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.

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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!

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The Chicago Cubs rocked the Cincinnati Reds by the score of 12-3 on Wednesday night.  The Cubs rocked Reds starting pithcer Josh Fogg early and often and also had some luck off of their bullpen.

Geovany Soto led the Cubs with three RBI, Kosuke Fukudome and Mark DeRosa both had two RBI.  Mike Fontenot, Derrek Lee, Reed Johnson, and and Carlos Zambrano all had one RBI each.  Zambrabo had a hell of a day at the plate as he went 3-4 including hits from both sides of the plate.

Zambrano did pick up the win as he pitched seven innings.  He did give up eight hits and two earned runs but pitched well enough to pick up the victory.  Kevin Hart pitched the final two innings of the game and allowed one earned run on a Adam Dunn home run.

Good win for the Cubs as they continue to play good baseball.

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The Chicago Cubs defeated the Cincinnati Reds in Dusty Baker’s return to Chicago by the score of 9-5 on Tuesday evening.  The Cubs used three long balls by Derrek Lee, Mark DeRosa, and Ryan Theriot to get by the Reds.  The wind was blowing out and the Cubs sure took advantage of it.

Lee and Derosa both finished with three RBI while Theriot had two RBI.  Aramis Ramirez also had one RBI in the game.  I just have to laugh everytime Aramis is at the plate, the guy just swings for the fences everytime, and I’ll predict that he hurts himself sometime this year swinging the bat the way he is swinginig right now.

Ryan Dempster picked up the win for the Cubs even though he didn’t pitch like he is capable of.  He was a little wild but kept the score close and ended up picking up the win as he pitched six innings of four run baseball.  Carlos Marmol, Michael Wuertz, and Kerry Wood and seen in action to close the game out.  Wuertz sucked it up, Marmol was able to get out of a bases loaded jam, and Wood looked great.

Alfonso Soriano was placed on the disabled list with a calf injury and Eric Patterson has been called up to take his spot on the roster.  Most Cubs fans thought it would be Matt Murton getting called up, but for some reason Jim Hendry choose Eric Patterson.

The Chicago Cubs blew a 7-0 lead and then went onto beat the Pittsburgh Pirates in 12 innings by the score of 10-8.  It was a sloppy game played by both teams.  From errors, to walked batters, it seemed like the game would never get over.  Finally the Cubs pushed across two runs in the 12th inning to pick up the win.

Jon Leiber pitching in relief picked up his first win of the season.  Carlos Marmol pitched the 12th inning and picked up his first save of the season.  Kerry Wood wasn’t planned to be used today, and that was why Marmol pitched the 12th inning.

At the plate for the Cubs, Kosuke Fukudome went 3-5 with an RBI, Geovany Soto was 3-7 with two RBI, Aramis Ramirez also had two RBI, and Ronny Cedeno had a bases loaded double that scored three runs for his only hit of the game.  Mark DeRosa was the only other Cub to record an RBI.

It was dissapointing to see the Cubs blow the big lead, but that is what happens when you walk batters and have three errors in the game.  With the off day tomorrow, hopefully they will take some groundballs and get some work in on the defensive side of the ball.

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It was an up and down day at Wrigley Field for the Chicago Cubs and their fans, but in the end they were the one that left happy as the Cubs defeated the Astros 9-7.

Derrek Lee and Kosuke Fukudome led the Cubs during their comback as Lee went 4-4 with two RBI’s and falling just shy of the cycle by missing the triple.  Fukudome hit the game winning runs in with a double in the 7th inning that scored two runs for the Cubs.  Mark DeRosa followed with another double that score Fukudome to add an insurance run.

Jason Marquis was the Cubs start and he sucked it up.   No wonder why so many Cubs fans wanted him traded or even released.  The Cubs might look at pitching Sean Marshall in Marquis spot next time, because Marquis SUCKS!

Kevin Hart picked up the win in relief, and Kerry Wood picked up his second save of the season.

Two big mistakes by the Chicago Cubs in the 8th inning proved to be too much for them to overcome.  An error to lead off the inning my Mark DeRosa, and then a misplay in left field by Alfonso Soriano allowed the Astros to score two runs in the 8th inning and go on for the the 4-3 win.

The team isn’t hitting the ball that much, so they can’t be making these kind of mistakes on the defensive side of the ball.  They need to make these easy plays that are routine.

On the offensive side, the Cubs struggled for the most part. Geovany Soto did have a two RBI single in the 7th inning and Mark DeRosa hit a solo homerun in the 9th inning.  If the Cubs want to win these games however, they need to score some runs earlier in the ballgame and get into the opposing teams bullpen sooner.

Starting pitcher Rich Hill pitched pretty good for the most part on Friday.  Hill did make a  mistake with two outs in the 4th inning when he walked a batter and then gave up a homerun.  All Hill needs to do is finish off batters, and he would be a very good pitcher.  I look for him to have a good outing in his next performance.

The Cubs record is now 1-3 and will play the Houston Astros again on Saturday.

The Chicago Cubs have finally won a game in 2008!  The Cubs defeated the Brewers by the score of 6-3 on Thursday afternoon as they salvaged one game out of a three series.

Starting pitcher Ryan Dempster pitched a lot better the most fans expected.  Dempster piched six innings while only allowing three hits and one earned run.  He had a bad first inning where the Brewers scored two runs, but after that he settled down and pitched a pretty good game.

Carlos Marmol and Kerry Wood came in and closed the door on the Brewers in the 7th, 8th, and 9th innings.  Wood picked up his first save for the Cubs as well.  That sure was a great sight seeing Marmol and Wood blow through the Brewers the last three innings.

At the plate for the Cubs, Aramis Ramirez hit his first homerun of the season and Alfonso Soriano collected two RBI’s.   Ryan Theriot, Mark DeRosa, and Geovany Soto each had a RBI for the Cubs as well.

The Cubs will now play the Houston Astros.  Another divisional series, and hopefully the Cubs can win a couple of games and stay near the top of the divison.

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Cubs second basemen / utility player Mark DeRosa was hospitalized on Saturday with an irregular heartbeat.  DeRosa was fielding groundballs at second base when he became short of breath and after being checked out by the trainer, he was taken off the field on a stretcher even though he was sitting up.

DeRosa stayed Saturday night in the hospital while tests were being run, and then was released on Sunday.  He shouldn’t miss much time with team, and will probably be back later in the week but will be monitored very closely.

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