The Chicago Cubs came back to tie the series with the Philadelphia Phillies tonight as they won 7-3.  The Cubs weren’t always leading the game as they were down 2-3 until the bottom of the sixth inning when they pushed across three runs to take a 5-3 lead and went on to win 7-3.

Jason Marquis pitched a decent game as he lasted six innings allowing three earned runs on three walks, eight hits, and four strikeouts.  He did serve up a homerun to Pat Burrel in the sixth inning but other then that he worked himself out of jams when he needed too.

The Cubs bullpen pitched really well tonight.  Will Ohman, Carlos Marmol, and Bob Howry all seen action and they were all pretty good. Marmol struck out the side in the eigth inning with his deadly slider as he continues to be one of Lou’s best bullpen guys.

Everyone in the Cubs starting lineup had a hit in the game except Derrek Lee and Ryan Theriot.  It was a suprise to see that Jason Kendall had two RBI’s in the game to lead the team.  Lee, Aramis Ramirez, Jacque Jones, and Mike Fontenot all had 1 RBI’s each as well.

The two teams will battle it out again tomorrow evening as it will be Jamie Moyer facing off against Rich Hill.  Game time is set for 7:05 central so make sure to tune in and watch the Cubbies go for their second straight win over the Phillies.

Cubs Blog

The Chicago Cubs lost the first game of a four game series to the Philadelphia Phillies as Cole Hamels shut down the Cubs with eight strong innings.  Hamels (12-5) allowed one run and three hits, struck out eight and walked two. The 23-year-old left-hander retired nine of the first 10 batters he faced, and also set down his last nine batters.

Just a terrible performance by the Cubs offense against a tough left hander.  You have to get more people on base and play small ball against a pitcher like Hamels and the Cubs didn’t do that much.  They had their best chance when Hamels walked two batters, and then Ronny Cedeno came up and swung at the first pitch and popped out.  Why was Cedeno swinging at the first pitch after the last two batters walked?  Who knows, but if Cedeno wants more playing time he is going to have to be smarter.

Ted Lilly picked up the lose for the Cubs.  It was his first loss in his last 8 eight games so the streak was meant to come to an end eventually.  He didn’t pitch too bad overall, but let two former White Sox players hit homeruns off of him.  Tadahito Iguchi and Aaron Rowand took Lilly deep that combined for all four Phillies runs.

Bruce Levine reported this morning on ESPN Radio 1000 that Jim Hendry and the Cubs are pretty happy with what they have right now as the trading deadline nears.  With that said, we can probably stop all those Ken Griffey Jr. coming to Chicago rumors.

Could we still make a trade for catcher Gerald Laird?  Time will only tell, but don’t expect a superstar trade to happen this year for the Cubs.

The Cubs 6-0 win combined with Milwaukee’s 9-5 loss Sunday puts the Cubs only a half game behind the Brewers and ahead of the Crew in the loss column. Carlos Zambrano, who went 7 and 1/3 innings of shutout baseball became the first pitcher in the majors to 14 wins. Aramis Ramirez and Mark DeRosa had first inning RBIs while Derrek Lee added a 2 run homer in the 7th to make it 4-0. Angel Pagan’s 2 run single in the 9th sealed the deal. Will Ohman and Bob Howry completed the shutout. The Cubs welcome the Phillies into Wrigley for a 4 game set, starting Monday night.

In front of a huge Cub fan dominated crowd at Great American Ballpark Saturday night, the Cubs beat the Red 8-1 behind homers by Derrek Lee and Alfonso Soriano. Lee hit a 2 run shot off Aaron Harang in the 1st. Harang left after 1 with back spasms. Soriano hit a 3 run shot in the 2nd and a 2 run shot in the 9th to add to a great night (3-5). Cliff Floyd added an RBI double in the game as well. Sean Marshall left in the 7th. After Carlos Marmol finished the 7th and 8th, Ryan Dempster loaded the bases in the 9th but got out of it without giving up any runs. With the Cardinals sweep of the Brewers in their double header Saturday, the Cubs are just 1.5 games back of 1st place in the central.

The Chicago Cubs tried to make it a spectacular ending to the game last night against the Cincinnati Reds as they tied the game up in the top of the 9th inning but it was the Reds who were able to push across a run in the bottom of the inning to win 4-5.

I don’t have much time to blog this morning as I’m on the road traveling but I do hope to have a nice writeup after tonights game if I have time. The Cubs are down three games to the Brewers right now so we need to definately close out the weekend with a couple of wins against the Reds.

GO CUBS!

Not much to really blog about tonight as the Cubs got destroyed by the St. Louis Cardinals 11-1.  Starting pitching sucked and no offense = a bad game.  Lets go get em tomorrow.

Another victory for the Chicago Cubs where the starting pitching and offense were both clicking.  You really have to love when you see the pitchers and hitters do so well during the same game, especially against a division rival like the Cardinals.

Ted Lilly through a gem as he picked up his 11th win of the season.  Lilly tossed seven strong innings while giving up six hits and 1 earned run.  The Cubs pitchers were able to get the Cardinal batters to ground into 4 double plays which really helped.  Lilly and Carlos Zambrano are the top rated one-two punch of starting pitchers this year!  Hopefully they can both keep it up.

As for the offense, Cliff Floyd and Mike Fontenot both helped out the team with two RBI’s each.  Floyd finished the game going 2-4 and Fontenot going 2-5.  Jacque Jones continued his hot streak during the second half as he picked up another RBI for the team.  Others picking up RBI’s were Ryan Theriot and Ted Lilly who each had one.  Offensive performance up and down the lineup will win ballgames and really keeps everyone happy as they are contributing to the team.

Tomorrow the Cubs will go for the three game sweep as it will be Jason Marquis making his return to St. Louis.  Marquis will face off against Braden Looper of the Cardinals.  Lets get those brooms out!!!

It’s only 6 days away and the two items on Jim Hendry’s shopping list are clear: An outfield bat and a relief arm. Let’s explore some of the rumored names:

Kenny Lofton: A one time Cub that helped spark the playoff run in 03, Lofton brings solidity to the CF spot in the Cubs outfield. Despite being 40 years old, Lofton is batting .301. His speed could also be utilized in the leadoff spot if Lou Piniella wants to move Alfonso Soriano down in the lineup

Jermaine Dye: It’s a given that Dye will be on another team in August but he could be a solid fit for the Cubs. Dye would likely take over in RF full time. Although he is only batting only .229, Dye has 16 homers and is hot lately with 4 hits in his last 3 games.

Ryan Church: Although he is not yet a proven player, Church could be a solid option in center. With 7 homers, he would add a little left handed pop to the lineup. The lefties the Cubs currently posses have struggled to hit the long ball.

Octavio Dotel: The Cubs are one bullpen arm away from a very solid bullpen which attributed to their first half struggles. Dotel could be the answer. With an ERA under 3 and a half, Dotel could make a solid option for a bridge to Ryan Dempster in the 9th.

Eric Gagne: Let’s visit the Rangers again, shall we? Gagne has clearly recovered from his surgery and is nearly lights out this year. With an ERA of 2.16, Gagne may be better suited for a closer role on a team. Ryan Dempster likely has that spot locked up but Gagne could still help out in the late innings.

So there you have it. Other names will be thrown around and Jim Hendry always seems to pull off a shocker that none of us expect. It’s gonna be fun and exciting watching it all go down in the next week, but be warned, this will be the longest 6 days of the year.

Great start to the series with the St. Louis Cardinals as Carlos Zambrano led the Cubs to a 4-3 victory.  In a low scoring game, Zambrano and Kip Wells had a great pitchers duel but it was an error that extended the seventh inning gave Zambrano and the Cubs the win.

Zamrano threw 6.2 innings while he gave up five hits and two earned runs.  He kept the Cubs in the ballgame and that is what you ask for your starter.  He did have three walks, but for the most part, they didn’t hurt him to bad.

Will Ohman, Carlos Marmol, and Ryan Dempster came in out of the bullpen and held the Cardinals down to scure the win.  The Cardinals did score one in the ninth inning to come within one but that was all they could get as Albert Pujols grounded out to second base to end the game.

Aramis Ramirez and Jacque Jones both had great days at the plate for the offense.  Ramirez went 3-4 with an RBI and Jones went 1-2 with an RBI as well.  Ronny Cedeno who was called up before the game chipped in with an RBI in the sixth inning as well.  Cedeno came into the game during the 4th inning when Mark DeRosa left with some sort of nagging hamstring injury.  At this point, we are not sure how bad the hamstring injury to Derosa.  Derrek Lee delivered an insurance run in the 9th inning when he singled in Ryan Theriot.

The two teams will play again tomorrow night at 7:10.  The Cubs will be going for another win to keep pace with the Brewers so hopefuly they can get it.  It will be Ted Lilly against Adam Wainwright.