Ryan Dempster had a terrible outing tonight as he blew the save and allowed the Los Angeles Dodgers to take three of four in the series against the Chicago Cubs.  Dempster did not record a out as he gave up five hits and four earned runs.  The big shot coming off the bat of Andre Ethier who hit the three run homerun to give the Dodgers the lead.

Besides the blowup in the ninth inning, the Cubs didn’t play too bad of baseball.  Alfonso Soriano had two homeruns including a go ahead three run shot in the 7th inning.  I figured the Cubs had this game won after that shot, but it wasn’t meant to be.

Jason Marquis pitched a very good game and deserved to get the win today.  He pitched seven strong innings only allowing two earned runs.  Marquis gave up four hits, and had four strikeouts compared to only one walk.  Hopefully Marquis will have a different outcome during his next outing.

This is not the type of game you want to lose in September when you are in the midst of a playoff run.  With the loss, the Cubs and Brewers are now tied for first in the standing, and the Cardinals are beating the Pirates at the time of this writing.  The Cubs are fading, but they do have a three game series starting tomorrow with the Pirates in Pittsburgh.  Lets hope the Cubs get back on track in Pittsburgh and take control of this division.

The Chicago Cubs got a much needed win tonight as they defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers by a score of 8-2.  It was a big 8th inning that put the nail in the coffin for the Dodgers as the Cubs scored four big insurance runs.

The Cubs got on the scoreboard with the first three runs of the ballgame behind a RBI single by Geovany Soto that scored Craig Monroe in the second inning, and then two runs in the third inning behind a big Aramis Ramirez 2-run homerun that score Mark DeRosa.

In the 5th inning, Derrek Lee singled to right field and scored DeRosa from second base.  That gave the Cubs a 4-1 lead.

It was then onto the big 8th inning when the Cubs pushed across four big insurance runs.  With Soto at first base via the walk, Ryan Theriot came up in a pitch hitters role and hit a line drive double to right-center field that scored Soto.  Jacque Jones then came to the play against a drawn in-infield and hit a single up the middle that plated Theriot who had stolen third.  With Jones at third, and Alfonso Soriano at second, DeRosa hit a single to left field that pushed the lead to 8-2 Cubbies!

Ted Lilly pitched an outstanding game tonight and that is exactly what the Cubs needed from him.  Lilly lasted 6 2/3 innings while only allowing two earned runs while striking out three and walking one batter.  Very good performance tonight for Lilly, and even better that he had some offensive support.

Carlos Marmol, Bob Howry and Ryan Dempster closed out the final 2 1/3 innings to secure the win the Cubs.  It was a huge win as the Brewers and Cardinals both also won tonight.  The Cubs remain .5 games ahead of the Brewers in the Central Division.

The Chicago Cubs sure aren’t playing like they are in a playoff chase right now.  They aren’t hitting, they aren’t pitching, and the bullpen has been sucking it up as of late. 

It was another bad game for the Cubs on Tuesday as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated them 6-2 at Wrigley Field.  Steve Trachsel was making his 2007 Cubs debut and lasted six innings giving up seven hits and three runs.  Trachsel will hope for better luck during his next outing, and hopefully the offense can help him out some.

In the 7th inning, Kerry Wood came in and had a terrible outing as he gave up seven hits and three arned runs.  It was Wood’s worst performance since rejoining the team in 2007.  Hopefully it was just a one time thing and Kerry will get out there and get a 1-2-3 inning in his next opportunity.

Kevin Hart, called up from Double-A Tennessee on Tuesday, made his Major League debut in the eighth. It was a tough introduction, as Hart entered with the bases loaded and none out. He walked Ramon Martinez on four straight pitches to force in a run, then got pinch-hitter Mark Sweeney looking at strike three. Rafael Furcal flew out to left, and Alfonso Soriano threw out Martin at home to end the inning.

It was the Cubs offense that couldn’t help out the pitches like the should have been.  They would get runners on, but just like all season they could never come up with that two or three run homerun to get the runners in.  This team is built for power and homeruns but it just isn’t happening.  Instead they are grounding into double plays every other ending to end the little rally they had going.  After Tuesdays game, Lou Piniella said that he will be making some changes and getting more speed into the lineup.  Hopefully more speed will equal more runs for the Cubs.  I would expect to see Felix Pie in center field if Piniella really wants to see speed.

Carlos Zambrano’s struggles continue after signing his new 5 year contract as he took the loss today against the Los Angeles Dodgers.  It was Zambrano’s 5th straight loss and he was clearly frustrated when he left the game after only going 4 1/3 innings.  When he reached the dugout, he just pointed to his head as the fans were giving him a lot of crap.

Alfonso Soriano led off the game for the Cubs with a solo homerun, but that was about all the excitment the Cubs would see today.  Ryan Theriot and Mark DeRosa chipped in with an RBI each but it wasn’t clearly enough as the Dodgers put up 11 runs in the game.

Tuesday night, Steve Trachsel will start his first game since rejoining the Cubs.  He will face off against Brad Penny.  It could be an ugly night for the Cubs as Penny is a pretty good pitcher so I expect the Cubs to struggle.

A quick update before I head out for the night, the Cubs took 2 of 3 against the Houston Astros this weekend and remain 2 games up on the Milwaukee Brewers.

Todays game was won off the bat of Derrek Lee in the 8th inning when he gave the Cubs a lead with his two-run homer.  Ryan Dempster had a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the ninth as he picked up the save.

Lets home the momentum continues as the Cubs and Dodgers play next!