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Soto and Lee help Cubs comeback against the Brewers

Cubs fans, the magic number is down to 2! Geovany Soto crushed a three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth out to tie the game and then Derrek Lee came up with a huge rbi single in the bottom of the 12 inning as the Cubs beat the Brewers 7-6.

Some people will say it is a lucky win as Braun should have caught a line drive in the ninth inning. Good teams find ways to win and take advantage of other teams mistakes however. Right now the Cubs will take any win they can get, no matter how they get it!

Soto, who with a doubt should be the National League MVP came up huge with that three-run home run. He absolutely hammered a first pitch fastball to left field to tie the game at 6-6. Aramis Ramirez and Jim Edmonds also hit solo home runs for the Cubs.

I’ll give some props to Carlos Marmol and Kerry Wood. Marmol tossed a scoreless tenth inning while Wood tossed two scoreless innings. Wood did run into some trouble with two runners on with no ots in the 12th inning, however he was able to work out of the jam and give the Cubs a chance to win it in the bottom of the inning. That is exactly what happened as Wood picked up the win and is now 5-4.

Starting pitcher Rich Harden only gave up one hit and one run over five innings of action. Harden’s pitch count was over 100 pretty fast as he walked six and struck out seven. The bullpen wasn’t that good after Harden left however as Jeff Samardzija gave up two runs and Neal Cotts walked in a run with the bases loaded. Marmol and Wood sure made the bullpen’s stats look a lot better then they probably should have been.

So now the Cubs have the St. Louis Cardinals coming into town for a series this weekend. I expect the Cubs to have no problems clinching the division this weekend. Hopefully it will happen on Friday night, and if not then on Saturday. It’s a good time to be a Cubs fan!

Cub’s magic number stays at four with loss

The Chicago Cubs were unable to lower their “magic number” as they lost to the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday night. The Cubs fell behind early in the game when Jason Marquis loaded the bases and allowed three runs to score in the first inning. The Cubs just weren’t able to battle back out of the three run hole as they ended up losing the game 6-2.

Marquis took the loss as he gave up six hits and three runs. Angel Guzman got out of the jam after Marquis was taken out of the game but then he quickly ran into trouble in the seventh inning and allowed three runs to score.

There wasn’t much offense for the Cubs in the game even though Brewers starter Ben Sheets left the game with forearm tightness. As a team they were only able to come up with six hits and two runs. Aramis Ramirez hit a solo home run and Ryan Theriot added a rbi on a fielders choice in the ninth inning. Theriot’s rbi shouldn’t have happened as it should have been ruled an error by Prince Fielder in my opinion but oh well.

The Cubs will try once again to lower the magic number to two as they play the Brewers Thursday afternoon. Rich Harden takes the mound for the Cubs so I really like their chances!

Cubs stay hot with 5-4 victory over the Brewers

The Chicago Cubs stayed hot on Tuesday night as they opened up a three game series with the Milwaukee Brewers with a 5-4 victory. Awesome win for the Cubs who’s magic number is now four.

I really had my doubts about this game as they had to face off against the Brewers ace C.C. Sabathia. However the Cubs handed him his first loss with the Brewers as they scored four runs on nine hits in his seven innings of action. Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez both had rbi doubles in the game while Alfonso Soriano hit a solo home run off of Sabathia.

Henry Blanco added a rbi single in the eighth inning off of Brewers reliever Brian Shouse.

It was Ryan Dempster picking up the win and improving to 16-6. Dempster tossed six innings and gave up six hits and two runs. Both of the runs he gave up came off the bat of Prince Fielder when he hit a two-run home run in the sixth inning. It was a good outing for Dempster as he only walked one batter and struck out nine.

Carlos Marmol served up a solo home run to Fielder in the eighth inning and then the Brewers scored one more run in the ninth off of Cubs closer Kerry Wood. Wood got out of the jam in the ninth with two runners on base as he struck Fielder out on a off-speed pitch to end the game. Wood now has 31 saves on the season.

Cubs will be hoping for another victory on Wednesday night as they send Jason Marquis to the mound against Ben Sheets and the Brewers. If the Cubs can get another win, the magic number will be two and they will be looking to clinch the division on Thursday afternoon!

Lilly and the Cubs dominate the Astros 6-1

For the second game in a row, the Chicago Cubs got a great performance by their pitchers. This time it was Ted Lilly’s turn as he took a no-hit bid into the seventh inning before allowing a hit. Lilly was trying to match Carlos Zambrano who tossed a no-no on Sunday night against the Astros.

Lilly was great in his seven innings of action as he only allowed one walk, one hit, and struck out nine astros.  Jeff Samardzija, Carlos Marmol, and Bob Howry all pitched in relief of Lilly and they did not allow a hit either. Between the two games against the astros, the Cubs only allowed one hit and outscored the astros 11-1.

Derrek Lee finally hit a home run as he went deep for a two run shot in the sixth inning. Geovany Soto then followed Lee with a two-run homerun of his own later in the inning. Jim Edmonds also had a home run in the game as he went opposite field for a solo shot in the fourth inning. Aramis Ramirez also picked up a rbi in the game with a rbi sac fly in the first inning.

Great showing by everyone on the cubs roster. Now the Cubs head back home for a three game series against the Milwaukee Brewers. The magic number sits at 6, and if the Cubs can sweep the brewers these next there games that means they will win the division and clinch the division at home on Thursday.

So now we ask you this. Will the cubs clinch on Thursday against the Brewers?!