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The Cubs extended their winning streak to four games tonight with their third consecutive win over the Milwaukee Brewers.  The Cubs offense has scored at least six runs in the past four games.  It has also been refreshing to see the Brewers come back down to earth a little (ie: has anyone been paying attention to their outfield and defense this series?).

Up next, the Cubs go for the sweep with an afternoon start.  Rich Harden will square off against Dave Bush.  Of all the matchups in this series, this one looks the best for Cubs fans as Harden has dazzled in his first three starts as a Cub; his record may show otherwise but that is mostly due to the Cubs offense scoring zero and two runs and the bullpen blowing a 7-0 lead.  With the offense back on track, it seems as though the Cubs are in good shape to sweep the Brewers; albeit, the Brewers have not been swept at home by any team so far this season.

Go Cubs!

The Cubs may have found what they needed with the return of Alfonso Soriano: an offensive explosion it has been indeed as the Cubs have scored thirteen runs in the last two games against Milwaukee’s top two pitchers.  The Cubs have won their last three games and have improved to 24-30 on the road.

I think there’s something to be said for when the Cubs play at Miller Park.  It seems like the Cubs have played well in the Brewers home ballpark in recent years having won four of six there last year and four of three in 2006.  While those numbers aren’t incredibly sexy, keep in mind that these have technically been road games for the Cubs; despite the massive support from Cubs fans.

It seems as though the Cubs have done well thanks in part to getting Alfonso Soriano back.  Soriano went 1-4 last night with an RBI, and 2-4 the night before with three runs scored, and 3-5 on Sunday with three RBI.  Ramirez has also gotten hot on this series as it seems like every hit has been a double to deep left.  It’s nice to see Cubs players get hot again, as the strength of this team was that one player could be slumping but someone else would pick up the slack by getting hot at the right time.  Without Soriano for the past month and a half, it seems as though the entire team went into a collective slump and no one else could find the right time to get hot.

The Cubs have gone up three games on Milwaukee and the worst possible scenario now is that they stay only one game up at the end of this series.  Having won the first two games must be very reassuring for the Cubs and their fans; especially with these wins coming off of Milwaukee’s ace pitchers.

Go Cubs!

The Cubs just defeated the Milwaukee Brewers: 6-4.  In a game where the entire Cubs’ managerial staff seemed to have a bad night, the Cubs managed to pull out a gritty win in by far their hugest series of the year.  With a raucous crowd of 42,000 roaring on every pitch, it seemed as though the Cubs would be in for a long night; then they realized it was Miller Park and about a third of those fans were rooting for the Cubs…

Ok, joking aside, this was a huge win for the Cubs… Mostly because the Brewers are just behind the Cubs in the standings but it also sets the tone for this four game series.  In a game where the Brewers had CC Sabathia pitching against Ted Lilly, realistically, this game seemed like a win for the Brewers.  Taking into consideration that tomorrow’s matchup is Carlos Zambrano versus Ben Sheets, that game would most likely be a toss-up.  And the final two matchups seem to favor the Cubs: Ryan Dempster (11-4) versus Manny Parra (9-3) on Wednesday and Rich Harden (5-2) versus Dave Bush (5-8) on Thursday.  The fact that the Cubs were able to steal this first game makes the rest of the series a lot less worrisome.  Obviously, the Cubs are not guaranteed to win any of these next three games, however, it takes a lot of pressure off of the team having won one game, extending their lead, and keeping focused.

The game was packed full of dramatic moments whether it was Derrek Lee’s miraculous non-Double-Play (thanks to Rickie Weeks) or the home runs that were hit by both sides to tie the game up at crucial moments.  But none came close to the final moment of the game.  Marmol’s second to last pitch would have ended the game as Gabe Kapler swung on it and it went into Geovany Soto’s glove, prompting the home plate umpire to call the game over.  However, after an argument from Kapler, the umpires came together to make the correct call: the ball hit the dirt first and was not a foul-tip since it hit the dirt.  The very next pitch from Marmol was hit high and deep to left field… Cubs nation took a collective deep breath as it almost seemed like one of those typical Cub moments where the game would be lost on something stupid like a missed foul-tip.  Instead, Soriano leaped in the air (in typical Soriano fashion) and caught the ball on the warning track to end the game and send the Cubs fans at Miller Park into a frenzy.

What a start to a huge series.  Go Cubs, keep the mojo going!

The Cubs offense exploded today as they scored nine runs against the Marlins’ six runs.  The Cubs trailed early as Mike Jacobs hit two home runs to drive in five runs.  The Cubs offense got it going with a pair of runs on some small ball.  Soriano tied it with a solo home run: 3-3.  Derrek Lee tied the game in the bottom of the seventh with a solo home run of his own… the Cubs would go on to score three more runs after loading up the bases and Mike Fontenot hitting a bases clearing double.  Jeff Samardzija recorded his first major league save as Jim Edmonds made a diving catch to end the game.

All in all, it was not the greatest home stand, but the team showed some promise after today.  There seems to be some kind of spark right now as the players were a lot more patient in this game, and have converted twelve hits and four walks into nine runs.  Not perfect, but it’s promising to see that the offense is able to drive in the runners on base rather then keep them stranded as they had in recent games.  It’s also nice to see Soriano get hot right now as he went 3-5 today.

The Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals both lost today so the Cubs extended their lead once again: one game over Milwaukee and four over the Cardinals.

Up next, the Cubs have quite possibly the biggest series to date starting tomorrow night.  They have a four game series in Milwaukee.  It won’t be easy as they start the series facing CC Sabathia.  Sabathia is coming off of three consecutive complete game performances.  Ted Lilly is throwing for the Cubs.  Lilly proved last year that he was the go-to guy in these big, meaningful games as he had a long streak of games where if he pitched the day after a Cubs’ loss, the Cubs would win the day he pitched.  Hopefully, the trend will continue tomorrow night and the Cubs can put some distance between themselves and Milwaukee.

Go Cubs

the Cubs lost their sixth game since the All Star Break.  They are 3-6 in their last nine games (since the All Star Game).  The Cubs offense has been very weak as they have failed to score enough runs to back up the stellar pitching.  Taking a look at the last nine games, the opposition has scored:

2, 4, 0 runs in the three games in Houston

2, 9, 6 runs in the three games in Arizona (of the nine run game at Arizona, six of those runs scored in the seventh inning or later; while three of the six runs in the final game in Arizona were scored in the eighth inning).

3, 3, 3 runs in the three games so far against Florida.

I think it’s important to look at these numbers as it shows our starting pitching is not the problem.  We should be winning these games, especially with what the offense is capable of doing.  However, the offense is just not getting the job done lately.

Perhaps a blow-up from Lou Piniella today might be the spark that helps this team get it going again.  Piniella was ejected in the ninth after a close call by first base umpire Rob Drake.  Drake is the same umpire who tossed Piniella in the final game of the Cubs/Sox series at US Cellular.

Lost amongst all the madness was another strong outing by Rich Harden.  Harden has struck out ten batters in all three of his starts as a Cub.  He has also allowed only two runs total in all three games.  He was able to get the win until Jeremy Hermida’s second home run was hit in top of the eighth inning.  Hermida has beaten the Cubs single-handedly: with his go-ahead home run yesterday and his two home runs today plus the go-ahead RBI double in the top of the twelfth.

Go Cubs

the Cubs lost at Wrigley today: 3-2.  All the runs for the Cubs came on solo home runs: a shot by Geovany Soto and one by Reed Johnson.  The Cubs kept a low scoring game despite the wind blowing straight out at Wrigley.  The Marlins tied it up 2-2 on a double off of the up and coming Cubs prospect Jeff Samardzija.  The Marlins would take the lead in the top of the ninth inning on a pinch-hit home run from Jeremey Hermida.  Heremida’s home run was blasted way out onto Sheffield Avenue.  Bob Howry wound up the losing pitcher as the Cubs went down one, two, three in the bottom of the ninth.

The loss allows the Brewers to move to within 1/2 game of the Cubs.  The Brewers/Astros game is currently underway and the Brewers are leading 1-0.  If the Brewers hold on and win tonight, they would move into a first place tie with the Cubs.   Meanwhile, St. Louis is down 7-1 to the Mets.  It seems as though the Cardinals might have just hit the wall after that four game sweep from the Brewers.

Go Cubs

The Cubs beat the Florida Marlins for the first time since April 2006 tonight. The Cubs used home runs from Ronny Cedeno and Henry Blanco, and a two-RBI double by Aramis Ramirez to take the lead and give Carlos Zambrano enough run support for his eleventh victory on the season. The Cubs will send Ryan Dempster to the mound tomorrow to face Josh Johnson. Dempster is 10-1 at Wrigley Field this year while Johnson has only pitched one game on the road: a no-decision at Dodger Stadium. Johnson’s road ERA: 5.40 in five innings pitched. Dempster’s home ERA? 2.81 in eighty innings pitched.

The Milwaukee Brewers swept the St. Louis Cardinals in St. Louis tonight thanks to a two-run home run by Ryan Braun in the ninth inning. It was the Cardinals’ third consecutive night in which the bullpen allowed Milwaukee to take the lead. It looks as if this sweep will push St. Louis back down to earth as Milwaukee is emerging as the clear competition in this division. Having won their last eight games, the Brewers will host the Cubs next week for a huge four game set.

Go Cubs!

PS— funny story on this picture. I was hanging out on Sheffield for the first few innings of the game. There was a lady who was talking to a worker at Wrigley Field through the gate on Sheffield. She was asking the man: “Where is the fish fry? Is it on the field? Coz, that’d be awesome!” Then, the guy responded, “That’s just a joke, they change it for every series.” Haha.

The Cubs ended the losing streak/scoreless streak in Arizona tonight! The Cubs won 10-6 thanks in part to a grand slam from Reed Johnson. Lilly pitched pretty well as he is the third Cub starter to have ten wins on the season. The Cubs are coming off of a 2-4 road trip and will return to Wrigley Field for a four game set against the Florida Marlins, a team they haven’t beat since 2006.

The Cubs finished off their regular season against the National League West going 23-10.

Around the league, the Brewers beat the Cardinals again, maintaining a one game difference between the Cubs. The Brewers have not lost a game in their last seven. They were about five or six games back about a week ago, and are suddenly within one game. It’s amazing that a lead can shrink so quickly, and can grow so quickly as well. That’s why it’s important for all you Cubs fans to remember that while it is frustrating that the Cubs have lost their large lead, they can easily gain it all back in a week as the Brewers proved over the past seven games.

Finally, I think it is somewhat funny that CC Sabathia has pitched his third consecutive complete game when he is getting a lot of run support and is throwing over 100 pitches every time. Is Ned Yost trying to become the next Dusty Baker? Because if he is, it is great that CC is pitching so well now, but he won’t be around come October if Yost keeps this rate up!

Go Cubs!

Cubs lose again in the desert, this time 9-2.  It was a rather good outing by Marquis as he only allowed two runs to score.  The Cubs offense has just disappeared and seems to not be coming back any time soon.  Lou Piniella stated before the game that he would have players not take any batting practice to help mix things up and maybe get the offense rolling; but that came to no avail.  The Cubs left nine men on base thanks in particular to another double play ball from Derrek Lee.  It was Lee’s second double play ball in two nights; both of which came after he had a 2-0 count.  This game was like a carbon copy of Monday night’s game as several players made loud outs to the deepest parts of the park; usual home-runs in other parks but not at Chase Field.  It seems odd when players like Aramis Ramirez smack balls so hard to deep left field but come up with an out on the warning track, and then players like Connor Jackson merely slap the ball for what seems to be a lazy fly ball yet somehow manages to go out of the park.  There’s just something really odd about this ballpark and I can’t quite put my finger on it.   I read somewhere that the Cubs are 3-15 (including last years’ playoffs) in games at Arizona.  3 and 15!  I knew our struggles against Arizona were pretty bad, but that is pretty bad if you consider those numbers span for about five seasons.  In five seasons, we have only won three games in Arizona?  It seems very weird.

Finally, St. Louis held a 3-0 lead for half of their game against Milwaukee tonight but they blew their lead in the late innings.  Milwaukee scored four times in the seventh-ninth innings to win 4-3 against the Cardinals.  Milwaukee has pulled to within one game behind the Cubs for the division lead.  Also, Milwaukee will have their aces: Ben Sheets and CC Sabathia pitching the final two games in St. Louis; so they have a very realistic shot at sweeping the Cardinals.

The Cubs finish the road trip in Arizona tomorrow.  Let’s hope they can score more than one, or two runs this time out.  Ted Lilly opposes Doug Davis.  Davis has had the Cubs number in the past and Lilly will return to the place where he pitched in game two of last years’ NLDS.  The infamous image of Ted Lilly slamming his glove on the mound after serving up a home run to Chris Young is still floating around, and with the way things are going lately, I would not be surprised to see some of that happen tomorrow.

Go Cubs, avoid the sweep and get home real quick (although they come home to play the Marlins who they haven’t beaten since 2006, but I’ll save those rants/stories for another day)…

the Cubs game is underway in Arizona.  The score is 0-0 in the top of the sixth.  Both pitchers have pitched incredibly tonight– Randy Johnson has pitched as expected against the Cubs and Rich Harden has not disappointed either.  Harden has struck out eight already.   The Cubs have had three to four base runners the entire game and it has been a grind to get any offense going against either of these dominant starting pitchers tonight.

I think Len and Bob both put it well just now when they said that the winner of tonight’s game is probably going to catch a break on a mental error or something like that because both pitchers will not allow any runs to score with the way they are pitching tonight.

In other news, Milwaukee beat St. Louis tonight- 6-3 in ten innings.  St. Louis tied it up in the ninth on a sacrifice fly.  Milwaukee responded promptly by scoring three quick runs in the top of the tenth– started off by a Bill Hall home run.

Go Cubs!!!