The Cubs got on the scoreboard with a rbi groundout by Ronny Cedeno. The ball was hit slow enough to third base that Reed Johnson was able to score as he took off on contact. The throw was never made to home as the Pirates third basemen elected to just get an out at first. On the very next pitch, Henry Blanco laid down a squeez bunt and Mark DeRosa scored without any troubles.

Jason Marquis pitched seven shutout innings and did not allow a walk as he earned his ninth victory of the season. Marquis was awesome and kept the Pirates guessing all afternoon long. Once again it was Carlos Marmol pitching in the eighth inning and Kerry Wood finishing things off in the ninth as the Cubs went on to win.

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A brilliant effort from Jason Marquis, and an 8^th inning homerun from “Mr. Clutch”, Aramis Ramirez, got the Cubs back on track with a 3-1 victory Friday afternoon.  Marquis, who pitched like a starter fighting to keep his rotation spot, threw 7 scoreless innings giving up 3 hits and no runs.  Giant’s pitcher Matt Cain was just as brilliant through 7 as he gave up 3 hits, no runs, and struck out nine Cub batters. 

With the flags barely moving, it was evident early in the game that we would not see the same type of day that led to 7 Red’s homeruns just a day before.  Both starting pitchers were dominant on the mound and through 7 innings the game was scoreless.  After a double from Cub’s leftfielder Daryle Ward, Piniella put in Ronny Cedeno to pinch run, and decided to pinch hit for Marquis in the bottom of the 7^th despite the low pitch count he had attained.  The move would cost Marquis a chance for the win as Kosuke Fukudome failed to plate the run.  It was obvious that Marquis was well aware of the looming probability that he might lose his rotation spot with the acquisition of Rich Harden, and he pitched well enough to earn another start.  With one out and nobody on, Giant’s manager Bruce Bochy decided that Matt Cain’s day was done and pinch hit for him in the 8^th.  Bob Howry pitched a perfect 8^th inning that set the stage for the ensuing drama that was about to take place.

Cub’s shortstop, Ryan Theriot,  kept his eight game hitting streak alive on a bloop play in the 3^rd and then led off the bottom of the 8^th inning with his second single of the game.  Mike Fontenot then bunted Theriot over to second to put the go ahead run in scoring position.  Giant’s pitcher, Tyler Walker, then proceeded to intentionally walk Derrek Lee to pitch to Aramis Ramirez with runners at first and second.   Ramirez then took the very first pitch and hit a hooking bomb towards the leftfield foul pole and out onto Waveland Ave to give the Cubs a 3-0 lead.  The homerun was the 17^th of the year for Ramirez and drew a curtain-call from the 41,000 fans in attendance. 

Cub’s closer, Kerry Wood, got the call in the 9^th and got into immediate trouble when he let the first three batters he faced reach base.  Ray Durham would score for the Giants making it 3-1 and leaving runners at 1^st and 3^rd with no outs.  Wood then caught Aaron Rowand looking for strike three, as Bengie Molina stole second putting the tying run in scoring position with one out.  John Bowker then flew out to Kosuke Fukudome and the runners held.  As the fans got to their feet, Rich Aurilla hit a ground ball to Derrek Lee, who then tossed it over to Wood for the 3^rd and final out.  The save would be Wood’s 24^th tying him for first in the National League with Giant’s closer Brian Wilson. 

Cub’s fans get ready to welcome in Rich Harden tomorrow as he will face Giant’s pitcher Kevin Correia who is 1-5 with a 4.96 ERA.  Make note that the game time has been moved to 12:00pm Central time so get their early! 

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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Kerry Wood worked the ninth inning to pick up his fifth save of the season.  It has been exactly 10 years since Wood struckout 20 batters in his rookie season. Wow does time fly by.

Aramis Ramirez had a RBI single in the first inning to get the Cubs on the board.  Ronny Cedeno had a big two run single in the in the fourth inning as he continues to swing a hot bat.  It was really nice to see Ramirez back in the lineup for the Cubs as well.  Derrek Lee and Kosuke Fukudome both struggled in the game as they both went 0-3.

The Cubs will go for the series win Wednesday morning/afternoon as they send Jon Leiber to the mound against the Reds.

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Kevin Hart took the loss for the Cubs as he pitched the eigth inning.  Starting pitcher Jason Marquis pitched ok as he went seven innings and allowed eight hits but only one run.  Marquis should have seen a better result then a no-decision but sometimes that is just how it goes.

Felix Pie and Mike Fontenot both had one RBI each at the plate.  Pie went 2-3 and had half the Cubs hits who could only mange four hits the entire game.

Now the Cubs will fly to Washington D.C. to start a weekend series with the Washington Nationals.

Cubs Blog

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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Aramis Ramirez hit his fifth home run of the season in the fourth inning off John Maine.  It was a two run shot that put the Cubs up 2-1.  Felix Pie hit his first home run of the year in the eigth inning off Jorge Sosa giving him his fifth RBI of the season.  Ronny Cedeno also picked up a pair of RBIs giving him eight for the year.

Carlos Zambrano opened the game up for the Chicago Cubs pitching for seven innings and only allowed five hits and one run moving his record for the season up to 3-1.   Carlos Marmol and Kerry Wood came in to pitch the last 2 innings and did not allow one hit.

The Chicago Cubs will take on the New York Mets one more time tonight at home to see if they can keep their winning streak going.

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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?

Cubs Blog

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.

Cubs Blog

Personall, I think two pitchers and Cedeno is a little bit too much for Roberts.  But you have to give up something to get something in return so I can see where they are coming from as well.  I just don’t like getting rid of pitching depth, when a team can always use that.  Look at how many pitchers the Cubs went through last year, it is always nice to have a pitcher like Marshall or Gallagher come in and throw some innings when needed.

Do you like a Marshall, Gallagher, Cedeno deal for Roberts?  Leave us a comment and let us know!