bako, putting Cabrera in position to score when Conine hit a sacrifice fly into centerfield. Consequently, when Simon and Alex S. Gonzalez put together a double and a homer in the bottom of the sixth, the Cubs merely retied the game at six. A few fans lowered someone into the basket in right field to retrieve Gonzalez's home run ball.

LHP Mike Remlinger relieved Zambrano, who had a pitch count of 102, prior to the seventh inning. Remlinger pitched to Pierre, who flied out to center, and Castillo, who singled up the middle, before Manager Dusty Baker called for a double switch, bringing in RHP Kyle Farnsworth and C-R Damian Miller. Castillo promptly stole second on new catcher Miller. However, Farnsworth struck out both IRod and Lee to end the inning with the game still tied.

Miller's double down the left field line and subsequent move to third on a Lofton sacrifice drove Beckett from the game in the bottom of the seventh. RHP Chad Fox relieved Beckett and closed out the inning without allowing the Cubs to score. Farnsworth went one-two-three through the Marlins' order in the eighth but was lifted for left-handed, pinch-hitter Tom Goodwin, who struck out, in the bottom of the inning as Chicago unsuccessfully tried to bring Ramirez in from third.

RHP Joe Borowski went out to the mound for the Cubs in the top of the ninth. While Alex Gonzalez flied out to center to open the inning, Borowski gave up a double to left-handed hitter Todd Hollandsworth, who was pinch-hitting for Fox, and walked Pierre. Castillo then hit a bouncing grounder to Grudzielanek. The second baseman tried to start removing the ball from his glove while attempting to tag Pierre, who was running from first to second, because Grudzielanek was bobbling the ball when he swiped Pierre with his glove, the umpire called Pierre safe. Grudzielanek's throw did not even make it to first in time to get Castillo, so the bases were loaded for IRod. Rodriguez singled into right past a diving Grudzielanek, scoring Hollandsworth and Pierre.

Chicago went into the bottom of the ninth down by two with RHP Ugueth Urbina now on the mound for Florida. Miller grounded out to open the inning, but Lofton doubled down the right field line. After Grudzielanek also grounded out, Sosa came to the plate with the opportunity to tie the game. He came through with a towering shot over the left field bleachers and onto Waveland.

Each closer delivered a one-two-three inning in the 10th. The Cubs pulled a double switch prior to the top of the 11th with LHP Mark Guthrie relieving Borowski and SS-R Ramon Martinez taking over at short. Meanwhile, the Marlins pinch-hit for Urbina with right-handed hitter Mike Lowell. Lowell sent a homer into the basket in straightaway centerfield, making the score 9-8. After Pierre grounded out, Chicago lifted Guthrie for RHP Antonio Alfonseca, who loaded the bases but got out of the inning without allowing the Marlins to increase their lead. However, to the disappointment of the fans at Wrigley, RHP Brandon Looper did not give the Cubs an opportunity to comeback in the bottom of the 11th, so as expected, if not in the expected way, Florida took Game 1 of the NLCS.