It was another great game for the Cubs offense as they hammered Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Ben Sheets and went on to beat the Brew Crew by the score of 7-1.  The Cubs offense had 15 hits and scored seven runs while the Brewers struggled against Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano and did not score a run until the ninth inning.

Every Cubs batter had atleast one hit as everyone contributed on Tuesday night.  The team had seven straight hits to open the sixth inning and they blew the game open by sending ten batters to the plate and scoring five runs in the inning.

Kosuke Fukdome and Mark DeRosa led the team with two rbi each.  Aramis Ramirez went 4-5 with three doubles and also had one rbi.  Alfonso Soriano and Carlos Zambrano had the other two rbi for the team.  It was awesome to see so much production out of the lineup.  A-Ram was locked in at the plate all night long and had some great swings which was nice to see as well.

Big Z threw eight scoreless innings while striking out a season high nine batters to get the win.  Zambrano is now 12-4 on the year with a 2.80 era.  Big Z did show some emotion in the game when he popped up a sac bunt attempt and then broke the bat over his leg.  Atleast he wasn’t getting to hot headed out there on the mound.

Jeff Samardzija came in and pitched the ninth inning and gave up one run.  He was mostly throwing fastballs and just letting the Brewers hit it.  I don’t have a problem with that one run scoring because the Cubs had such a big lead and with a big lead all you can ask the pitcher to do was throw strikes and that was what he was doing.

The Cubs are now up three games on the Brewers and and four games on the Cardinals in the division.  Let’s all sit back and hopefully watch another Cubs victory over the Brewers on Wednesday night!

Wahoo, two games in a row that the Cubs have won!  The Cubs defeated the Florida Marlins 6-3 on Thursday night as the two teams opened up a four game series at Wrigley Field.  Things got a little dicey late in the game but the Cubs prevailed and went onto double up the fish.

The Cubs got out of a bases loaded jam in the 8th inning with zero outs by only giving up one run.  Things could have been a lot different had Mark DeRosa not made a spectacular diving catch on a ball for the second out of the inning.  The Cubs used four of their six relief pitchers in the inning to get out of the jam.  Sean Marshall and Scott Eyre were the only relief pitchers to not see action in the 8th inning.

Carlos Zambrano picked up the win as he pitched seven innings.  Big Z gave up six hits and two runs while striking out six batters.  He made one mistake to Hanley Ramirez who hit a two run home run in the 3rd inning.  Other then that, Zambrano was pretty good.

Carlos Marmol recorded the final out in the 8th inning, and then had some troubles in the 9th as he allowed the first two runners on base without recording an out.  He then struck out Hanley Ramirez for the first out and then got Alfredo Amezaga to ground out to Marmol who got the out at second base.  With runners on the corners, Jorge Cantu walked to load the bases and bring up Wes Helms.  Helms then struckout to end the ballgame.

Ronny Cedeno and Henry Blanco both hit solo home runs in the game for the Cubs.  Zambrano had a rbi double that really got the Cubs rally going in the 5th inning.  Derrek Lee then walked with the bases loaded to score another run and Aramis Ramirez delivered a double that scored two more runs.  Lee was thrown out at home plate on the Ramirez double.

Kerry Wood was finally put on the disabled list as the team had been hinting at it for the past few days.  The blister on his throwing hand is getting better but he will need some side sessions to get back into game shape.  One name that is being thrown out there to be called up is Jeff Samardzija.  I think it will either be Samardzija or the Cubs will recall Michael Wuertz.  What does everyone else think?

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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The Chicago Cubs once again lost down in Arizona as they fell to the Diamondbacks by the score of 9-2 on Tuesday night.  Once again the offense struggled at the plate as they just can’t get any runs across the plate.  The pitching was terrible as well in the late innings so the team really deserved to have their butts kicked like they did.

Jason Marquis started the game for the Cubs and pitched six innings.  Marquis gave up five hits and three runs as he took the loss and is now 6-6 on the year.  Things got bad once Marquis left however as Sean Marshall gave up three hits and two runs while only recording two outs in the 7th inning.  Chad Gaudin came in to get Mark Reynolds for the final out of the 7th inning.  In the 8th inning, Kevin Hart allowed four more runs (two were earned) to score on only two hits.  The big hit was a double by Conor Jackson.  Neal Cotts came in and finally got the Cubs out of that inning by striking out Miguel Montero.

As for the offense, or we should say crappy offense, they struckout nine times and left 19 runners on base while scoring only two runs.  Mike Fontenot had a rbi triple that scored Mark DeRosa in the 4th inning and then Daryle Ward hit a solo home run in the 8th inning for the Cubs second and final run.  The middle of the lineup hurt the Cubs once again as Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez, and Jim Edmonds went a combined 0-10 in the game.  All three of those players are in big slumps.  Lee can’t seem to stop hitting into double plays and could probably use a day off.  I say Piniella should sit Ramirez and Lee for Wednesday’s game and let them get a little bit of rest.

One bright spot is that Alfonso Soriano might be back in the lineup for the game on Wednesday.  That might be exactly what the Cubs need to get going.  Let’s all hope so anyways.

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!

Carlos Zambrano made one mistake to Adam Dunn in the second inning but after that he shut down the next 20 batters and the Chicago Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds 5-1.  Zambrano was dealing as he picked up his 10th win of the season.

There was a little trouble in the ninth inning for Carlos Marmol who gave up a infield single and then walked the next two batters to load the bases.  Lou Piniella then brought in closer Kerry Wood who got Brandon Phillips to pop up to Derrek Lee to end the game.  Only giving up two hits is awesome and better yet the Cubs picked up another victory.

Aramis Ramirez got back on track going 2-3 with a solo home run and rbi double to finish the game with two rbi.  Kosuke Fukudome and Lee both had a rbi in the game as well.  The other run for the Cubs that was unearned came in the second inning when Mark DeRosa scored on an error by the Reds shortstop.

It was a great win because the Cardinals and Brewers both lost as well.  The Cubs wll turn right around and play the Reds once again on Thursday afternoon as Ted Lilly takes the mound for the Cubs.

GO CUBS GO! 

The Chicago Cubs finished up a three game series with the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday with a 7-1 victory.  The Cubs took two out of three games from the Cardinals in St. Louis and extended their lead to 3.5 games over the Cardinals and Brewers.  Yeah, if Wood wouldn’t have blown the game on Saturday, the Cubs would have swept but I’ll take two out of three games on the road any time against the Cardinals.

Aramis Ramirez, Derrek Lee, Reed Johnson, and Geovany Soto all had good games on Sunday for the Cubs.  Ramirez finished the game with three rbi, while Lee, Soto, and Mark DeRosa all had one rbi.  Eveyone at the plate did a pretty good job over the weekend and that was really nice to see.

Sean Marshall earned his first victory of the season and is now 1-2.  Marshall tossed six innings while giving up six hits and one run.  It was also awesome to see Carlos Marmol throw a scoreless inning in the eighth as he got back on track and threw some strikes.

The Cubs are now off on Monday and will pick things back up on Tuesday when they start a series with the Cincinnati Reds at Wrigley Field.  Will the Cubs stay hot in Chicago and extend their lead over the Cardinals and Brewers?

The Chicago Cubs lost 8-3 to the San Francisco Giants on Thursday as the two teams split a four game series out in San Francisco.  The Cubs were right in the game until the the seventh inning when Carlos Marmol gave up a three run home run to Rich Aurilia.  Something is wrong with Marmol like we have blogged about before.  I just hope the kid can make it to the all stat break and get a much needed rest.  He needs rest for the body and the mind I’m afraid.

Sean Gallagher had one bad inning where he gave up four runs.  He was only charged with three runs however as one of the runs scored unearned due to a Cubs error.  Gallagher is now 3-4 and could be moved to the bullpen soon.

Jose Ascanio gave up two runs while Jon Lieber gave up one run.  The Cubs pitchers just didn’t have it going on the mound.  Hopefully they weren’t thinking ahead to the big weekend series with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Mark DeRosa had two rbi to lead the Cubs at the plate. DeRosa doubled in the sixth inning to score Derrek Lee and Jim Edmonds.  Lee had the Cubs first rbi in the first inning when he scored Reed Johnson.  It was nice to see Johnson make his return to the lineup as he went 1-3.

To make room for Johnson on the roster, the Cubs sent Eric Patterson back down to Triple A Iowa.

I hope everyone has a fun and safe July 4th tomorrow and we can all sit down and watch the Cubs beat the Cardinals!

The Chicago Cubs got a great pitching performance out of Ted Lilly who threw his best game of the year and then a great performance out of Mark DeRosa at the plate as they beat the San Francisco Giants by the score of 9-2.  It was a great win for the Cubs who really kept the pressure on the Giants all game long with runners getting on base.  The Cubs could have made the score a lot worse then it was in my opinion but they left 24 runners on base against Barry Zito and the Giants bullpen.

Lilly pitched into the ninth inning until he ran into some problems and the Cubs had to call on Kerry Wood.  Wood then gave up a double that scored two runs (both runs were charged to Lilly), and walked a batter before finally ended the game with a fly out to center field.  Lilly improved to 9-5 with the victory as he threw the ball very good.

DeRosa was filling in for some big shoes at third base and he filled those shoes with out any problems.  DeRosa was playing third base for Aramis Ramirez who will miss the Giants series as he takes care of an emergency down in the Dominican Republic.  DeRosa hit a two run home run in the fifth inning that traveled over 410 feet and then added a grand slam in the eighth inning to really blow the game wide open.  DeRosa finished with six rbi in the game and was the Cubs MVP at the plate.

Matt Murton got the start out in left field and went 2-4 with a two run double in the third inning.  I’d like to see Murton get some more playing time out there and I know a lot of other Cubs fans do as well.  Kosuke Fukudome also added a rbi single in the game for the Cubs.  Besides leaving 24 runners on base, the Cubs did a really job at the plate on Monday night.

Jason Marquis will now take the mound on Tuesday night as the Cubs try to win their second straight road game.  He will face off against Matt Cain who will pitch for the Giants.

The Chicago White Sox returned the favor to the Chicago Cubs as they south siders pulled away late to beat the Cubs 5-1 and sweep the Cubs in the three game series.  It wasn’t how I pictured the weekend going for the Cubs, but the White Sox bullpen held up all weekend and the Cubs bullpen did not.

Sunday night we say manager Lou Piniella get thrown out of the game after arguing a check swing call that went against the Cubs in the bottom of the second inning.  Piniella rushed out of the dugout towards the first base dugout and was quickly told to stop and get back in the dugout and as he was walking back was thrown out of the game by the home play umpire.  Lou got some words in with him as well.  From what I understood during the telecast last night, both the first base and home plate umpires were called up from the minor leagues for the series.

Sean Marshall pitched pretty good but took the loss and is now 0-2 on the season.  Marshall gave up two home runs, five hits, and three runs over seven innings of action.  Jose Ascanio gave up another home run (two run shot) in the eighth inning as the Jim Thome took him deep to extend the White Sox lead by 4.

The Cubs had chances to score runs in the game but once again failed to come up with the big hit with runners in scoring position.  Only one run for this Cubs offense is pretty bad.  Ronny Cedeno provided the one rbi for the Cubs when he singled in the seventh inning and Mark DeRosa scored.  Ryan Theriot, Derrek Lee, and Aramis Ramirez went a combined 0-11 in the game.

The Cubs boarded a plane right after the game and flew out to California where they will begin a series with the San Francisco Giants on Monday night. Yay more night games on the West coast.  I really hate these late games.