Cubs End Six Game Skid in Spectacular Fashion
If you knew nothing about baseball and sat down to watch this one you would think that the Cubs were the team fighting for its playoff life and the Pirates were on their way to a 100 loss campaign. Well, we all know that it’s the other way around, which is what makes this game so very weird. Travis Wood got the start 
for the Cubs tonight and was nearly perfect over six strong innings, he gave up no runs on one hit while walking three and striking out five. It’s always easier to pitch with a big lead and that is exactly what the Cubs offense gave Wood early on. By the time Wood left the game in the 7th the Cubs held a 12-0 lead, yes you read that right, can’t remember the last time the Cubs were on the right side of one of these. Sure the Cubs offense was solid tonight, but they got a lot of help from the Bad News Bears, I mean Pittsburgh Pirates. The Bucco’s made seven errors tonight, seven, that’s really hard to do in a major league game. Starlin Castro had a historic night in Pittsburgh, sure he went 3-for-5 with a double and three RBI’s but the thing that will be remembered tonight is Castro recorded his 500th hit as a Major League player. For Castro to accomplish that feat before the age of 23 is amazing, just some context, he is a full two years younger than Pete Rose when he recorded his 500th hit. Alfonso Soriano and Brett Jackson stole the show in the field tonight as both guys made spectacular catches, robbing Andrew McCutchen both times, with Jackson’s catch quite possibly being the catch of the year. Jackson had to leave the game, but was only diagnosed with a bruised knee, he should be fine.
Brett Jackson’s Amazing Catch
Pirates Make Seven Errors
Game Highlights:
Castro’s Big Night
Soriano’s Great Catch
Valbuena’s Two Run Double
Thanks for reading,
- George
Cubs Go Down Fighting, Literally, Kinda
The Cubs could easily be accused as a team just going through the motions this year as they have a had a number of lifeless losses and currently sit 35 games under .500. Tonight was more of the same against the Nationals until Bo Porter, former Cub, and the Nationals third base coach, lit a fire under the club. After the Nationals stole a couple of bases, and Jayson Werth swung at a 3-0 pitch with a five run lead, catcher Steve Clevenger went to the dugout to get a new glove. Apparently Bo Porter didn’t like it, and started barking at the Cubs bench, Jaime Quirk took exception to Porter and the two got in a shouting match which resulted in benches clearing. 
Miraculously, Bo Porter, who started everything stayed at his post at third base, and Quirk was ejected. Fast forward to the 6th, the Cubs were determined to get the last word as Lendy Castillo threw at Bryce Harper, and missed. Harper walked towards the mound with Clevenger intercepting him before he could get too far, but the benches and bullpens were empty once again, this time with vigor. Nats reliever Michael Gonzalez kept running his mouth, which resulted in some more pushing and a possible sad attempt at a punch from Clevenger. Clevenger, and Corpas were ejected along with Gonzalez, that was the end of the extracurriculars, the butt kicking resumed after that. I will say this, it was nice to see a Cubs team answer the bell and finally say enough is enough, however when you are getting blasted night after night it makes you look rather sad. I was still happy to see it.
Now onto the third straight embarrassment on the field. Justin Germano got the start for the Cubs tonight, and didn’t fare much better then the Cubs starters that preceded him in this series. Germano was done after four innings, he gave up seven runs, six earned, on seven hits while walking two and striking out two. Germano left trailing 7-2, this was after the Cubs actually held a lead of 2-1 in the second inning. The Cubs had some success early against Nats starter Jordan Zimmermann as they scored in the first and second to take an early lead. Anthony Rizzo had a great day at the plate going 3-for-4 with his 12th home run of the season. Starlin Castro also did his best to keep the Cubs in this one as he was 2-for-4 with a double, a triple, and a run scored. On to Pittsburgh.
Incident #1 – Bo Porter NOT Ejected
Incident #2
Brett Jackson’s Great Catch
Game Highlights:
Barney Triples Home a Run
Thanks for reading,
- George
From Bad to Worse as Cubs Get Thrashed Again
Dale Sveum said it best after the game, “That’s just men playing against boys right now.” For the second straight night the Cubs gave up six home runs to the Nationals, at least they didn’t use as many pitchers tonight as they did last night. Volstad was the one serving up long balls tonight, but at least he was able to give the Cubs some innings. 
Volstad’s night came to an end after five innings, he gave up five runs on nine hits while walking four and striking out two. Volstad gave up three home runs, Michael Bowden gave up one, and Blake Parker gave up two more. Bryce Harper had two home runs tonight, and Adam LaRoche hit another home run in this one, LaRoche has been amazing against the Cubs, and will continue to be awesome until someone decides to pitch him inside off the plate. I mentioned it yesterday, opponents are way too comfortable in the box against Cubs pitchers, until they go inside with a purpose balls will continue to leave the park. Speaking of comfortable at the plate, the Cubs are anything but as they were carved up by now 18 game winner Gio Gonzalez. The Cubs could only manage four hits in the 9-1 defeat, one of which was an Anthony Rizzo solo home run in the ninth inning. Dale Sveum was ejected tonight after he took exception to home plate umpire Larry Vanover “eyeballing” the Cubs bench after a couple of close calls. The Cubs will try to avoid the four game sweep tomorrow night.
Game Highlights:
Anthony Rizzo’s 11th Home Run
Great Play by Vitters
Sveum Ejected
Thanks for reading,
- George
Nats Pound Cubs Into Submission
No doubt about this one, as the Nationals pounded out 19 hits, six of which were home runs, and 11 runs en route to an 11-5 victory over the Cubs. This one was ugly from the get go as 
Chris Rusin couldn’t command anything and was awesome at finding the barrel of the Nationals bats. Rusin only lasted an inning plus giving up five runs on eight hits while walking one and striking out one. The Cubs used seven pitchers in this one, and everyone one of them gave up at least two hits except for Jaye Chapman who pitched a hitless, scoreless inning in his major league debut. This one was basically a spring training game, Sveum threw out almost every pitcher possible to see what they had, most of them didn’t have much. Offensively it was a weird night for the Cubs, hitters two through five were 8-14 with a triple, a home run, two walks, five RBI’s and five runs scored. The rest of the Cubs were 0-for-19 with two walks, yikes. Luis Valbuena, Anthony Rizzo, Alfsonso Soriano, and Starlin Castro all had two hits in the loss. Soriano had a great night at the plate going 2-for-4 with a home run, a triple, and three RBI’s. The Cubs set a franchise record tonight by playing their 51st player of the year, not really sure if that’s something to be happy about, probably not.
Game Highlights:
DeJesus Makes a Great Catch
Soriano’s 26th Home Run
Castro With a Leaping Catch
Castro’s RBI Single
Chapman’s First Career K
Thanks for reading,
- George
Cubs Threaten Late but Fall Short
Jeff Samardzija is probably getting used to this, as it seems to be happening a lot, such is life being the ace of a team trying to build its entire organization from the ground up. Yes, I said ace, Samardzija is starting to become every bit of the word, today was another step in that direction. Samardzija made one mistake in his seven innings of work and it resulted in an Adam LaRoche solo homer that gave the Nats a 1-0 lead early. 
They would tack on an insurance run in the eighth, and survived a Cubs scare in the ninth to escape with a 2-1 victory. As I mentioned Samardzija worked seven strong innings giving up one run on seven hits while walking one and striking out eight, unfortunately he finished his day with his 13th loss of the season. The Cubs couldn’t solve Ross Detwiler today as they could only manage four hits against the southpaw who won his 9th game of the season. Starlin Castro was one of the Cubs who found some success at the plate today as he was 2-for-4 with a double in the loss. Welington Castillo continues his push for the 2013 starting role behind the plate as he finished the day 2-for-3 with an RBI, he also picked off a runner at first late in the game.
Game Highlights:
Castillo’s RBI Single
Mather’s Nice Catch
Castro’s Slick Play
Thanks for reading,
- George
Cubs Can’t Overcome Early Giant Surge
Much like the Cubs did yesterday, the Giants jumped out in front early and rode that momentum to victory. Justin Germano got the start and struggled with his command early, and he can’t succeed if he doesn’t have his command. The Giants struck for four runs in the first, all coming after the first two hitters were retired. 
Germano finished his day after five innings giving up five runs on six hits while walking two and striking out two. His counterpart Tim Lincecum was good today, however he made plenty of mistakes over the middle of the plate but the Cubs couldn’t take advantage as they could only bang out five hits in the loss. David DeJesus got every bit of a Lincecum mistake in the third inning launching a massive two-run homer that bounced onto Sheffield Avenue to bring the Cubs to within three at 5-2. Unfortunately that was as close as the Cubs would get as they were shut down over the last six innings in this one. Anthony Rizzo also had a good day at the plate as he is starting to get hot again, he finished the day 2-for-4 with a double. The rubber game of the series takes place tomorrow afternoon where the Cubs will put their hopes of a series win in the hands of Travis Wood.
Game Highlights:
Barney With a Slick Play
DeJesus’ Great Play
Massive Two-Run Homer From DeJesus
Thanks for reading,
- George
Bizarro World: Volstad Wins Second Straight
Maybe Chris Volstad has found something. Volstad went without a win in 24 straight starts, over a full calendar year, he has two wins in his last two starts. Volstad was good today, on a day when the conditions favored anyone with a bat in their hands. He found the zone early and then pitched to his strengths after that, 
he finished his day after 5.2 innings giving up two runs on five hits while walking three and striking out two. Coming into this one I don’t think many people gave the Cubs a chance, not only are the Giants much better, but the Cubs were facing all world lefty Madison Bumgarner. As they say, that’s why they play the games.
The Cubs jumped Bumgarner early, as they scored once in the first and piled on four more in the third inning to take a 5-0 lead. The Giants tried to make it a game late as they pulled within two in the 8th but Carlos Marmol came on to shut the door in the ninth, again, he’s been outstanding as of late. Anthony Rizzo hit his first home run since August 5, no one believed it so they actually had to review it to make sure. Okay, that’s not really why, it was ruled a triple but replays showed it was gone, it was Rizzo’s 10th home run of the season, he finished the day 2-for-4 with an RBI, and two runs scored. Alfonso Soriano also had a big day at the plate, basically rubbing it in the Giants face, “you’ll never get this, you’ll never get this” Soriano was overheard as he rounded the bases on his 24th home run of the season. Soriano of course has said that he would prefer to not play in San Francisco if the Giants tried to trade for him, Soriano finished the day 2-for-4 with three RBI’s.
Volstad Presser
Sveum Presser
Game Highlights
Soriano’s Two-Run Bomb
Full Video Recap
Rizzo’s ….. Home Run
Castillo’s RBI Double
Thanks for reading,
- George
Cubs Win Wild One at Wrigley
I mentioned while watching the end of the game, it really doesn’t matter what the Cubs record is, seeing them win a game like that is fun and gets you pumped for what this team could be one day. What a crazy day at Wrigley, haven’t seen one of these summer day games in a while. This one started out well enough as the Cubs jumped out to an early 3-0 lead behind a Starlin Castro triple and Anthony Rizzo double, then things got familiar. By familiar I mean bad, as in the Brewers started beating the crap out of Cubs pitching, again. The Brewers scored five times in the 3rd, and two more times in the
fourth to take a 7-3 lead. They weren’t done there as they plated two more in the 6th to make it 9-3 and all but assured themselves of a four game sweep. Not so fast, the Cubs came roaring back in the bottom of the sixth inning, they scored six times on four hits to even the game at nine. It didn’t take long for the Brewers to grab the lead back as they scored once in the 7th and once in the 8th to build an 11-9 lead heading to the ninth. That’s when the Cubs of 2012 turned into the Cubs of 2015, okay I’m getting ahead of myself, but the Cubs ninth inning is exactly what everyone is hoping to see on a daily basis on the Northside of Chicago. Each guy worked the count and made sure that the pitcher was the one in trouble, the end result was a thrilling 12-11 walk off victory, the 50th of the season. The Cubs walked 11 times this afternoon, that is outstanding, a number of guys had tremendous days, too many to mention here, the box score can do the talking. I will say this, Starlin Castro had an outstanding day at the plate, not just because of the results, but because he worked every at bat especially in the ninth when he got down 0-2 before working the count to 3-2 and singling up the middle. Great win!
Sveum Postgame
Game Highlights:
Full Video Recap
Rizzo’s Game Tying Double
Castro’s Big Hit in the Ninth
Cubs Six Run Sixth
Jackson’s Big Double
Rizzo Just Misses a HR
Castro Legs Out a Triple
Thanks for reading,
- George
Offensive Struggles Continue For Cubs in Loss
Let’s not kid ourselves, this is pretty bad, sure it’s something that needs to happen in order to get better, but it’s really bad. The Cubs had one more hit than they had last night, a whopping four, at least two of those hits went for extra bases, bright side right? Another piece of good news is that the Cubs only struck out seven times as a team tonight, a moral victory if you will. 
It’s a shame too as Jeff Samardzija turned in another solid outing as he winds down his first full season as a big league starter. Shark finished his night after seven innings, he gave up three runs, two earned, on seven hits, he didn’t walk anyone and struck out ten. To think that at the beginning of the season the Cubs were “taking a chance” by putting Samardzija into the rotation, he has been a bright spot all year-long, and looks to be near the top of the rotation in 2013. The Cubs had nothing going offensively as Mike Fiers was as equally as impressive as Samardzija, shutting the Cubs down for 7.1 innings. Starlin Castro and Welington Castillo each had a double in the loss, but at least there was something to get excited about tonight if you were a Cubs fan. Congrats to Darwin Barney, who tonight set the NL single-season record with his 114th consecutive error-less game at second base. Wish you weren’t turning into Theriot at the plate, let’s avoid the sweep tomorrow afternoon!
Game Highlights:
Barney’s RBI Groundout
Thanks for reading,
- George
Cubs Shut Down By Gallardo
Can’t really fault Travis Wood too much in this one, he had a quality start on the mound and was the only Cubs offense in a 4-1 defeat. In the game preview I mentioned that the goal last night was to strike out less than ten times, goal failed. The Cubs struck out 11 times last night, 
the Cubs have struck out 65 times in the last five games against the Brewers, all losses. Back to Wood, he was solid going seven innings giving up three runs on five hits and striking out four. Wood’s only mistake was a 3-0 fastball to Jeff Bianchi who launched his first major league home run into the left field bleachers to give the Brewers a 3-0 lead. The Cubs had no answer for Gallardo as they were only able to record three hits, one of which was a home run by Cubs starter Travis Wood that left the yard. Everyone on the Cubs seemed lost last night, a lot of that had to do with Gallardo’s dominance, he had every hitter off-balance and guessing, it’s not everyday that Rizzo stikes out three times. Luis Valbuena and Starlin Castro were the only Cubs to register base hits other than Wood, both singles. Game three of this four game series will be tonight, let’s make contact!
Game Highlights:
Travis Wood Postgame
Valbuena’s Great Play
Travis Wood Goes Deep
Thanks for reading,
- George
