5/31 Left-hander notes

The Cubs now have four left-handers in the bullpen in Sean Marshall, John Grabow, James Russell and Tom Gorzelanny. According to Cubs historian Ed Hartig: The last time the Cubs used four lefties out of the pen:

Sept. 9, 2007: The Cubs used eight pitchers, including four lefties, in a 10-5 loss in
Pittsburgh. The lefties were Carmen Pignatiello, Sean Marshall, Scott Eyre and Will Ohman.

But that was in September when rosters expand. The last time the Cubs used four lefties out of the pen (and before rosters expanded) was April 26, 2005, in an 11-9 loss to the Reds. The Cubs used seven pitchers, including southpaws Glendon Rusch, Mike Remlinger, Will Ohman and Cliff Bartosh.

* Only once in the last 60 years did the Cubs use five lefties in the same game.  On May 11, 2000, the Cubs lost to the Mets 14-8 at Wrigley going through six pitchers (Scott Downs, Daniel Garibay, Brian Williams, Andrew Lorraine, Mark Guthrie and Felix Heredia). Brian Williams was the right-handed pitcher for the Cubs in the game.

– Carrie Muskat