The Chicago Cubs played a piss poor game on Thursday as they lost to the Baltimore Orioles by the score of 11-4.  The Cubs pitching straff threw the ball terribly as they gave up 11 runs.  I can’t but much fault on the offense for losing this game, it all goes on the pitching staff.

Jason Marquis took the loss and is now 6-4 on the season.  Marquis was hammered for seven runs in only four innings of action.  It sucked to see Marquis throw the ball so badly as he was going for his fifth straight win.  The relief pitchers really weren’t much better than Marquis as Jon Lieber gave up a run, Scott Eyre two runs, and Michael Wuertz one run.  Bob Howry and Neal Cotts each pitched an inning as well but they did not give up any runs.

The Cubs got a little rally going in the sixth inning when they scored three runs.  Henry Blanco, Daryle Ward, and Eric Patterson all had rbi singles in sixth inning.  In the eighth inning, Patterson also added a rbi sac fly.

The Cubs will now go down to the south side and take on the White Sox in a weekend series at U.S. Cellular. Hopefully the Cubs can take two of three atleast against the White Sox.

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So that was the player Jim Hendry was trying to trade for all off season.  Brian Roberts led the Orioles with three hits and a rbi and as the Orioles defeated the Cubs 7-5 and snapped the Cubs 14 home game winnings streak.

The Cubs attempted a ninth inning rally and had the bases loaded with zero outs but Ronny Cedeno, Kosukue Fukudome, and Henry Blanco all struckout to end the game.  They were swinging at some very bad pitches for some reason.  You have to be more patient at the plate in that situation.

Jim Edmonds was the guy that got the Cubs back into the game as they were down 7-1 until he hit a three run home run in the seventh inning.  Aramis Ramirez then followed that with a two run single in the eighth inning to put the Cubs within striking distance but that was as close as they would get.  Fukudome did hit his sixth home run in the season as well.

Starting pitcher Sean Marshall struggled on the mound in the fourth and fifth innings as he only lasted 4 2/3 innings after giving up seven hits and four runs.  Marshall did strikeout seven batters but the fourt and fifth inning really hurt up.  Michael Wuertz wasn’t much better as he allowed two hits and three runs to score in only one inning of action.

The Cubs will now try to start another winning streak on Wednesday night.  Hopefully they can tie the series up at 1-1 with Ted Lilly on the mound.

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Carlos Zambrano was pretty wild on Wednesday night as the Chicago Cubs lost to the Tampa Bay Rays for the second straight night.  Big Z took the loss as the Cubs lost the game by the score of 5-3.

It was unsure if Zambrano just didn’t get settled in, or if he had some sort of arm problem.  He did leave the game after pitching 6 2/3 innings.  He tried to talk his way into staying in the game but that didn’t happen as Lou Piniella brough in Neal Cotts who ended up walking his only batter.

Michael Wuertz was then brought in to record the final out in the seventh inning and he also pitched the eighth inning without letting a run score.  It was  good job by Wuertz, but Cotts has been sucking it up and needs to be sent back down to the minors if you ask me.

Ryan Theriot had two rbi for the Cubs while Kosuke Fukudome had one rbi.  It should be noted that Fukudome will be the lead off man every game until Alfonso Soriano returns to the lineup.  Geovany Soto hit a solo home run to start the top of the ninth but the Cubs couldn’t get another run to tie the game and extend it into extra innings.

Jim Edmonds left the game in the bottom of the fourth inning with soreness in his left foot.

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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.

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The Chicago Cubs score two runs in the seventh inning and then three more in the eighth inning as they came from behind to beat the Colorado Rockies 8-4.  That is a great way to start a four game series against the Rockies!  Good teams find ways to win and that is just what the Cubs did on Thursday night.

Geovany Soto had the winning hit for the Cubs in the seventh inning when he hit a sac fly to right field and Ryan Theriot scored.  From there on, it was all Cubs as the scored three more times in the eighth inning.  It was awesome to see Micah Hoffpauir get a rbi in the eighth inning as well.

Alfonso Soriano led the Cubs with two rbi while a slew of players had one rbi each.  Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez, Kosuke Fukudome, Soto, Reed Johnson, and Hoffpauir all had one rbi in the game.

Jason Marquis pitched pretty good until the but ran into a tough jam in the sixth inning.  Marquis got a no decision after throwing 5 1/3 innings and allowing seven hits and three runs.  Neal Cotts came in and two runs score that were charged to Marquis.  Michael Wuertz also gave up a run out of the bullpen before Carlos Marmol and Kerry Wood finished off the Rockies in the eighth and ninth innings.

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Chicago Cubs catcher Geovany Soto hit a three run home run in the fourth inning to give the Cubs a 3-0 lead and then the Cubs went on to beat the Astros 7-2.  Soto’s home run was actually ruled an inside the park home run even though replays clearly showed that it should have been home run no matter what.  Soto hustled around the bases anyway and hit the first inside the home run for the Cubs since Derrek Lee did it against the Astros last season.

Aramis Ramirez also had a home run in the game as he hit a shot to left field in the ninth inning to score two runs.  It was about time to see Ramirez go deep as he has been in a home run slump lately.  Derrek Lee and Ryan Theriot both had an rbi in the game as well.

Ted Lilly pitched 5 1/3 innings to get the win.  Lilly is now 5-4 on the season.  Lilly gave up four hits and two runs while striking out six batters and walking two.  Jon Lieber tossed 1 2/3 inning of relief and only gave up one hit.  Michael Wuertz, Carlos Marmol, and Bob Howry all seen action as well in the game.

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The Chicago Cubs stuck it to the Pittsburgh Pirates with a 13-6 win on Sunday putting the Cubs at a pretty good start for the season with 12-6 record so far leading the National League Central standings.  The Cubs took over the game with 18 hits to generate 13 runs with runs in almost every inning of the game.

Ryan Dempster sealed his 3rd win of the year holding his perfect season of 3-0.  He pitched for five innings giving up five hits and three runs to be relieved by Bob Howry, Michael Wuertz, and Sean Marshall.  All three relievers in the game gave up one earned run each so that is something they are going to need to work on.

Aramis Ramirez hit in his fourth home run of the year as he knocked in four RBI in the game.  Ryan Theriot, Derrek Lee, and Matt Murton all had two RBI each.  Ronny Cedeno also had one RBI for the Cubs.

The Chicago Cubs will go up against the New York Mets starting Monday night at home.   Do you think they can stretch the winning streak to four games with Carlos Zambrano on the mound?

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The Chicago Cubs were not able to complete the sweep against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday as Ted Lilly lost his third game in a row this season.  Lilly’s record is now 0-3 on the season and he really needs to turn things around quickly.  The Cubs still don’t have a win by a left handed pitcher this year.

Lilly pitched six innings and gave up six hits and five earned runs.  He kept the ball up and the Reds hitters really made him pay.  Especially Joey Votto who had five RBI in the game.

Jon Leiber came in and pitched after Lilly and served up a three run home run to Ken Griffey Jr.  so he didn’t fare much better then Lilly.  Bob Howry also let one run score in the game.  Sean Marshall and Michael Wuertz pitched the final 1.1 innings and did not allow a hit.

Reed Johnson led the Cubs at the plate as he went 4-4.  I think it is safe to say that Johnson is going to start getting a lot more playing time in the outfield as he is hitting the ball pretty good.  Henry Blanco and Lilly had one RBI each for the Cubs.  The Cubs could have done a lot more damage in the middle innings had Blanco not missed some signs and was able to actually do something with the bat.  It’s too bad Geovany Soto can’t play everyday.

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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.

Relief pitcher Michael Wuertz and the Chicago Cubs have agreed on a one year contract to avoid salary arbitration.  Wuertz will make $860,000 so he will receive a little raise but not the $900,000+ he was hoping for.

Wuertz went 2-3 with a 3.48 ERA last year.  If he can put away batters instead of throwing a bunch of crap to them when he gets them 0-2 or 1-2 I think he can be very good out of the bullpen.  Key is keeping the pitch count down when he does get in there and be under control.

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