May 2008 Archives

Game Fifty-Six - Cubs 5 Rockies 4
WP - Ryan Dempster (7-2) LP - Glendon Rusch (1-3) Save - Carlos Marmol (3)

Lou Piniella's crew came from behind once again after the Rockies took a 2-0 lead in the 2nd inning. Ryan Dempster drove in Kosuke Fukudome with the Cubs' first run in the bottom of the 2nd with a 2-out double to left center. Alfonso Soriano followed with his 10th home run of the month and 12th of the year. Soriano's 2-run shot gave the Cubs the lead. Geovany Soto doubled in Aramis Ramirez for the Cubs' fourth run in the 3rd and Alfonso Soriano added his third RBI of the game with a single in the 4th.

Ryan Dempster struggled with his command and left after just 5 innings of work. Dempster allowed 3 runs on 3 hits with 7 strikeouts and 4 walks. Dempster was effective and earned the win....the only stat that matters. Michael Wuertz, Neal Cotts and Bobby Howry did not allow a hit in relief of Dempster in 3 innings of work.

Carlos Marmol picked up his 3rd save of the season with a lot of help from Kosuke Fukudome. Marmol struck out Jonathan Herrera to start the inning and Fukudome robbed Omar Quintanilla of at least a double with a tremendous leaping catch on the warning track in right center. Scott Podsednik followed with his first home run of the season to cut the lead to 5-4. Willy Taveras looked at strike three to end the game.

The Cubs 6th win in a row tied a season-high mark that was set between April 18th and April 23rd....and the 18 victories in May tied a club record set back in 1987. Hat tip to Len Kasper for the following stat....the last time the Cubs held the best record in baseball on the first day of June was 1908.

Game Fifty-Six: Cubs (34-21) vs. Rockies (20-35)
Game Time - 12:05pm C.T.
Coverage - TV: Comcast SportsNet - Radio: 720 WGN, XM Radio Channel 185
Location - Wrigley Field, Chicago

Ryan Dempster (6-2, 2.56/1.09) vs. Glendon Rusch (1-2, 6.41/1.68)

After starting the season 17-10, Lou Piniella's crew has a chance to pick up their 18th win of the month today. The Cubs enter the final day of May with a 17-11 record after three dramatic come from behind wins. Piniella needs a quality start today from Ryan Dempster after Ted Lilly's short start on Friday taxed an already over worked bullpen. Dempster will face his former teammate, Glendon Rusch. Rusch made 12 appearances out of the Padres pen before being released earlier in the month....today will be his first start since he was a Cub back in 2006.

In other news.... The Cubs made an addition to their minor league roster on Friday. Right- handed pitcher, Jim Brower, was acquired from the Reds for cash considerations. Brower pitched 3 2/3 innings out of the Yankees bullpen last season with a 13.50 ERA and a 3.00 WHIP. Brower is 33-32 with 5 saves in 354 career big league games, 28 starts, with a 4.67 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP. Brower was 0-1 in 17 games with a 2.88 ERA and 2 saves for the Louisville Bats (Triple-A affiliate of the Reds).

Game Fifty-Five - Cubs 10 Rockies 9
WP - Scott Eyre (2-0) LP - Manny Corpas (0-3, BS 3) Save - Kerry Wood (13)

No one, not even Lou Piniella saw this one coming. After rain delayed the start of the game for 22 minutes, the Rockies jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the 4th inning. The Cubs scratched out a run in the bottom of the 4th to cut the lead to 7. The Rockies got the run right back in the top of the 5th on a 2-out run scoring single off the bat of Omar Quintanilla. The Cubs went quietly in the bottom of the 5th and Piniella emptied his bench in the 6th with his team down 9-1.

Micah Hoffpauir led off the bottom of the 6th with a ground rule double into the ivy in left center. Kosuke Fukudome followed with his 3rd home run of the season, the 2-run shot to left center trimmed the Rockies lead to 9-3. Jim Edmonds stepped in and hit his first home run as a Cub to straight away center....the Cubs offense went back-to-back for only the second time on the season and after 6 innings the score was 9-4.

Mike Fontenot reached on a 1-out single to left in the 7th. Henry Blanco hit his first home run of the season into the left field bleachers....Cubs down 9-6. Micah Hoffpauir took the first pitch from Aaron Cook into right center and chased Cook from the game. Manny Corpas gave up a single to Kosuke Fukudome and a bases clearing double to Jim Edmonds. With the tying run on 2nd, Mark DeRosa deposited a 3-2 pitch from Corpas over the left centerfield wall. The Cubs scored 9 unanswered runs and put together one of the most memorable comebacks in team history....without the likes of Aramis Ramirez, Derrek Lee and Geovany Soto in the lineup.

Carlos Marmol earned his 16th hold of the season by striking out the side in the 8th....all looking. Kerry Wood gave up a lead off walk in the 9th but Garrett Atkins lined into a 4-6-3 double play and Todd Helton popped out to right to end the game.

At the conclusion of the game Pat Hughes summed up the Cubs win perfectly, "Cubs Win! One of the most unbelievable comebacks in the history of this long franchise. The Cubs have beaten the Colorado Rockies 10-9. One for the memory books at Wrigley Field today. The Chicago Cubs have comeback to beat the Rockies 10-9."

After the game Lou Piniella said, "It was a good team win. What can I say? No, it was a great team win."

When the Cubs took the lead in the 7th they tied a 73-year old club record. The Cubs have held a lead in 21 straight games for the first time since September 4-September 27, 1935 when they won 21 games in a row. The Cubs won their 5th straight and improved to 13 games over .500 on the season.

Game Fifty-Five: Cubs (33-21) vs. Rockies (20-34)
Game Time - 1:20pm C.T.
Coverage - TV: Comcast SportsNet - Radio: 720 WGN, XM Radio Channel 185
Location - Wrigley Field, Chicago

Ted Lilly (5-4, 5.23/1.34) vs. Aaron Cook (7-3, 2.82/1.20)

Weather permitting the Cubs will try to win the second game of the series today behind Ted Lilly. Lou Piniella's crew has won 4 in a row and entering play today have a game and a half lead on the Cardinals in the division. With only 3 games left before the Cubs hit the road for the month of June, every game at the Friendly Confines is very important. After Sunday the Cubs play 23 of the next 32 games on the road.

Aaron Cook ended the Cubs season long 6 game winning streak the last time he faced them on April 24th in Denver. Cook allowed only 2 runs on 4 hits in 8 innings of work and will make his first career start at Wrigley today. The Cubs will need a good outing from Ted Lilly and as a team they must make Cook work or could be a very short afternoon on the North Side.

Game Fifty-Four - Cubs 8 Rockies 4
WP - Michael Wuertz (1-1) LP - Matt Herges (2-2, BS 2) Save - None

Lou Piniella's crew won their 4th game in a row with another dramatic come from behind win. The Rockies took a 4-3 lead in the top of the 7th inning off of Michael Wuertz. Ryan Spilborghs singled to start the inning, stole 2nd and scored on a RBI double by Ian Stewart. After Yorvit Torrealba failed to advance Stewart to 3rd, Omar Quintanilla lined into an 8-4 double play to end the inning.

Alfonso Soriano reached on 1-out bloop single to right center in the bottom of the 7th. Stewart tried to make an over the shoulder catch on the pop fly but the ball fell to the ground untouched. The Cubs took advantage and never looked back. Ryan Theriot followed with a single to right, Soriano advanced to 3rd with the tying run. Derrek Lee hit a tapper up the 3rd base line, Matt Herges fielded the ball, held Soriano at 3rd but hit Lee in the leg with the ball on his throw to 1st. Soriano scored and Theriot advanced to 3rd on the error. Herges then hit Aramis Ramirez on a 2-1 pitch to load the bases. Geovany Soto put together a quality at bat before flying out to deep right to drive in Theriot with the go ahead....and eventual winning run.

Carlos Marmol retired the Rockies in order in the 8th with 2 strikeouts....his Major League leading 15th hold.

Mark DeRosa started the 8th with a double to right center on the 11th pitch of the at bat. Ronny Cedeno ran for DeRosa and advanced to 3rd on a sacrifice bunt by Reed Johnson. Taylor Buchholz committed the second error by a Rockies' pitcher in as many innings....a throwing error that allowed Johnson to reach. Micah Hoffpauir drove in his first big league run with a broken bat, soft liner to center. Cedeno scored the all-important insurance run, but the Cubs were not done.

Reed Johnson and Micah Hoffpauir executed the double steal to perfection and with the infield in, Alfonso Soriano singled to center. Johnson and Hoffpauir scored to give the Cubs a 4 run lead after 8 innings....3 of the Cubs last 5 runs were unearned. Kerry Wood struck out 3 of the 4 batters he faced to end the game.

With the win the Cubs improved to a season high 12 games above .500 and own the best record in Major League Baseball.

Game Fifty-Four: Cubs (32-21) vs. Rockies (20-33)
Game Time - 7:05pm C.T.
Coverage - TV: Comcast SportsNet - Radio: 720 WGN, XM Radio Channel 185
Location - Wrigley Field, Chicago

Jason Marquis (2-3, 4.97/1.64) vs. Jeff Francis (1-5, 6.18/1.59)

Updated - 4:18pm C.T. with Roster Move - Jose Ascanio Optioned to Triple-A Iowa - Neal Cotts Recalled

According to a report on Cubs.com, Neal Cotts was recalled from Triple-A and will be available out of the pen tonight against the Rockies. Jose Ascanio was optioned to make room for Cotts.

The Cubs will try to keep the winning streak going against a Rockies team that will have a much different look than the one they faced in a brief 2-game series in April....the Cubs split the 2 games in Denver. The defending National League Champions have 9 players on the DL including Matt Holliday (with a strained left hamstring), Clint Barmes (with a right knee sprain), Brad Hawpe (with a right hamstring strain) and Troy Tulowitzki (torn tendon in left quad)....but Scott Podsednik will be in the starting lineup tonight. Len Kasper mentioned during Wednesday night's telecast that former Cub, Glendon Rusch, could make the start on Saturday for the Rockies.

The Rockies were just swept by the Phillies and should not be taken lightly. They still have more than enough on the offensive side to put runs on the board....especially if Jason Marquis leaves the ball up. Rich Hill is scheduled to make his first start on Friday for Iowa since going on the DL. With Piniella wanting another southpaw in the rotation and the way Sean Gallagher pitched his last time out, Jason Marquis needs to step up and show he deserves to stay in the rotation.

Could the Cubs still be interested in Kenny Lofton? A month ago two separate writers, Buster Olney and Jon Heyman, mentioned Lofton would make sense for the Cubs. Lou Piniella wanted a left-handed hitting centerfielder and Felix Pie was not progressing the way the Cubs wanted him to. Those rumors were quieted when the Cubs signed Jim Edmonds a few weeks back.

Reports have indicated Lou Piniella's patience with the lack of production from Jim Edmonds could be running out. Piniella wants a left-handed bat in center to platoon with Reed Johnson in order to round out the lineup. Felix Pie is progressing in Triple-A but Jerry Crasnick mentioned in a report on ESPN.com Wednesday that Kenny Lofton "could be the next left-handed-hitting centerfielder du jour in Chicago," if Jim Edmonds continues to falter.

Game Fifty-Three - Cubs 2 Dodgers 1 - 10 innings
WP - Bobby Howry (1-2) LP - Chan Ho Park (1-1) Save - None

Lou Piniella's crew completed the 3-game sweep of the Dodgers with a dramatic comeback in the 9th and a walk off single by Alfonso Soriano in the 10th inning. With the Cubs down 1-0 in the bottom of the 9th, Ryan Theriot walked to start the rally. After Derrek Lee flied out, Aramis Ramirez put together an impressive at bat against Dodgers' closer Takashi Saito. Saito ended up walking Ramirez, only the 7th free pass he has allowed all year. With the tying run in scoring position, Kosuke Fukudome reached on an infield single to load the bases. James Loney made a great play to keep Fukudome's grounder from leaving the infield but Saito failed to touch the bag. On a 3-2 pitch from Saito, Geovany Soto drove in his 36th run of the season with a sacrifice fly to right. Theriot scored to tie the game.

Bobby Howry gave up a lead off single to Luis Maza in the 10th but struck out two of the next three batters he faced to end the inning.

Mike Fontenot pinch hit for Howry in the bottom of the inning and came through with his first base hit since May 5th, a 1-out double to left center....the only extra base hit of the game for either team. Alfonso Soriano did not swing at the first 4 offerings from Chan Ho Park. Park threw a 2-2 breaking ball on the outside part of the plate that Soriano deposited down the left field line. Fontenot scored the winning run without a play.

Carlos Zambrano pitched a very good game on a night he did not have his best stuff and struggled with his command. The only run Zambrano allowed came on a bases loaded walk to Blake DeWitt in the 4th inning. Zambrano threw a season-high 130 pitches in 8 innings with 4 walks, hit a batter, 6 hits and 2 of his 3 strikeouts came in the 8th inning.

The difference in the 3-game sweep of the Dodgers was the Cubs' pitching staff. The starters allowed only 3 runs in 22 innings while the bullpen did not allow a single run in 6 innings....the Dodgers starters allowed 4 runs in 19 1/3 innings and Joe Torre's bullpen surrendered 4 runs in 7 innings.

With the win, the Cubs improved to 11 games over .500 for the second time this season.

Game Fifty-Three: Cubs (31-21) vs. Dodgers (26-25)
Game Time - 7:05pm C.T.
Coverage - TV: ESPN 2, WGN - Radio: 720 WGN, XM Radio Channel 185
Location - Wrigley Field, Chicago

Carlos Zambrano (7-1, 2.47/1.18) vs. Derek Lowe (2-5, 5.03/1.45)

With Tuesday's win, Lou Piniella's crew won their first series since taking 2 of 3 from the Pirates on the last homestand. The Cubs will attempt to sweep the series tonight against the Dodgers behind their ace, Carlos Zambrano. The last time Zambrano faced the Dodgers at Wrigley, he ran through Mike Quade's stop sign, imploded on the mound and left to a chorus of boos in the 5th inning. Zambrano has been a different pitcher since that Labor Day afternoon at the Friendly Confines. Big Z must bring his A-game today while the Cubs' offense tries to plate runs against Derek Lowe.

With Jim Edmonds struggling at the plate his days in a Cubs' uniform could be coming to an end. A report on Cubs.com indicated there is no timetable to see if Edmonds will be able to help the Cubs or not. But the bottom line is Edmonds is not contributing offensively. Lou Piniella has shown, in his brief stint with the Cubs, he has little patience with players not performing and he likes to play the hot hand. While Edmonds' defense appears to still be solid, his offense is the huge question mark surrounding the veteran centerfielder. Edmonds is 3-for-24 as a Cub with a walk and no extra base hits.

Felix Pie struggled after his demotion to Triple-A, except for the past two games. Could Pie be turning the page down in Iowa?