Harden can’t win, thanks to punchless Cubs offense Posted on July 22nd
PHOENIX - When the Cubs acquired Rich Harden from Oakland two weeks ago, there were reports he hadn’t been throwing as hard as usual.
But with the Cubs, the 26-year-old Canadian has looked more like a Ferrari being driven away from the dealership than damaged goods. He has had plenty of velocity on his fastball, just not enough luck.
Harden matched zeros with future Hall of Famer Randy Johnson on Monday night, taking a perfect game into the fifth inning and a no-hitter into the sixth. But Alex Romero lined a 1-2 changeup over the right-field fence for his first career home run, and Harden would depart trailing the Arizona Diamondbacks 1-0 in the seventh inning en route to a 2-0 defeat.
The 44-year-old Johnson was masterful, allowing two hits in seven innings to improve to 13-0 lifetime against the Cubs. Micah Owings and Chad Qualls completed the two-hitter..
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