The Chicago Cubs and Tampa Bay Rays played their first game against each other ever and it was the Rays taking the 1-0 series lead with a 3-2 victory on Tuesday night.  The Cubs offense struggled until the late innings when they attempted a comeback but they still came up short by one run.

Reed Johnson almost tied the game in the ninth inning when he bunted with Kosuke Fukudome on third base with two outs in the inning.  Johnson laid down a very good bunt however Evan Longoria was able to bare hand the ball and make a bouncing throw to first base where Willy Aybar was able to dig it and hold on for the third out.

Earlier in the ninth inning Mark DeRosa scored on a passed ball.  DeRosa singled with one out in the ninth inning and then moved to third base on a double by pitch hitter Fukudome.  Fukudome also had a chance to score on a passed ball but he choose to stay at third base as the ball bounced to the Rays catcher pretty quickly.

Neal Cotts took the loss for the Cubs and is now 0-1 on the season.  Cotts gave up a home run to Longoria and then a rbi single to Eric Hinske in the seventh inning.  Starting pitcher Ryan Dempster pitched the first five innings for the Cubs.  Dempster gave up six hits but only one run which came on a home run.

The Cubbies will try to get back on track on Wednesday as Big Z takes the mounds.  I like the Cubs chances at evening the series at 1-1.  What do you all think?

Well I’m sure all the Cubs fans out there have heard that Alfonso Soriano was hit by a pitch in last nights game against the Atlanta Braves and will be out the disabled list for a while.  Soriano broke a finger on his left hand, and then finger will be in a splint for the next three weeks atleast.  Expect Soriano to be out until around August.

So what will the Cubs do now?  Start Mark DeRosa in left field and give Mike Fontenot that majority of the starts at second base?  What about giving Ronny Cedeno some time at second base?  Micah Hoffpauir looks to be the guy that will get called up to take Soriano’s spot on the roster and he can see some time at left field as well as first base and DH in the upcoming interleage matchups.

Another name to look out for would be Eric Patterson.  We could see Patterson being called up along with Hoffpauir and a reliver sent back down to the minor leagues as the Cubs will need an extra batagainst the Toronto Blue Jays this weekend.

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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The Chicago Cubs salvaged a split in the four game series with the Los Angeles Dodgers as they were able to come away with a 3-1 victory on Sunday night. Mark DeRosa went 3-4 with two rbi and Jason Marquis tosseed 6 1/3 while only giving up three base hits.

DeRosa got the scoring started for the Cubs with a solo home run in the first inning and then had a rbi single in the fifth inning.  Marquis pitched very good which was actually kind of suprising.  Marquis improved to 4-3 with the victory.  Kerry Wood notched his 18th save has he was lights out in the ninth inning and shut the Dodgers down 1-2-3.

Good road trip for the Cubs even though they struggled through most of it.  Coming away with four wins and three losses is decent on the road.  Now they will head back to Chicago to take on the Atlanta Braves in a three game series on Tuesday.

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…

Lol, another come from behind win for the Chicago Cubs as they battled back from a 8-0 deficit to beat the Colorado Rockies by the score of 10-9.  Jim Edmonds, Henry Blanco, and Mark DeRosa came up big in the sixth and seventh innings for the Cubs as they won their fifth straight game.

Edmonds finally did something good at the plate for the Cubs as he went 3-4 with three rbi.  One of Edmonds hits was a solo home run in the sixth inning.  Blanco and DeRosa both had two run home runs in the seventh inning to finally give the Cubs a lead in the game.  Kosuke Fukudome also went 3-2 with a two run home run.

On the mound for the Cubs, starting pitcher Ted Lilly had a dissapointing game as he only lasted eight innings.  Lilly gave up eight hits, seven runs (four earned) on the game.  Lilly should have been better against the Rockies, it was just a bad outing for him.  Jon Lieber came in and pitched  3 2/3 innings and gave up five hits and two more runs.

Scott Eyre, Carlos Marmol, and Kerry Wood finished up the game.  Marmol struckout the side in the eighth inning and then Wood recorded his 13th save of the season.  Eyre recorded the win and is now 2-0.

Another comeback win for the Cubs, lately it has taken them five or six innings to get going but then they explode out of no where.  A win is a win, not matter how you get it I suppose!

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Ryan Dempster gave up a grand slam to Hunter Pence and the Houston Astros went on to beat the Chicago Cubs 4-2 on Tuesday night.  That one pitch that barely got over the fence as the only mistake for Dempster on the mound as he pitched six innings.  Dempster is now 5-2 on the season.

One nice things to see after Dempster was taken out of the game was watching Jose Ascanio throw two scoreless innings.  He did have two walks, but showed off his lively arm and how well he can pitch out of the bullepn.  If you hadn’t heard, Ascanio was called up after Chad Fox was moved to the disabled list.

Aramis Ramirez was the only Cubs player to record a rbi in the game.  Ramirez hit a moon shot in the fourth inning for a two run home run.  Derrek Lee had three hits while Mark DeRosa had two hits.  It will be interesting to see if Lee sits tomorrow like Lou Piniella would like do even though Lee wants to play.  One player that I thnk could use another day off is Kosuke Fukudome as he went 0-4 on the night.

The Cubs will try to win the series when they play the Astros on Wednesday.  It will be Sean Gallagher going against Shawn Chacon.

Alfonso Soriano once again led off the bottom of the first inning with a home run as he continues to swing a very hot bad. Soriano also hit a three run shot in the second inning as the Chicago Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-4 to open up the three game weekend series.

Soriano led the Cubs with four rbi in the game as he has raised his average up to .265 after starting the season off slowly and spending 15 days on the disabled list.  It is awsome to see him swinging the bat the way he is right now even though he is still swinging that the first pitch every at bat and watching every flyball he hits like it is a home run.

Geovany Soto and Mark DeRosa both hit home runs for the Cubs as well as they both hit solo shots.  Aramis Ramirez also had one rbi as he had a rbi groundout in the first inning.

Sean Gallagher picked up the win in and his now 1-0 on the season.  Gallagher tossed six innings and allowed four hits and three runs.  Gallagher could have stayed in the game longer but he started getting a little wild and Lou Piniella didn’t want to take any chances with the young pitcher.  I would exptec that Gallagher would get atleast two more starts and many more if he continues to throw the ball like he did on Friday.

Bob Howry came in after Gallagher left the game and had some trouble.  Howry actually let the Pirates back in the game as he gave up three hits and three runs.  Two of those three hits were home runs.  Kerry Wood was called upon in the ninth inning to close out the game.  Wood didn’t have any problems as he picked up his ninth save of the game.  I’d expect Wood to get Saturday off as he has pitched in the last three game.

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The Chicago Cubs four game win streak is no more as they were beaten by the San Diego Padres on Tuesday night.  Jason Marquis gave up four runs in the fourth inning and the Padres beat the Cubs 4-3 on a rainy night at Wrigley Field.

Now comes the question once again if Marquis will make his next start.  Marquis seems to pitch a few good innings but then give up three or four runs in the next inning.  You can’t do that if you want to keep your team in the game.  Marquis has struggled pretty much all season long and he now has a 1-3 record with a 5.26 era on the season.

I would like to give some props to Michael Wuertz though.  Wuertz had a great effort tonight as he pitched the final three innings of the game and only allowed one hit.  That is a great job, and he did everything he had to do to keep the Cubs in the game.

The offense just wasn’t able to come back and score a run late in the game.  Hell, they didn’t score a run after the second inning of the game.  Alfonso Soriano got the Cubs on track with a lead off home run which was his fifth of the season.  Reed Johnson then had a two run double to deep right-center field that scored Geovany Soto and Mark DeRosa.

Look for the Cubs to have some trouble tomorrow night as well as they have to face off against Jake Peavy.  Ted Lilly will take the mound for the Cubs as they hope to start another winning streak.