Yay, the Cubs are back in the win column!  The Cubs avoided a three game sweep down in Arizona by beating the Diamondbacks 10-6 on Wednesday night.  The Cubs had their leadoff man Alfonso Soriano back in the lineup, Derrek Lee hit a home run, Reed Johnson hit a grand slam, and Ted Lilly won his 10th game of the year!  Yeah, all that happened in last nights game!

The Cubs blew the game wide open in the 8th inning when Geovany Soto singled in Ryan Theriot, then with the bases loaded Mark DeRosa walked.  Leo Rosales then came into the game in relief of Micah Owings and Reed Johnson welcomed Rosales with a grand slam to right center field.  It appeard that a fan might have helped the ball get over the fence but the umpires all met and kept the call as a home run.

It was nice to see Lee hit a ball in the air and over the fence as he hit a home run in the first inning.  Lee has really been struggling while hitting into a lot of double plays.  Soriano made his return and went 1-5 while picking up one rbi.  Ryan Theriot also had one rbi in the game as did Lilly.  Soriano,’s Theriot’s, and Lilly’s rbi’s all came in the 5th inning when the Cubs scored three runs.

On the mound Lilly tossed six innings to pick up his 10th win of the season.  He allowed six hits and three runs in the game.  Tony Clark hit a two run home run in the 4th inning and then Conor Jackson had a rbi single in the 5th off of him.   Neal Cotts and Carlos Marmol both threw scoreless innings out of the bullpen.  However, once again Bob Howry had to give up runs.  He pitched the eighth inning and gave up a three run home run to Chris Snyder.  Right now I don’t have a lot of trust in Howry.  No way can I trust him and put him a tie or one run game.

The Cubs will now head back to Chicago and begin a four game series with the visiting Florida Marlins on Thursday evening.  Carlos Zambrano will take the mound for the Cubs as he hopes to get back on the winning ways and pick up his 11th win of the season.

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So once again the Chicago Cubs offense struggled as they were only able to come up with two hits and they lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks by the score of 2-0 on Monday night.  The Cubs did hit some hard balls to the warning track in the game, but they just didn’t have enough to get it out of the stadium.  This offense should never be two hit or shutout in a game if you ask me.

It was really bad that the offense struggled because starting pitcher Rich Harden pitched great.  He made one mistake in the sixth inning when he gave up a solo home run to Alex Romero but other then that he pitched great.  Harden struckout ten batters in his seven innings of action but took the loss and is now 0-1 in the National League.

Bob Howry gave up a rbi triple in the eighth inning to Stephen Drew which was a big run for the Diamondbacks.  It seems that Howry has been giving up atleast one run everytime he takes the mound as of late.  Hopefully he can get that figured out soon.

The Cubs did get a little rally going in the ninth inning when they got the first two runners on base but Derrek Lee got jammed on a 2-0 pitch and grounded into a double play.  Aramis Ramirez then ended the game on a groundout and the rally was all over.  So will the offense get going on Tuesday night?  I sure hope so because Jason Marquis will be taking the mound.

Here is one interesting note that I heard after the game:  Randy Johnson is now 13-0 in his career against the Chicago Cubs.  Wow, talk about dominating one team…

Wow, what another exciting win for the Cubbies as they beat the San Francisco Giants 3-1 on Friday afternoon at Wrigley.  The game was tied 0-0 heading into the bottom of the 8th inning and then Aramis Ramirez unloaded a bomb that curved around the left field foul pole for a three run home run.  Once again it was A-Ram being the player of the game for the Cubs.

The hitters knew they had to score some runs because the pitching staff threw the ball so well.  Jason Marquis tossed the first seven innings of the game as he battled against Matt Cain.  Marquis only gave up three hits as the threw the ball the best he has all season long.  Bob Howry tossed a scoreless inning in the eighth and then closer Kerry Wood was called on.  Wood did have some trouble after Mark DeRosa couldn’t come up with a tough catch in left field as he allowed one run and gave the Giants the chance to score the tying runs as they had the tying runs on base.  Wood was able to get the job done however and pick up his 24th save of the season.

Now lets sit back and hope the Brewers and Cardinals both lose.  Enjoy you Friday night and see you all back here on Saturday afternoon!

After the big news of Rich Harden being traded to the Cubs, Cubs fans were treated to a good game against the Reds.  The Chicago Cubs had held the Reds to only two hits until the ninth inning when they scored a run and had three hits in the inning.  The Cubs were finally able to finish off the Reds to pick up a 7-3 victory.

Ryan Dempster improved to 10-0 at home as he pitched seven innings to get the win.  Dempster gave up two hits and one run while walking four batters and striking out five batters.  Dempster let his defense really help him out in the game as Aramis Ramirez had multiple nice plays on ex Cub Jerry Hairson Jr.

Neal Cotts came in to pitch the eighth inning but walked two batters and was quickly pulled in favor of Carlos Marmol.  Marmol had no problems getting the Cubs out of the inning.  It was Marmol’s third straight great performance as it appears that he is back on track.  Bob Howry tossed the ninth inning and had some problems as he gave up three hits and one run.

Geovany Soto had a two run home run and a sac fly to lead the team at the plate with three RBI.  Soto has now hit 16 home runs and has 55 rbi on the season.  Mike Fontenot added a two run home run to dead center field in the sixth inning.  Ramirez had the other rbi for the Cubs which came on a sac fly in the third inning.

Great win for the Cubs as the Cardinals and Brewers both won.  The Cubs remaine up 3.5 games on the Cardinals.

Wow, what an ending to the first game of the series against the cross town rivals Chicago White Sox!  The Cubs battled back with back to back home runs by Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez in the seventh inning off of Octavio Dotel and then Ramirez came right back with another solo home run in the bottom of the ninth off of White Sox reliever Scott Linebrink.  Ramirez came up huge after having a very bad series down in Tampa Bay.

Whew, I’m not sure what to blog about lol I’m still excited about the ending to the game.  Ted Lilly pitched decent and kept the team in the game.  Lilly lasted 6 2/3 innings while giving up all three runs to the White Sox.  All three runs came via two home runs that were hit off of Lilly.

Kerry Wood picked up the win as he pitched the top of the ninth inning. Woody is now 4-1 on the season.  Bob Howry tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings between Lilly and Wood.  Great job by the pitchers as they kept the team in it until the bats finally woke up.

Now that that Cubs have won the first game of the series, how do you see the second game going on Saturday afternoon?  It will be Jason Marquis taking the mound against White Sox starter Jose Contreras.  Leave us a comment Cubs fans and let us know what you think!

GO CUBS!

The Chicago Cubs made the Atlanta Braves pay for their two errors as the Cubs beat the Braves 10-5 Tuesday night at Wrigley Field.  The Cub used a four run eighth inning to blow the game wide open.  The big hit was a three run home run by Geovany Soto with two outs in the eighth.  Soto was even called out by the Cubs fans for a curtain call after the home run.

Derrek Lee and Reed Johnson both had two runs batted in for the Cubs as well.  Johnson played a great game at the plate and in the outfield.  Johnson made two great running catches in the gaps that saved some runs.  I really like the energy that Johnson has brought the Cubs.

Aramis Ramirez, Kosuke Fukudome, and Mark DeRosa all had one rbi in the game as well.  Ramirez had two or three great plays at third base as well.  He started the game ending double play in the ninth inning on a hard hit ball and also made a great diving stop early in the game to get an out.

Cubs starting pitcher Ted Lilly gave up three early runs in the first inning on a home run by Greg Norton but then settled down to pitch 6 2/3 innings and pick up the win.  Lilly allowed four hits and the three runs while improving his record to 6-5 on the season.  If he could just start off the game better, he would last longer into the games.

Carlos Marmol struckout his one batter in the seventh inning before Bob Howry gave up four hits and two runs in the eighth inning.  Scott Eyre got the Cubs out of the eighth after coming in to get the last out and then Jon Lieber finished things off in the ninth inning as the Cubs got the victory.

The Cubs are now 41-24 on the season as they remain 2.5 games in first place in the Central Division.  Just keep on winning baby!

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It didn’t take the Chicago Cubs very long to get right back on track after their nine game win streak was snapped on Wednesday night.  They jumped right back into the saddle and came away with a 5-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday night.

Kosuke Fukudome got things started at the plate for the Cubs as he hit his fourth home run of the season in the second inning.  Hopefully Fukudome will start hitting the ball a little better on the road as he gets accustomed to the road travel in the country.  I should also mention that his wife and son have finally joined him which happened in San Diego.  It was their first time together since spring training.

Besides Fukudome going deep, Mark DeRosa also hit a solo home run in the fourth inning.  Ryan Theriot and Aramis Ramirez both chipped in with rbi’s of their own as well.  It would have been nice to see more runs scored in the game as they left 20 runners on base but sometimes that is just how it goes.

Things did get a little scary in the late innings however when Bob Howry gave up a solo home run to Jeff Kent which tied the game at 4-4 in the eighth inning.  Howry got lucky however as Fukudome singled in Theriot for the game winning run in the top of the ninth inning.  Kerry Wood then came in and was able to get his 17th save of the season.

Starting pitcher Ryan Dempster had some troubles once again as he pitched on the road.  Dempster only lasted 5 1/3 innings as he gave up five hits and three runs.  Kent also took Dempster deep for a solo home run in the game.

The Cubs will stay out in L.A. and play the Dodgers over the weekend.  Hopefully they can come away with atleast two out of three games if not take the remaining three games in the series.

The Chicago Cubs hit three home runs as they beat the San Diego Padres 9-6 on Thursday night.  It is great to see this team winning like this!  They are scoring a lot of runs, and that is really helping out the pitching staff.  One more win, and we just might see Len Kasper growing some facial hair, and Bob Brenly shaving his off!

The Cubs used three home runs in the huge ballpark to get the win.  Geovany Soto got things started in the fifth inning with a solo home run that he absolutely crushed to center field.  Mark DeRosa then hit a two run shot in the fifth inning.  It wasn’t until the eighth inning when the Cubs hit their third home run of the night when Alfonso Soriano went deep for a three run home run.

Ryan Theriot, Derrek Lee, and Aramis Ramiez all had one rbi in the game as well to help out.  Ramirez could have had a lot more but he struckout with the bases loaded and the showed his emotion by throwing his bat into the ground.

It was Jason Marquis getting the win for the Cubs as he tossed five innings and allowed three runs.  Marquis really wasn’t that sharp at all even though he only gave up four hits.  He was actually hit pretty hard, and in other stadiums might have even gave up a couple of home runs.  A win is a win however.

The Cubs bullepen was called upon once again and they did a pretty good job for the most part.  The one downside was seeing Kevin Hart give up three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning.  Hart had just been called up so the Cubs would have a fresh arm in the bullpen.  Instead, the Cubs still had to use Bob Howry and Kerry Wood in the late innings.  Michael Wuertz, Scott Eyre, and Neal Cotts all seen action in the game as well.

Ted Lilly will get the start on Wednesday night as the Cubs battle the Padres once again.  It is another night game so plan on staying up late if you want to watch all of the game.  I really hate these West coast games…

Alfonso Soriano hit a two run home run and a rbi single as he led the Chicago Cubs past the visiting Colorado Rockies by the score of 5-4.  With the win, the Cubs have now won six straight games to stay on top of the Central Division standing.

Soriano has really heated up in he month of May as he is up to 12 home runs and 34 rbi in the lead off position.  He is making better contact right now even though he is still swining at almost every pitch it seems like.

Besides Soriano’s three rbi, Geovany Soto and starting pitcher Ryan Dempster both had one rbi in the game.

Speaking of Dempster, he lasted five innings and picked up the win to improve to 7-2 on the season.  Dempster should didn’t have great command of his pitches today as he gave up two home runs and walked four batters.

Michael Wuertz, Neal Cotts, Bob Howry, and Carlos Marmol all pitchd out of the bullpen.  Wuertz, Cotts, and Howry did well, but Marmol gave up a solo home run in the ninth inning even though he picked up his third save of the season.  Things could have been a lot worse for Marmol in the ninth inning except Kosuke Fukudome made a nice jumping catch near the wall on a flyball right beforeScott Podsednik took Marmol deep.

The Cubs will go for their seventh straight win and the four game sweep of the Rockies on Sunday afternoon.  Sean Gallagher will be facing off against Ubaldo Jimenez.

Ok yeah, the Cubs offense sucked up until the ninth inning, but what an exciting win for the Cubs as they were able to come back and tie the game in the ninth, and then go on to win in the tenth inning.  Good teams find ways to win, and that is exactly what the Cubs did against the Dodgers in their 2-1 victory on Wednesday night.

In the ninth inning you could tell that Dodgers closer Takashi Saito was having control issues right away as he walked Ryan Theriot to lead off the inning.  It was Saito’s first action in a week and he clearly need some work in between starts.  The Cubs were able to get the bases loaded and then Geovany Soto hit a sacrafice fly to right field to tie the game.

Onto the tenth inning when Mike Fontenot lhit double to the left center gap with one out in the inning.  Alfonso Soriano then stepped up and delivered the game winning hit as he his a curve ball to left field that scored Fontenot from second.  Way to step up like the player you really are Soriano.

Carlos Zambrano was a bit wild tonight as he did walk four batters but give him some credit for lasting eight innings and keeping the Cubs in the game.  Jose Ascanio continues to impress be as he pitched another scoreless inning.  Bob Howry pitched the tenth inning and ended up picking up the win for the Cubs.

The Cubs continue to play great baseball at Wrigley Field and hopefully they will continue doing it as the Colorado Rockies are coming into town for a four game series.