The Chicago Cubs won their eighth straight game on the road as they pounded out a 11-7 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Thursday night. The Cubs once again scored a ton of runs and got to the Braves bullpen early in the ballgame. When you knock the opposing teams pitchers out of the game before the fifth inning three games in a row, good things are going to happen and that is exactly what happened for the Cubs as they swept the Braves.

Ted Lilly didn’t have his best stuff as he was charged with four runs but it was good enough to get the win and improve to 12-6 on the year. Bob Howy had some trouble as he allowed a three run home run that got the Braves back within four runs. Carlos Marmol and Kerry Wood then finished up the Braves in the final two innings.

Aramis Ramirez hit a three run home run to lead the Cubbies at the plate with three rbi. Alfonso Soriano added a two run shot of his own as well. Geovany Soto had another great game at the plate as he had three walks and two rbi. Mark DeRosa, Reed Johnson, Daryle Ward, and Ryan Theriot all had one rbi each as well.

The Cubbies will try to make it nine in a row on the road Friday night as they take on the Florida Marlins. Big Z will be taking the mound for the Cubs.

Cubs Baseball Blog

Yeah, it has been a while since this Cubs blog as been updated.  Murphy was doing a great job with his game recaps and I hope he will continue writing as he does a very good job.  Right now I will be trying to cover the games during the week atleast.

Right now I’ll just give you a short recap of game one of the double header against the Braves.  The Cubs bats were swinging and knocking in runs as they crushed the Braves 10-2.  Jason Marquis tossed 5 1/3 innings to pick up the win.  Marquis didn’t pitch too badly as he gave up six hits and two runs, but his pitch count really got up there and that is why he only lasted a little over five innings.  Marquis had to work out of jams quite a few times and that is why the pitchcount was so high.

Neal Cotts, Jeff Samardzija, and Bob Howry all seen action out of the bullpen.  All three pitched great and allowed the team to save Kerry Wood and Carlos Marmol for the second game which will kick off at 6 p.m. central time.

Geovany Soto led the offense by going 3-4 with four rbi.  Soto had a two run double in the second inning and then added a two run home run in the ninth inning.  I would expect to see Soto sit out the second game and Henry Blanco to get the start.  Jim Edmonds also had a good game at the plate as he had three rbi in the game.  Aramis Ramirez, Mark DeRosa, and Ryan Theriot all added one rbi each as well.

Let’s go get game two and hopefully see a Brewers loss later tonight. GO CUBS!

Cubs Baseball

Cub’s fans got exactly what they expected out of newly acquired pitcher, Rich Harden, but it would take an 11^th inning RBI single from Reed Johnson to secure the Cubs second straight victory.  Harden was effective through 5 1/3^rd innings giving up five hits while striking out ten batters and giving up no runs.  It was the third time in his career that Harden had double-digit strikeout totals and the second this year.  He would leave to a standing ovation in the 5^th inning with a smile on his face that was shared throughout the electric crowd on hand at Wrigley. 

The Cubs would give Harden plenty of run support early led by Jim Edmonds 2-run homer in the 3^rd and then a two-run double in the 4^th.  He would finish the day 2-4 with four RBI’s and 2 runs.  The Cubs would then take a 7-0 lead into the 8^th inning before Giant’s catcher, Bengie Molina, doubled in Ray Durham for the Giant’s first run.  They would score once more to make it 7-2 heading into the 9^th inning. 

In the 9^th, with a five run lead, Lou Piniella gave the ball to Carlos Marmol, who has struggled of late.  After a lead-off double to Giant’s shortstop, Ivan Ochoa, things would begin to unravel for Marmol.  After another single and two Cub’s misplays in the infield, the game was quickly tied 7-7.  Cub’s closer, Kerry Wood was unavailable in the game due to a blister so Lou went with Sean Marshall in the 10^th.  Marshall pitched two solid innings before leading off with a single in the 11^th.  Then, with Mark DeRosa at 2^nd and Mike Fontenot at 1^st, Reed Johnson hit a one out, game-winning single which scored Derosa on a very close call at home plate. 

Expect the presence of broomsticks in Wrigley for the series closer Sunday afternoon as the Cubs look for the sweep.  They will be facing Giant’s ace and All-Star, Tim Lincecum (10-2), who has looked like a Cy Young winner despite pitching for a team below .500.  The Cubs will bring Ryan Dempster to mound who has yet to lose in Wrigley Field this season.

Special Note….  Cubs shortstop, Ryan Theriot, went 3-4 on Saturday extending his hitting streak to nine games and upping his batting average to .322 on the year.

The Chicago Cubs were finally able to win a road game as they beat the San Francisco Giants 9-2 on a cold night out in San Francisco.  Mark DeRosa had a huge night at the plate and Ted Lilly pitched into the ninth inning to really save the Cubs bullpen.  It was a great night for pretty much everyone on the Cubs roster.

DeRosa hit a two run home run in the fifth inning, and then added a grand slam in the eighth inning to really blow the game wide open for the Cubs.  DeRosa finished 3-4 with six rbi and two home runs in the game while he played third base.  Aramis Ramirez will be missing the entire Giants series as he has to take care of some personal matters down in the Dominican Republic.

Matt Murton had two rbi and Kosuke Fukudome chipped in with one rbi as well for the Cubs.  The Cubs could have made the score a lot worse, but they left 24 runners on base in the game.

Lilly pitched great in the game.  He pitched into the ninth inning until he ran into some trouble in the ninth inning when he left the game with two runners on.  Kerry Wood was then brought into the game and he gave up a double to Rich Aurilia that scored two runs.  Both of the runs were charged to Lilly in the game.  Wood was then finally able to close out the Giants.  Lilly is now 9-5 on the season after throwing his best game of the season.

The Cubs will try to make it two in a row on Tuesday night as Jason Marquis takes the mound against Matt Cain.

Cubs Blog

Ted Lilly pitched seven innings despite giving up two two-run home runs to Jay Payton and the Chicago Cubs beat the Baltimore Orioles by the score of 7-4.  Now the series is tied at 1-1 and the two teams will play the rubber game on Thursday afternoon to see who wins the series.

Lilly improved to 8-5 with the victory.  He didn’t throw the ball that great but pitched well enough to keep the Cubs in the game.  Lilly gave up the two home runs to Jay Payton but those were the only hits that really caused any damage.  Carlos Marmol struck out his final two batters in the eighth inning and then closer Kerry Wood struck out all three batters he faced in the ninth inning to record his 20th save of the season.

At the plate Geovany Soto had a two run double and a rbi single to lead the Cubbies with three rbi.  Jim Edmonds also had two rbi including a solo home run.  Aramis Ramirez and Mark DeRosa both had rbi singles in the first inning of the game as well.  It was awesome to see the Cubs score six runs in the first two innings of the game as that put the Orioles in a big hole that they just weren’t able to come out of.

Jason Marquis will take the mound for the Cubs on Thursday as they try to win the series against the Orioles.  Cubs Blogging

Kosuke Fukudome delivered the game winning rbi single for the Chicago Cubs in the ninth inning as the Cubs defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers by the score of 5-4.  Fukudome also got the Cubs scoring started in the second inning when he hit a solo home run which was his fourth of the season.

Besides getting two rbi from Fukudome, Ryan Theriot, Aramis Ramirez, and Mark DeRosa all had one rbi in the game.  DeRosa’s rbi came on a solo home run in the fourth inning.  The Cubs should have done more damage in the game but they left 20 runners on base.

Starting pitcher Ryan Dempster didn’t have his best stuff going and ended up getting a no decision in the game.  He was pulled after just 5 1/3 innings as he gave up five hits and three runs.  One of those hits however was a Jeff Kent solo home run.

Neal Cotts and Carlos Marmol got the Cubs into the eighth inning where Bob Howry gave up the lead as Kent hit his second solo home run of the game.  Howry would get lucky however as Fukudome picked him up and scored a run in the top of the ninth inning, and then Kerry Wood came in to record his 17th save of the season.  Wood is really racking up the save as of late!

The Cubs will continue playing the Dodgers through the weekend.  Cubs Blog

The Chicago Cubs used the long ball to win their ninth straight game as they beat the San Diego Padres 9-6 at Petco Park.  Petco is not a park where you usually see home runs hits, but the Cubs hit three long balls in the game.

Alfonso Soriano had a three run shot in the eighth inning, Mark DeRosa hit a two run shot in the fifth inning, and earlier in the fifth inning Geovany Soto connected for his tenth home run as he went deep to center field.  Soto would have had another home run in the game as well in any other ball park but it was caughty right at the wall in deep center field.

Soriano led the Cubs with three rbi while DeRosa had two rbi.  Soto, Ryan Theriot, Derrek Lee, and Aramis Ramirez all had one rbi in the game.

On the mound it was Jason Marquis pitching five innings and picking up the win.  Marquis sure didn’t have his best stuff, and I think he was glad he was pitching in the big park as he got hit kind of hard.  Four hits and three runs were charged to Marquis as he improved his record to 3-3.

The Cubs used six relief pitchers for the final four innings of the game as Piniella is trying to not have each pitcher throw to many pitchers as they have been used a lot lately.  Kevin Hart who had just been called up threw the worst as he gave up two hits and three runs while walking two.  Hopefully it was just a case of nerves after being called back up to the big league team.

Michael Wuertz, Scott Eyre, Neal Cotts, Bob Howry, and Kerry Wood all seen action out of the bullpen.  Wood recorded his 16th save of the season in the game.  It would be great to see the Cubs starting throw a complete game or atleast seven or eight innings so the bullpen can get some rest…

As we mentioned Kevin Hart was called up and Micah Hoffpauir was sent down.  It was simply the case of the Cubs needing a fresh arm in the bullpen. Hoffpauir will more then likely be called up when the Cubs travel to Toronto.

Cubs Blog

The Chicago Cubs capitalized on a error by the San Diego Padres as they opened up the flood gates and put up 12 runs on the board as they beat the Padres 12-3.  Great win for the Cubs as they are off to a 4-0 start on their current homestand and have moved a game up in the division on the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Cubs put up six runs in the fifth inning, and then another five runs in the sixth inning as they pretty much put the nail in the coffin for the Padres.  Alfonso Soriano had a two run home run, Geovany Soto and Mark DeRosa also both had two rbi in the game.  Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez, Kosuke Fukudome, and Reed Johnson all had one rbi in the game.

Carlos Zambrano picked up his sixth win of the season as he improved his record to 6-1 with the win.  Zambrano tossed seven innings and gave up six hits and three runs.  Zambrano’s pitch count was down, but with that big of lead Lou Piniella decided to take him out after seven innings.

Scott Eyre and Bob Howry closed out the game after Zambrano excited.

The Cubs are playing good ball once again, and they will try to keep it up tomorrow when they play another night game against the Padres.  Cubs Blog

The Chicago Cubs looked like they were going to go on for a nice win against the Milwaukee Brewers but the Brewers had other ideas.  Kerry Wood gave up three runs in the ninth inning as the Brewers came back to beat the Cubs 4-3.  With the loss, the Cubs are now a half game out of first place in the division.  They had a bad week of baseball that is for sure.

Wood took the loss in the game and is now 2-1 on the season.  Carlos Zambrano had been in line to pick up his fifth win of the season but got the no decision after Wood blew the game.

Zambrano went deep for the Cubs to put them on the board in the fourth inning.  Mark DeRosa and Geovany Soto both had a RBI each as well.

The Cubs now have to travel to St. Louis and take on the Cardinals who are in first place in the division.  It will be intersting to see how the Cubs come out and play this weekend against the Cardinals.

Cubs Blog

The Chicago Cubs were swinging some hot bats once again as they beat up on the New York Mets by the score of 8-1.  With the win on Tuesday, the Cubs swept the Mets in the short two game series, and remained in first place of the central division.

Ronny Cedeno led the Cubs at the plate going 2-5 with a grand slam and an RBI double.  Cedeno finished the day with five RBI and already has 13 on the season.  Reed Johnson finished with two RBI and Mark DeRosa had one RBI.  Up and down the lineup, the Cubs are hitting the ball and being patient at the plate.

Another Cubs player that had a great day at the plate was Kosuke Fukudome who reached base all five times.  Fukudome had three hits and two walks.

Ted Lilly was finally able to pick up a win this season.  He pitched six innings and gave up four hits and only one run.  Great outing for Lilly, hopefully that momentum will carry over and he will go on a nice winning streak.

Bob Howry, Carlos Marmol, and Kevin Hart pitched the final three innings of the game without allowing a run.

The Cubs finished the homestand with a 7-1 record!

Cubs Blog