Kuzul

10:15 pm ET, Monday, 8/9 TV: CSN+, CSBA

Probable pitchers: Carlos Zambrano (3-6, 5.61) vs Madison Bumgarner (4-4, 3.20)

10:15 pm ET, Tuesday, 8/10 TV: WGN

Probable pitchers: Ryan Dempster (9-8, 3.76) vs Tim Lincecum (11-5, 3.15)

10:15 pm ET, Wednesday, 8/11 TV: CSN, CSBA

Probable pitchers: Tom Gorzelanny (6-6, 3.51) vs Barry Zito (8-6, 3.35)

6:45 pm ET, Thursday, 8/12 TV: WGN, CSBA

Probable pitchers: Randy Wells (5-10, 4.37) vs Matt Cain (9-9, 3.06)

2010 season matchups

The Cubs and the Giants have not met so far this year.  After this four-game matchup, they will play three more games in Wrigley Field from September 21 to 23.  

Chicago is 11-8 facing teams from the NL West, the only division they have a winning record (.579). 

San Francisco, on the other hand, has an impressive 19-7 (.730) against teams from NL Central. 

In the 2009 season, the Cubs edged the Giants winning four games out of six.

Chicago Cubs (47-64)

Notes

The Cubs have lost 10 games out of 12 and have just experienced a sweep courtesy of the Cincinnati Reds over the weekend.  They had been outscored 7-18 including a 3-0 shutout defeat on Friday.  In each of those games, they have allowed their opponents to score first.

Offense

There is not much positive to be mentioned.  They are in no position to threaten any major league team right now. 

The biggest issue is finding out why the Cubs are hitless and fixing it immediately. 

First baseman Derrek Lee was hitting .190 last week and was completely shut down by the Reds pitching staff.  His batting average this season is .246, the worst in his career since 1999.

Marlon Byrd, the most productive in the Cubs’ lineup this year, was in a slump.  He went 2-for-13 (.154) during the weekend with no extra-base hit and striking out four times.

Third baseman Aramis Ramirez hits safely in his last five games, including a go-ahead, three-run pinch homer against the Milwaukee Brewers.

During the weekend series against the Cincinnati Reds, the Cubs only had one home run, which belonged to second baseman Jeff Baker in a rare start

Pitching

The good (or bad) news for the Cubs is that Carlos Zambrano has finally been inserted in the starting rotation.  Manager Lou Piniella announced earlier last week that Zambrano would start on Monday night in AT&T Park.

The Cubs had no other alternative than putting the right-hander in the starting spot as Ted Lilly was traded earlier and Carlos Silva went on the disabled list with heart problem.

Zambrano’s current return as a starter marks his third time doing so this season.  He was demoted to the bullpen in late April.  His second return to the rotation fell short in June when he was suspended after a verbal altercation on the day he gave up four runs in one inning to the Chicago White Sox at home.

He pitched out of bullpen last week, allowing two earned runs in 3.2 innings.

Ryan Dempster, who will start on Tuesday night, was the only winning pitcher last week.  He pitched through six innings, allowing three unearned runs and striking out five on Wednesday against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Don’t count on him this week, though.  His lifetime record of 3-7 with an ERA of 4.11 against the Giants is not impressive.

Tom Gorzelanny will start on Wednesday.  The left-hander is the most consistent pitcher in Cubs rotation.  His previous outing resulted in a loss to the Cincinnati Reds but he did not have any run support.  In fact, he is having a streak of five consecutive quality starts.  He is also perfect in his career facing the Giants (3-0) with an ERA of 1.29.

Thursday’s starter for the Cubs will be Randy Wells who lost three of his last games.  He has served up home runs to opponents in each of the previous three starts.

San Francisco Giants (63-49)

Notes

The Giants come home after splitting a two-game series in Colorado and losing three games out of four in Atlanta.  They are looking for the victory Monday night to snap a two-game losing streak.

They are in the middle of the NL West pennant race, only trailing the leaders, San Diego Padres by two games.  And they also rank first in the wild-card standings, with half a game ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies.

Once the Cubs leave town this week, the Giants stay home to kick-off a crucial series with the Padres. 

Offense

The Giants are not qualified as a home run hitting team this season, only ranking 10th with 100 home runs in the National League (the Cubs at sixth with 112). 

They were having trouble sending the ball out of the park in Atlanta.  First baseman Travis Ishikawa hit the only one on Sunday. 

Aubrey Huff leads the team with 20. He also has the team best batting average (.304) and RBI (67).

Their leadoff center-fielder Andres Torres had most hits among his teammates last week with nine, and had the .333 batting average.  He hit in four of his six starts including three multi-hit games.

The Cubs should be aware of the rookie sensation, catcher Buster Posey.  He already has eight home runs since joining the Giants at the end of May.  He finished with 24 RBI in the month of July.

Pitching

The Cubs will need to face three Giants ace starters: Tim Lincecum, Barry Zito, and Matt Cain.

Lincecum leads the team with wins (11) and strikeouts (159).  His five-game unbeaten streak (three wins and two no-decisions) was halted in Atlanta after losing 3-2 to the Braves.  But still, the right-hander only gave up three runs and struck out seven in 6.1 innings. 

Zito would like to get the 2010 season back on track starting with the Cubs this week.  He went 4-0 in April, but his last victory came on July 16 against the New York Mets.  He has lost three out of the last four.  The left-hander is 1-3 against the Cubs in his career, with a mediocre ERA of 4.66.

Matt Cain’s record of 9-9 is misleading.  It does not necessarily reflect what the right-hander has done so far this season.  In fact, he has the team best ERA (3.06), the most complete games (three) and the most shutouts (two).  In his nine losses, the Giants scored less than three runs in eight of those games.  He always pitches well against the Cubs (5-2) with ERA of 2.41 and WHIP of 0.93.

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Randy Wells pitched a quality start, but that was not enough for the Cubs to win.

Once again, the Cubs stumbled in front of their home crowd, losing a heart-breaking 4-3 ballgame to the Cincinnati Reds.

After two terrible starts, Wells showed up today, giving the best he could to hold the Reds until the seventh. 

The Cubs did have their chances to take the game away, however, they would need better hitting.  With runners in scoring position today, they went 1-for-8.  Yesterday, they were 0-for-6 in the shutout defeat.

The Reds put the game’s first run on the scoreboard. 

In the third inning, center fielder Drew Stubbs led off with a double to left field and catcher Ramon Hernandez followed with a single to score Stubbs. 

They could have scored more runs but the Cubs right fielder Kosuke Fukudome dove to catch Brandon Phillips’s line drive which subsequently doubled off Hernandez at first base.

The Cubs nullified Cincinnati’s lead at the bottom third.  Fukudome, reaching second on a double, tallied on Derrek Lee’s sacrifice fly. 

The Reds’ big inning came in the seventh, taking a 3-1 lead.  Center fielder Drew Stubbs, who had a three home run game last time in Wrigley, hit a solo shot on Randy Wells’s breaking ball to center field.  It was his 14th of the season. 

Hernandez singled to left and Chris Heisey walked to force Wells (5-10) out of the game.  Phillips grounded into his second double play today before Paul Janish hit a line drive to left to score Hernandez. 

These three runs were charged to Wells. 

Stubbs produced the Reds’ final run of the game in the ninth, his ground ball finding a hole between shortstop and third, scoring Laynce Nix easily from second base. 

The center fielder finished the night hitting 3-for-4, scoring two runs with a pair of RBI.

The Cubs rallied, but fell short in the ninth. 

Facing Reds closer Francisco Cordero, second baseman Blake Dewitt walked before Koyie Hill struck out looking.  Cordero issued back-to-back walks to pinch hitter Mike Fontenot and Fukudome to load the bases. 

Shortstop Starlin Castro then took one hard for his team.  He was hit on the left shoulder, but the play forced DeWitt to score from third. 

Reliever Nick Masset came in to clean up the mess.  Although he walked Ramirez to allow the Cubs’ second run, he ended the game by fanning Marlon Byrd.  He got the save, his second of the year.

Reds reliever Logan Ondrusek improved his record to 3-0, pitching 1.1 innings.  He replaced starter, Edinson Volquez, who limited the Cubs to one run and six hits in 6.2 innings.

No one in the Cubs’ lineup had more than one hit this afternoon.  Byrd went 1-for-5, striking out a couple of times.  He has had eight strikeouts in his last five games. 

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Under normal circumstances, it is already tough to beat Bronson Arroyo.

And when the Chicago Cubs showed up in the game with cold bats, they just made it even tougher to win.  They suffered a 3-0 loss in this weekend three-game series opener against the Cincinnati Reds. 

Reds catcher Ryan Hanigan’s home run in the second inning was all the Reds needed to have an easy victory.

Arroyo (12-6) was in cruise control from the start.  He only issued a walk to Cubs catcher Geovany Soto to spoil the first three perfect innings. 

Although he allowed back-to-back hits in the next two innings, the Cubs could not turn them into runs. 

In the fourth, with two Cubs on, rightfielder Kosuke Fukudome hit into a fielder’s choice to end the fourth inning. 

In the fifth, with runners on second and third, Arroyo struck out Tom Gorzelanny, forced leftfielder Tyler Colvin to hit a fly ball, and struck out shortstop Starlin Castro swinging to retire the side.

In the seventh, Fukudome led off with a single, the last hit of the team in the game.  But he was caught stealing at second after Arroyo struck out second baseman Blake DeWitt.

Arroyo, replaced by reliever Arthur Rhodes in the eighth, only allowed five hits with seven strikeouts and a walk. 

The Cubs’ last chance came in the ninth when Reds closer Francisco Cordero was on the mound.  Aramis Ramirez and Fukudome both reached bases with walks but DeWitt, representing the potential tying run, grounded out to Cordero to end the match.

Cubs starter Tom Gorzelanny (6-6) pitched seven innings today but was outdueled; all three Reds’ runs were charged to him. 

He was in trouble right from the start of the game, hitting the second batter, centerfielder Chris Heisey, with a pitch and walking first baseman Joey Votto.  He fortunately got bailed out when third baseman Scott Rolen grounded out to first and leftfielder Jonny Gomes swung and missed on the third strike.

The Reds opened the scoring in the second inning. 

Rightfielder Jay Bruce reached first on a walk and Hanigan crushed Gorzelanny’s 0-1 changeup to left-center field for his third dinger of the season.

They added another run as insurance in the seventh; shortstop Paul Janish crossed home plate with Brandon Phillips’ ground ball single.

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Francisco Cervelli’s catching error has cost the New York Yankees a chance to win tonight.

The Boston Red Sox outscored the Yankees 6-3 in Yankee Stadium to kick off a crucial four-game series which can greatly influence the AL East pennant race.

Both teams exchanged home runs in the first inning and with two outs, designated hitter David Ortiz belted a solo shot off Javier Vazquez’s 3-2 pitch (his 24th of the year).

Mark Teixeira gave the Yankees a temporary 2-1 lead. He also hit his 24th of the season which scored shortstop Derek Jeter who has led off with a line-drive single.

The Red Sox scored three unearned runs in the second inning which the Yankees could have easily avoided. 

Third baseman Adrian Beltre started the inning with a double to left field, followed by J.D. Drew’s popped out at second base. 

First baseman Mark Lowell lifted a fly ball up near the home-plate which was supposed to be an easy catch. Instead, Yankees catcher Cervelli dropped it on the ground.  Beltre advanced at third and Lowell was safe at first on the play. 

After Vazquez struck out Ryan Kalish, he gave up back-to-back walks.  The first one to Jed Lowrie loaded the bases and the second to Jacoby Ellsbury scored Beltre. 

Marco Scutaro then lined a two-run double to left field to make the score 4-2.  Instead of a scoreless third inning, the Red Sox came up with a two-run lead which they never relinquished.

The Yankees cut the lead to 4-3 in the fifth with third baseman Alex Rodriguez’s 88th RBI of the year that drove Jeter home.

In the sixth inning, the Red Sox rookie left-fielder Ryan Kalish added a couple of insurance runs for his team with his first ever big league home run.

Vazquez (9-8) needed to throw 39 pitches in the second inning to get out of the jam and the Red Sox made him work throughout the game.  After Kalish’s dinger and walking Lowrie, he was pulled out of the game.  His pitch count already reached 109.

On the other hand, it was a more “relaxing” night for starter Clay Buchholz (12-5).  He went deep into the game throwing minimal 97 pitches to pick up the victory.  He left the game in the eighth after Robinson Cano’s one-out double.  He finished the night giving up three runs with nine hits but did not allow a walk.

The Red Sox sent their closer Jonathan Papelbon to protect their lead in the ninth. He only gave up a walk to Jeter and earned his 27th save of the year retiring Nick Swisher for the third out.

New York is holding on the first position in the AL East Standings but third-place Boston is only five games behind. The rivalry continues as they will meet again tomorrow afternoon; John Lackey (10-6, 4.48) will pitch for the Red Sox and CC Sabathia (13-5, 3.19) for the Yankees. 

Note: Derek Jeter hit his 2873rd career hit in the first inning which ties Babe Ruth’s number.  He is now ranking 39th on the all-time list.

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2:20pm ET, Friday, 8/6 TV: FSOH, CSN

Probable pitchers: Bronson Arroyo (11-6, 4.01) vs Tom Gorzelanny (6-5, 3.48)

1:05pm ET, Saturday, 8/7 TV: FSOH, CSN

Probable pitchers: Edinson Volquez (2-1, 6.35) vs Randy Wells (5-9, 4.40)

2:20pm ET, Sunday, 8/8 TV: FSOH, WGN

Probable pitchers: Travis Wood (2-1, 2.42) vs Thomas Diamond (0-1, 4.50)

2010 Season Match-ups

The Cubs are not looking forward to receiving the Cincinnati Reds as they went 3-7 in this season.  The North Side team has also been outscored by 31 runs (36-67) in those meetings.

Last time when the Reds visited Wrigley Field was in early July. 

They won three games out of four including two convincing victories of 12-0 and 14-3.

Chicago Cubs (47-61)

Notes

There is no doubt that the Cubs have been struggling. 

They dropped seven games in a row including two in Houston, a three-game sweep in Colorado, and two at home against the Milwaukee Brewers before Wednesday night’s 15-3 win over the same Brewers. 

The losing streak puts the Cubs down to the fifth place in the NL Central standings and 13.5 games behind the leader—the worst margin in this season.

Offense

Rookie shortstop Starlin Castro has hit safely in his last five games, including a 4-for-5 performance on Wednesday night.

Castro’s batting average is at .315, which is the teams best.

The Cubs do not have any other significant hitting streak, however, they would hope to carry over what they have left off in a 16-hit game Wednesday night.

In that contest, Derrek Lee went 2-for-3, Geovany Soto 3-for-5 with five RBI, and Blake Dewitt 2-for-5 with four.

Third baseman Aramis Ramirez was not in the starting lineup Wednesday but he had a pinch-hit three-run homer in the sixth inning to help the Cubs win 15-3.

Pitching

Tom Gorzelanny will start on Friday afternoon. 

His previous game was a no-decision in the 6-5 defeat last Saturday. 

It may not be obvious to notice but he has not lost a game since May 26 against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Chicago.  In July, he was 4-0 with an ERA of 4.20 and had three quality starts.

Saturday starter Randy Wells lost in his last two games—the previous one was an embarrassing 18-1 defeat on Monday in which he only lasted four innings allowing seven runs (six earned), 10 hits and a three-run home run. 

But Wells possesses a 3-0 record against the Reds for his career.

Right-handed rookie Thomas Diamond, who was called up to start Tuesday, will have at least one more start with the Cubs.  His major league debut was a loss but he fanned 10 Brewers in six innings pitched. 

Carlos Zambrano, who filled in as reliever since being activated from the restricted list, will not be available in the bullpen this series. 

Instead, the front office announced that he would start against the Giants in San Francisco next Monday.

The battered Cubs’ bullpen will benefit from a day off Thursday to rest some tired arms as their relievers including Sean Marshall, Andrew Cashner and Justin Berg have been overused in recent games. 

Rookies Mitch Atkins and Casey Coleman were called up from Triple-A Iowa during this week.    Atkins pitched a shutout inning on Wednesday.  Coleman’s major league debut was a bad one; he yielded six earned runs in 2.1 innings Monday night.

Cincinnati Reds (61-48)

Notes

The Reds regain first place in NL Central after Monday night’s victory in Pittsburgh.  They are half a game ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals.  The last time they occupied the first place was on July 17.

They come into Chicago after taking two games out of three against the Pirates in PNC Park.  This weekend in Wrigley Field will mark the end of their six-game road trip before welcoming home the Cardinals to kick off the key series next Monday.

Offense

The MVP candidate, first baseman Joey Votto, returned to the starting lineup Wednesday after missing two games due to a sprained wrist. 

He leads the team in batting average (.324), home runs (27) and RBI (73).

Veteran shortstop Orlando Cabrera was placed on the 15-disabled list Tuesday with an injury of strained left oblique. 

Utility man Paul Janish is taking his position and has hit well in his last game going 3-for-3 with one home run and three RBI.

Third baseman Scott Rolen has second-most home runs in the team with 18.  But he only connected once in his last 18 games. 

Pitching

The Cubs are lucky able to avoid the ace starter Johnny Cueto who leads the team in wins (11), ERA (3.24), and strikeouts (98) but they still have to face tough starters: Bronson Arroyo, Edinson Volquez, and Travis Wood, all game winners in their last outings.

Arroyo pitched seven strong innings against the Atlanta Braves at home for the victory which snapped his two-game losing streak. 

He had one start against the Cubs this season—he shut down the Cubs’ offense in six innings and the Reds prevailed 12-0.

Missing tons of actions in the first half of the season due to injury, Volquez rejoined the Reds in mid-July.  His ERA is high at 6.35 but he struck out 22 in 17 innings pitched. 

Volquez is perfect (2-0) against the Cubs in his career with a microscopic ERA of 0.75.

Rookie Travis Wood’s major league debut was in Wrigley Field on July 1.  He blanked the Cubs in seven innings pitched. 

He already has a one-hitter in his resume, it was in Philadelphia on July 10, but the Reds lost that game 1-0. 

Closer Francisco Cordero (3-4, 3.86) ranks third in saves (29) in the National League but his six blown saves are the most among major league closers.

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Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Ricky Romero was remarkable and his teammates put up another home run show in Yankee Stadium.

The 25-year-old left-hander pitched a two-run complete game, only allowing two hits and a walk.  The Blue Jays’ 8-2 win is their second against the New York Yankees in many nights. 

The two runs scored by Yankees came in the first inning.  Shortstop Derek Jeter led off with a walk.  First baseman Mark Teixeira stepped up to the plate after Nick Swisher lined out. 

On a 2-1 count, he belted his 23rd home run of the year to score Jeter.  He has homered twice two nights in a row and hit three in four games.  The Yankees led 2-0. 

Romero (9-7) settled in and was nearly perfect. He retired 11 batters in a row before yielding the only other hit to Marcus Thames to lead off the fifth inning. 

He then shut down the Yankees for the rest of the night.  He only needed to throw a total of 118 pitches for the complete game, which lasted two hours and 21 minutes. 

Four different Jays hit homers against the starter of the Yankees, Dustin Moseley (1-1), and relievers Kerry Wood and Sergio Mitre.

The first one came in the fourth inning, when the Jays were trailing by the score of 2-1.  After a double play, second baseman Aaron Hill was hit by Moseley’s fastball.  He scored on catcher John Buck’s double. 

Then, Travis Snider sent Moseley’s first pitch into the right field stand for his seventh homer of the season. 

Moseley served up another one in the eighth inning to the leadoff batter, Vernon Wells, on a 2-2 count.  He retired the following batter before he was replaced by Kerry Wood.

Aaron Hill responded to the pitching change by sending Wood’s 1-2 count delivery over the left-field wall. 

In the ninth, with Blue Jays third baseman Edwin Encarnacion at second base, Jose Bautista also connected, as he now leads the league with 33 home runs.  The two runs were charged to Mitre.

Romero’s complete game last night is his second this season and in his major league career.  The first one came on May 30 in Rogers Stadium against the Baltimore Orioles. 

The Toronto Blue Jays improve their season record to 56-51 and play the spoiler role in the AL East pennant race.  After the loss, New York skids to second place in the division, one game behind the Tampa Bay Rays. 

Alex Rodriguez, still on a quest for his 600th career home run, finished the night 0-for-4 with a strikeout.  He went hitless in his last five games. 

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Robinson Cano had another MVP performance again tonight. 

His home run in the top of ninth inning gave the New York Yankees a 5-4 victory over the Tamp Bay Rays.  And more importantly, the Yankees will maintain their AL East division lead when leaving St. Petersburg after tomorrow’s game.

Tonight’s match was filled with playoff atmosphere as a sellout crowd of 36,973 witnessed an exciting game.  A victory by the Rays would bring them back to share the AL East lead with the Yankees.  Nevertheless, the Yankees regain a two-game lead over the Rays in the standings.

The Rays was the team to initiate the first run.  In the bottom of the first inning, third baseman Evan Longoria hit a sacrifice fly to score the designated hitter John Jaso who led off with a double. Jaso went 3-for-4, including a triple with two runs scored this evening.

The Yankees played catch-up baseball throughout the game until their winning run came.  

With New York trailing by 1-0 in the second, Rays starting pitcher Matt Garza walked Alex Rodriguez, who advanced to second base on Robinson Cano’s double.  One out later, Curtis Granderson hit a sacrifice fly to sent Rodriguez home. 

Down 3-1in the sixth, with Derek Jeter on second base, first baseman Mark Teixeira connected as his 21st home run tied the game up 3-3.

Right-fielder Matt Joyce contributed for the Tampa Bay Rays when they regained the lead for the third time.  At the bottom of the sixth, he sent starting pitcher Javier Vazquez’s curveball far into the right-field bleachers.  It was his second home run in many nights.

But it did not take long before the Yankees found the equalizer.  This time, it was Nick Swisher’s solo shot off Garza in the seventh to make it 4-4.

Matt Garza and Javier Vazquez went deep tonight but were pulled when the game was still tied.  Both bullpens did a good job shutting down the opponent until Rays closer Rafael Soriano served up Cano’s home run. 

It happened in the ninth inning.  Soriano (2-1) relieved Joaquin Benoit to face the middle of the Yankees lineup.  Rodriguez was popped out to shortstop for the first out.  Cano, who already had two doubles tonight, hit Soriano’s fastball out of field for his 21st dinger of the season.

Yankees reliever Dave Robertson (2-3), pitched the scoreless eighth and became the winning pitcher of the game.  Mariano Rivera gained his 22nd save, blanking the Rays in a one-hit ninth inning.

Lance Berkman, acquired by the Yankees yesterday, had his first game wearing the new uniform.  He was penciled as the designated hitter by manager Joe Girardi but went hitless in four plate appearances.

Going 0-for 3, Alex Rodriguez did not hit his 600th career home run tonight.  He has to wait until tomorrow afternoon as his milestone search continues facing the Rays starter James Shields (9-9, 4.79) in the rubber game of this three-game series.  CC Sabathia (13-4, 3.15) will start for the Yankees.

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A defeat is bad — a blowout loss is even worse.  The Chicago Cubs know exactly how it feels tonight in Coors Field with an inexplicable 17-2 loss to the Colorado Rockies.

They had no hitting and plenty of bad pitching.  The 17-run loss is their worst this season after a 16-5 defeat by the Atlanta Braves on Opening Day.

Giving up 12 runs and 13 hits in the eighth inning is the last thing any Cubs fan would like to see.  The Cubs seem like a team made up of amateurs facing a major league team for the first time. 

On the other hand, it is a well-deserved victory for the Colorado Rockies to start a mini five game homestand at Coors Field after a terrible road trip (3-11). 

The game was pretty much decided early in the game.  After pitching through a one-hit two innings to start the game, Cubs starting pitcher Ryan Dempster (8-8) was shaky in the third and let the Rockies take a 3-0 lead. 

With one out, he gave up two consecutive hits, a single by pitcher Jeff Francis and a ground-rule double by centerfielder Dexter Fowler.  Both were sent home by right-fielder Seth Smith who hit a double to the right field.  After striking out first baseman Carlos Gonzalez for the second out, he issued three walks; the last one to catcher Chris Iannetta produced the Rockies’ third run in a bases-loaded situation. 

Cubs manager Lou Piniella saw enough in the fifth inning.  He had to pull Dempster out of the game with no out after serving up two more runs that included Gonzalez’s 20th home run of the season.

The Rockies hitting fiesta was in the eighth. A total of 18 Rockies came to bat and a cycle was hit.  Each player scored at least one run and had one hit off the Cubs relievers.  They combined five singles, five doubles, one triple, and two home runs.  The triple belonged to Iannetta and two dingers came from third baseman Ian Stewart, his 15th of the year, and centerfielder Dexter Fowler, his 3rd. 

The Rockies’ 11 consecutive hits in an inning become a new major league record.  They also set the franchise record by generating 13 hits in one inning.

Dexter Fowler continued his hot bat tonight.   Following a  two run, two RBI, 3-for-5 night on Thursday, he went 3-for-6 with two runs and two RBI. Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, batting clean-up, also enjoyed a 4-for-6, 3-run evening.

The southpaw Jeff Francis (4-3) had an easy night on the mound facing the Cubs by allowing two runs in six innings of work.  He only scattered four hits and one walk.

Note : Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano, who was placed on the restricted list after the verbal altercation with teammate Derrek Lee, was reinserted to the team roster today. To make room for Zambrano on roster, the Cubs released the right-handed reliever Bob Howry. Howry had a stint of 0-0, 5.66 ERA with the team.

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The last time the Cubs starting pitcher Carlos Silva won a game was back on July 6 against the Diamondacks in Arizona.  He then had two terrible outings suffering two consecutive losses and did not last more than two innings either time.  Tonight, his teammates made sure that they were backing him up as they pounded the Astros early in the game to give him his 10th victory of the year.  The Chicago Cubs defeat the Houston Astros 5-2 in the series’ opener.

Silva (10-4) showed the Astros his good stuff tonight; he pitched five innings yielding only one run, five hits, and one walk, and striking out four.  The Cubs’ offence and their bullpen took care of the rest.

The Astros scored first of their two runs in the bottom of the first.  Right fielder Michael Bourn reached second with a double.  He moved to third base on shortstop Angel Sanchez’s groundout and scored on a single by Lance Berkman.

The Cubs responded in the next at-bats by scoring two runs.  Center fielder Marlon Byrd drew a walk from the Astros starter, Wesley Wright (0-1), to start the second inning.  Alfonzo Soriano doubled to the right field as Byrd advanced to third.  On a 2-0 count, Geovany Soto cleared the bases by hitting a double to left field. 

They added two more runs in the third inning.  With one out, the Cubs had back-to-back hits: a double from first baseman Derrek Lee and a single third baseman Aramis Ramirez.  Byrd grounded into a fielder’s choice that drove in Lee from third base.  Byrd also crossed the plate with Soriano’s second double of the night. 

In the sixth, second baseball Ryan Theriot homered for the first time this season as he added the fifth run for the Cubs.

Catcher Goevanny Soto left the game after the sixth inning due to a foot injury.  Koyie Hill replaced him for the rest of the game.

Having thrown 90 pitches, Silva was pulled in the sixth inning when he was due up to bat.  Justin Berg, who relieved Silva, gave up the Astros’ second and last run.  Then three other Cubs relievers shut down the Astros the rest of the night.  Carlos Marmol earned his 19th save this season.

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The Chicago Cubs entered tonight’s game trying to sweep the St. Louis Cardinals to finish off their 10-game homestand at Wrigley Field, but the visitors did not let it happen.  They handed a 4-3 defeat to the Cubs.

Cubs rookie reliever Brian Schlitter (0-1) gave up a home run to Cardinals third baseman Felipe Lopez in the 11th inning.  The decisive run also handed him the first loss in his major league career.

The game was tie at 3-3 since the sixth inning; neither team could get the winning run until Lopez’s dinger.

The St. Louis Cardinals showed the aggressiveness right at the beginning of the game.  Their right-fielder Ryan Ludwick, who singled and reached second on Albert Pujols’s walk, attempted to run home on Matt Holliday’s fielder’s choice which retired Pujols at second.  But he got caught stealing on a 2-6-2 rundown. 

However, they managed to score first in the second inning.  Center fielder Jon Jay hit a triple off Cubs starter Ryan Dempster.  The following batter, second baseman Skip Schumaker, singled to send Jay home.  He moved to second on Chris Carpenter’s sacrifice bunt and then scored with Brendan Ryan’s single.  The Cardinals led 2-0. 

The Cubs got one back in the fourth.  Derrek Lee doubled on Carpenter’s first pitch and one out later, Marlon Byrd hit a single to score Lee.

The Cubs took the lead for the first time in the fifth by scoring two runs.  Catcher Geovany Soto walked on an eight-pitch at bat facing Chris Carpenter; Ryan Theriot hit a triple to right field to bring Soto home.  Then, two outs later, Theriot scored on a single delivered by Starlin Castro.

The Cardinals’ first home run came from Albert Pujols.  Leading off in the sixth inning, he turned Dempster’s 3-1 count fastball into his 23rd home run of the year. 

They tried to add another run with two outs in the same inning. Schumaker, who finished the night 4-for-4, reached second base on a double.  The Cubs walked Yadier Molina intentionally to face pitcher Carpenter, who hit a single.  Schumaker attempted to score on the play but Marlon Byrd’s precise throw from the center field to the catcher tagged him out at home plate.

Both teams were unable to add runs in the following four innings.  Each of them had their chance to win by loading the bases in the 10th.  However, the Cardinals ended theirs on Molina’s double-play grounder.  The Cardinal reliever Ryan Franklin (5-1) struck out Marlon Byrd of the Cubs to strand Tyler Colvin, Stalin Castro, and Aramis Ramirez on base.

Schlitter, activated from the disabled list Friday, relieved Carlos Marmol in the tenth.  He pitched into the 11th inning to give up the game-winning home run to Felipe Lopez when there were already two outs.

The Cardinals relievers Kyle McClellan and Dennys Reyes shut down the Cubs in the bottom 12th.

Although beating the Cardinals twice and wining two series out of three at home, the Cubs cannot gain any ground in the NL Central division.  They are still 10 games behind the Cardinals and nine games below .500. 

But for the Cardinals, the victory is significant as they regain the top spot of the division, a half-game lead over the Cincinnati Reds. 

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