It was a crazy night at Wrigley Field as the Chicago Cubsscored three runs in the bottom of the 9th inning to defeat the Cincinnati Reds 7-6 and stay one game ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers in the Central Division.

Mark DeRosa had the game winning hit against a 5 man infield that scored Sam Fuldfrom third base.  Fuld was pitch running for Aramis Ramirez who had tripled to deep center field.  Ramirez’s tripled plated Derrek Leeand Ryan Theriotwho led off the inning with a walk and then a single.

DeRosa finished the game going 5-5 including a solo homerun in the 3rd inning.  Cliff Floyd connected for a homerun in the 2nd inning as well.  Jacque Jones had the other RBI for the Cubs when he singled in the 5th inning scoring Lee.

Rich Hill started the game for the Cubs and he struggled in his 4.2 innings.  Hill gave up four earned runs on seven hits and seven strikeouts.  He had a few balls that could have been strikes that would have really helped but his curve ball wasn’t always being called for a strike.

Michael Wuertzpitched one inning and allowed another two earned runs.  Once Wuertz was done sucking it up, Scott Eyre, Kevin Hart, and Will Ohman came in to hold the Reds to six runs.  Hart pitched two scoreless innings and that was awesome to see.  The young guy has to be full of confidence after how he threw the ball tonight.

With the 7-6 win, the Cubs remain one game ahead of the Brewers who defeated the Houston Astros 6-0.  It will be crucial for the Cubs to keep on winning as the Brewers will be facing rookie pitchers the next two games against the Astros.

After splitting a day night double header with the Cards Saturday, the Cubs beat St. Louis 4-2 on Sunday to take 3 of 4 in the series and push the red birds 7 games back in the Central. The Cubs scored all 4 runs in the 3rd inning on a 3 run homer by Matt Murton and an RBI single by Ronny Cedeno. Jason Marquis went 6 1/3 innings giving up only 5 hits and 1 run. Mark Mulder got the loss and Ryan Dempster picked up save #28. The Brewers kept pace with a 5-2 win over the Reds who come to Chicago for 3 to start the week.

-Mike

Tonight’s Cubs/Cardinals game should not have come down to the bases loaded in the bottom of the 9th with the winning run on 1st for the redbirds, but it did. Either way, Aaron Miles grounded out and the Cubs hung on 5-3 while the Brewers lost 6-3 to the Reds, pushing them to 1.5 games back. The Cubs scored first in the 4th when Mark DeRosa’s bloop single scored Aramis Ramirez. Albert Pujols homered off Carlos Zambrano in the 6th to tie the game at one. Cliff Floyd answered in the 7th with a solo blast of his own, his 3rd straight game with a HR and 8th of the season. Lou Piniella had to make a key decision in the 9th when the Cubs loaded the bases with 2 outs and Zambrano due up. Daryle Ward came up big with a 3 run pinch hit double to make it 5-1.

Ryan Dempster gave up 9th inning homers to Jim Edmonds and Ryan Ludwick, but managed to get 2 outs. That’s when the fun began. Yadier Molina singled bringing the tying run to the plate and ending Dempster’s night. Russell Branyan and So Taguchi then hit back to back pinch hit singles off Bob Howry, loading the bases for Aaron Miles. Howry induced a 6-3 groundout and got credited with a save in the 5-3 win. Carlos Zambrano’s brilliant 8 innings earned him his 16th win. Adam Wainwright got the loss. The Cubs and Cards play a day night double header Saturday with game 1 at 12:10 CT and game 2 at 7:10. Ted Lilly and Sean Marshall will start for the Cubs.

-Mike

The Chicago Cubs hit four homeruns in the “juicebox” tonight against the Houston Astros and they took the series 2-1.  Steve Trachsel picked up his first win since rejoining the Cubs as the Cubs moved back into first place of the Central Division by half a game over the Milwaukee Brewers.

Alfonso Soriano, Aramis Ramirez, Daryle Ward, and Cliff Floyd all connected for homeruns.  All were solo shots except for Ramirez who hit a three run homer in the first inning.  Ramirez’s homerun followed Soriano who led off the game with a long bomb.

Kerry Wood and Carlos Marmol shut down the door on the Astros in the final three innings.  Wood pitched the 7th inning, and Marmol pitched the 8th and 9th innings.  I hope Marmol can get some rest and not need to be used the next 2-3 days.  He could really use some rest at this point in the season.

The Cubs and Cardinals will begin a huge weekend series tomorrow night.  The Cardinals have lost seven in a row so it is important that the Cubs come out strong and win these ballgames.

It was another tight ballgame for the Chicago Cubs tonight as they held on to defeat the Houston Astros 3-2.  It was a rocking 9th inning for the Cubs and Ryan Dempster as the tieing run was at thirdbase with 1 out but Dempster was able to get a double play to end the ballgame.

Rich Hill pitched seven great innings only allowing one earned run on three hits and seven strikeouts.  Exactly what the Cubs needed and it was nice to see Rich throw a gem tonight.  Way to step up and help out the ballteam!

Cliff Floyd had a solo homerun into the upper deck in right field to lead the offense tonight.  Ryan Theriot had the other two RBI’s for the team in the 2nd and 4th innings.  The Cubs only scored three runs tonight and we always want to score 4-5 but tonight it held up with the outstanding performance by Hill.  Lets hope for a big game out of Aramis Ramirez and Derrek Lee tomorrow.

The Cubs are back in a tie for first place with the Brewers now.  I have a feeling this is going to go down to the last 2-3 days of the season. Say your prayers Cubs fans!

Another terrible performance by Ryan Dempster tonight as he walked a batter and then had a game winning double hit off him in the bottom of the 11th inning.  But should the game even have went that long?  No it shouldn’t have, the Cubs have got to start getting a key basehit when you have a runner in scoring position late in the ball game.  Stop grounding into damn double plays or hitting soft groundballs and hit a damn line drive somewhere.

Jason Marquis only lasted five innings as he gave up three earned runs.  Everyone was hoping for a better perfomance out of Marquis but it wasn’t meant to be.  Carlos Marmol and Bob Howry came in and pitched four scourless innings before Dempster came on board in the 10th inning and into the 11th where he allowed the game winning run to come across.

The one big hit the Cubs did have tonight was off Mark DeRosa’s bat when he connected for a three run homer in the third inning.  Jason Kendall also had a RBI in the 2nd inning as Jacque Jones cross the plate.  You have got to have more production then that however.  If you have a runner on second and 1 out, you have got to get that run in.  If you have the bases loaded and 1 out, you have got to a run in.  Right now the Cubs are just not executing at all.  They aren’t playing smart baseball like they were a month ago.  They better get going as they are now a game behind the Brewers in the division.

Ted Lilly picked up his 15th win of the season today as the Chicago Cubs cruised past the St. Louis Cardinals 12-3 at Wrigley Field.  I blogged yesterday that I thought this was a must win for the Cubs if they want to stay in contention for a division title and that is exactly what they delivered.

Lilly was the man on the mound as he pitched seven strong innings only allowing five hits.  Two of them being homeruns by Jim Edmonds and So Taguchi.

Aramis Ramirez and Derrek Lee got to Cardinal starter Joel Pinero in the 4th inning when they went both connected with homers to give the Cubs the lead for good.  It was a huge 4th inning as the Cubs scored five runs and pushed the lead to 6-1.  Lilly even contributed in the 4th as he hit a 2 RBI double.  Jacque Jones and and Jason Kendall also had RBI’s in the 4th inning.

Ramirez hit his second homerun of the game in the 8th inning.  Lets hope A-Ram stays hot and leads the Cubs to the post season.  We all know that he isn’t playing at 100% but is hustling out there and swinging the bat very well.  We also know he plays good defense at thirdbase and has saved the Cubs pitchers many times, so he needs to be the lineup all the way to the end!

With the 12-3 win over the Cardinals, the Cubs will now travel onto Houston to face the Astros in a three game set.  This series is HUGE for the Cubs and their playoff chances.  With the Brewers playing the Pirates, I expect them to sweep the Pirates so the Cubs must do the same against the Astros.  You never know how things will go in the “Juice Box” in Houston, so lets all hope the Cubbies swing the bats well and score some runs and win some ballgames!

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The Chicago Cubs are no longer in first place in the Central Division after falling to the Pittsburgh Pirates today 10-5.  It was not the way the Cubs wanted to finish the road trip as they dropped two out of three against the Pirates.

Chicago got off to a promising start, taking a 2-0 lead in the second on former Pittsburgh catcher Jason Kendall’s two-run single up the middle against Matt Morris.  Matt Murton and Jacque Jones both scored on Kendall’s single.

It wasn’t long though as the Pirates rocked Cubs starter Steve Trachsel who only lasted two innings in the game. In his two innings of play, Trachsel let up six earned runs on six hits and one walk.  A Freddy Sanchez triple in the second inning with the bases loaded was the dagger for Trachsel.  Terrible performance out of the veteran that was brough in to help spark the team and give them a few good outing down the playoff run.

Alfonso Soriano and Geovany Soto both homered as they tried to bring the Cubs back, but the Pirates pushed across three more runs in the 8th inning to secure the win.

The Cubs play a huge game tomorrow afternoon as they play the St. Louis Cardinals in a make up game due to the rainout a few weeks ago.  This is a must win for the Cubs, they must come out and throw a good game, and hit the ball around the park.

Carlos Zambrano finally looked like the ace on his way to a 5-1 win Saturday night. Z went 6+ innings to pick up his 15th win. Alfonso Soriano added his 3rd homer in 3 games with a 2 run shot in the 5th. Jacque Jones added 2 RBIs and Derrek Lee picked up an RBI single as well. The rubber game is Sunday afternoon with a matchup of veterans: Steve Trachsel and Matt Morris.

The coin flips to determine who is the home and away teams for teams in playoff contention happened today.  These games only happen if two teams are tied at the end of the regular season.  Just like when the Mets and Cubs played back in 98.

NL CENTRAL
• Brewers @ Cubs
• Cubs @ Cardinals
• Cardinals @ Brewers

NL WILD CARD
• Cubs @ Padres
• Cubs @ Dodgers
• Cubs @ Phillies
• Rockies @ Cubs
• Brewers @ Cubs