Monday, June 27, 2016

78

CUBS WIN!!!  

A win in Cincinnati is especially welcomed after the dismal series in Miami.  The boys in blue were back in hitting form tonight, taking it to the Reds with 5 big home runs.  Oh, and did you see the outstanding and historic performance by Kris Bryant?  Going 5-for-5, Kris Bryant hit 3 (yes, 3) home runs and 2 doubles.  Not to be outdone by Bryant's full house performance, Jake Arrieta pitched decently (not something I would normally say about Arrieta) to secure the win and helped with a big home run as well.

                          

Monday, June 20, 2016

83

Hey hey! The Cubs crushed the Bucs 10-5 at Wrigley on Sunday night, sweeping the three-game series. Kyle Hendricks dominated, pitching another quality start. His line: 6 IP, 12 K, 1 ER.

The first place Cubs hit FIVE home runs, including one from rookie Willson Contreras in his first MLB at-bat, one from Anthony Rizzo (who went 3-for-4 with 3 RBI), and one each from Russell, Bryant, & Baez.

The MLB-best Cubs start a three-game series against St. Louis at Wrigley on Monday.

Let's go!

Image Credit: Chicago Cubs

NL Central Standings
Team        W   L    PCT    GB
Cubs       47  20   .701    --
Cards      35  33   .515  12.5
Pirates    33  36   .478  15.0

Saturday, June 18, 2016

85

Holy cow! The Cubs come back to beat the Pirates 4-3 at Wrigley. Jon Lester tossed another quality start with 6 IP, 7 K, and 3 ER, and three Cubs each had solo homers: Bryzzo and Grandpa.

The Cubs bullpen held the Bucs scoreless over the final three innings, striking out three and allowing only one hit.

The first place Cubs wrap up the series against Pittsburgh tomorrow at Wrigley.

Let's go!

NL Central Standings
Team        W   L    PCT    GB
Cubs       46  20   .697    --
Cards      35  32   .522  11.5
Pirates    33  35   .485  14.0

Friday, June 17, 2016

88

Hey hey! The Cubs beat the swooning Pirates 6-0 Friday behind another quality start from Jake Arrieta. His line: 6 IP, 0 ER, 11 K, 2 H. 

Dexter "You Go, We Go" Fowler reached base in 3 of 5 plate appearances and scored twice, Matt Szczur went 2-for-5 with a 2-run HR, Albert Almora went 3-for-4 with 2 RBI, and recent call-up Willson Contreras made his MLB debut by catching the 9th and helping to preserve the shutout. This team is deep.

The first place Cubs host Pittsburgh again on Saturday in game two of a three-game weekend set.

Let's go!

NL Central Standings
Team        W   L    PCT    GB
Cubs       45  20   .692    --
Cards      35  30   .538  10.0
Pirates    33  34   .493  13.0

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

90

Holy cow! The Cubs came back in the 9th to beat the Nats 4-3 in DC. John Lackey continued his dominance with 7 K and 2 ER in 6 IP, and Hector Rondon lowered his WHIP to 0.64 and picked up the win after allowing Washington to tie the game in the 8th.

Dexter "You Go, We Go" Fowler went 2-for-5 with a run scored, and J-Hey knocked in 2 RBI. But it was Albert Almora's pinch-hit, first-pitch RBI double that gave the Cubs the lead for good in the top of the 9th. Almora is now hitting .333 since being called up from Iowa.

The first place Cubs finish the series against the Nationals Wednesday afternoon in DC before enjoying a day off on Thursday, their last one before the All-Star Break. They start a six-game homestand on Friday against the Pirates and Cards.

Let's go!

Image Credit: Chicago Cubs

NL Central Standings
Team        W   L    PCT    GB
Cubs       44  19   .698    --
Cards      35  29   .547   9.5
Pirates    33  31   .516  11.5

Sunday, June 12, 2016

92

Holy cow! The Cubs trounced the Braves 13-2 at Turner Field on Sunday behind Jon Lester's quality start and 5 doubles and a HR from the offense! Lester's line: 7 IP, 0 ER, 7 K, 0 BB, 5 H.

J-Hey went 3-for-4 with 3 R, Rizzo was 3-for-6 with 3 RBI, and Baez was 2-for-5 with a 3-R HR. Lester drove in a run, and Ross & recent Cubs signing Chris Coghlan each had 2 RBI.

The first place Cubs head to Washington to start a three-game set on Monday before returning to the Friendly Confines to start a six-game homestand against NL Central rivals the Pirates & Cards.

Let's go!

Image Credit: Chicago Cubs

NL Central Standings
Team        W   L    PCT    GB
Cubs       43  18   .705    --
Cards      34  28   .548   9.5
Pirates    32  30   .516  11.5

Saturday, June 11, 2016

93

Holy cow! The Cubs downed the Braves 8-2 at Turner Field behind four Cub homers and Jake Arrieta's quality start. His line: 7 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 2 BB ... and 2-for-3 from the plate with a run scored.

Miggy hit a 3-R HR, J-Hey went 3-for-5 with HR and 2 runs scored, and Bryzzo each homered as the Cubs offense rebounded from a rough outing on Friday.

The series finale is tomorrow in Atlanta.

Let's go!



NL Central Standings
Team        W   L    PCT    GB
Cubs       42  18   .700    --
Cards      33  28   .541   9.5
Pirates    32  29   .525  10.5

Thursday, June 9, 2016

95

Hey hey! The Cubs beat the Phillies 8-1 behind John Lackey's quality start and 7th win of the season. His line: 7 IP, 8 K, 3 H, 0 BB, 0 ER.

Javy Baez had a heckuva day at the plate: 4-for-4 with 3 RBI. Ben Zobrist and Kris Bryant each homered for the first place Cubs.

The MLB-best Cubs have an off day Thursday before kicking off a three-game series in Atlanta on Friday.

Let's go!

Image Credit: Chicago Cubs

NL Central Standings
Team        W   L    PCT    GB
Cubs       41  17   .707    --
Pirates    32  27   .542   9.5
Cards      31  28   .525  10.5

Tuesday, June 7, 2016

97

Holy cow! The Cubs beat the Phillies 6-4 behind Jon Lester's 8 scoreless innings. Lester's line: 8 IP, 9 K, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 H. 

Dexter "You Go, We Go" Fowler went 3-for-4 with 3 runs scored, and Bryzzo each went 3-for-5: Anthony with 2 RBI and Kris with 1. Hector Rondon picked up his 11th save of the season to close out a rocky 9th.

The first place Cubs and Phils face off Tuesday in game two of the three game series at Citizens Bank Park.

Let's go!

Image Credit: Chicago Cubs

NL Central Standings
Team        W   L    PCT    GB
Cubs       40  16   .714    --
Pirates    30  26   .536  10.0
Cards      30  27   .526  10.5

Sunday, June 5, 2016

98

Cubs drop the series finale to the D-Backs 3-2, and lose a Jake Arrieta start for the first time since July. Arrieta struck out 12 in 5 IP but gave up 3 ER. He also just missed a 2-R HR, settling for an RBI double instead.

Javy Baez added a solo HR, but the Cubs offense was limited to just 3 other hits.

The Pirates also lost Sunday, dropping the CMN by one.

The first place Cubs now hit the road for their next nine games, starting Monday in Philly.

Let's go!



NL Central Standings
Team        W   L    PCT    GB
Cubs       39  16   .709    --
Pirates    30  26   .536   9.5
Cards      29  27   .518  10.5

99

Hey hey! The first place Cubs downed the D-Backs 5-3 at Wrigley on Saturday behind Jason Hammel's quality start (7 IP, 1 H, 6 K, 2 ER) and 2 RBI single.

Dexter "You Go, We Go" Fowler started the game with a HR and Anthony Rizzo added an insurance run with a HR in the 8th.

The MLB-best Cubs wrap up the series and the homestand Sunday.

Let's go!


Image Credit: Chicago Cubs


NL Central Standings
Team        W   L    PCT    GB
Cubs       39  15   .722    --
Pirates    30  25   .545   9.5
Cards      29  27   .518  11.0

Friday, June 3, 2016

101

I was at the game today and let me say, there could not be a better day for baseball than today. It was the mid 70s with a slight breeze. Only a few whisks of clouds in the sky.  Row five in section 429 made it fantastic.


The game was quiet until the 8th. I like to say you always see something new everytime you go to a baseball game and today was by far not an exception.  We watched Baez what should have been a single to the track with two man on. The outfielder juggled the ball, giving the base runners an easy run to home. Baez ran to second. The DBacks tried to throw to third but the ball was so off. It went into the seats above the Cubs dugout.

Baez stood there facing left field, slightly off 2nd base in the direction of 3rd. His back was to the overthrow. It looked like he thought the play was over and began to remove his ankle guard.  The umpires were waving him home and the crowd was screaming. He finally looked up, realized he was awarded home because of the bad throw and because he was inbetween base.

The rest of the inning there were more errors and runs. I kept saying to my friends: "it's still the bottom of the 8th, I can get another beer." That lasted 25 minutes until I finally pulled the trigger.

Then I took the Addison 152 west on a Friday after a Cubs game. Don't do that. 60 minutes to go 4 miles to catch a train. At least Greyland Pub was there to calm me before the train arrived.

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

104

Holy cow! The Cubs downed the Dodgers 2-1 on Wednesday night. Jon Lester tossed a complete game, and it was a gem: 9 IP, 10 K, 0 BB, 1 ER.

Kris Bryant's 2-R HR gave the MLB-best Cubs all the offense they'd need.

The first place Cubs finish the series against LA on Thursday afternoon at Wrigley.

Let's go!




NL Central Standings
Team        W   L    PCT    GB
Cubs       36  15   .706    --
Pirates    29  23   .558   7.5
Cards      28  26   .519   9.5

106

A tough 5-0 loss for the Cubs tonight: Jake Arrieta tossed another quality start, but the bullpen couldn't maintain it, giving up 5 unanswered runs to the Dodgers in the last two innings.

The Pirates lost, too, dropping the CMN to 106.

The first place Cubs face off against LA again Wednesday at Wrigley.

Let's go!


NL Central Standings
Team        W   L    PCT    GB
Cubs       35  15   .700    --
Pirates    29  22   .569   6.5
Cards      28  25   .528   8.5