55

Holy cow! The first place Cubs beat Milwaukee 4-2 on Sunday to take the series and a 2.5 game lead in the NL Central.

John Lackey threw a quality start (6 IP, 7 K, 2 ER), and KB, JJ, & J-Hey each went 2-for-4. Bryant and Caratini each homered; Victor's was the 1st of his MLB career. Grimm & Rondon each pitched a perfect inning, and Wade Davis picked up his 21st save in 21 chances. That's Cub.

The Cubs have an off day Monday before starting a six-game homestand on Tuesday.

Go Cubs go!

57

Hey hey! The Comeback Cubs beat the Brewers 2-1 in 11 innings Saturday after being down 1-0 into the 7th. Jason Heyward's solo homer was the game winner!

Kyle Hendricks looked sharp (5 IP, 3 K, 1 ER), and six Cub relievers combined for six innings of one-hit, scoreless ball. KB went 3-for-5 on the night and added the other Chicago RBI. In other news, Jon Jay raised his average to a cool .302.

The series wraps up Sunday in Milwaukee. The Cubs return to Wrigley Tuesday to kick off a six-game homestand.

Go Cubs go!

59

Holy cow! The first place Cubs beat the White Sox 6-3 to take the Crosstown Cup for the first time since 2014 behind another quality start for Jon Lester (7 IP, 4 K, 4 H, 2 ER) and a huge night for Kyle Schwarber (3-for-4 with a 3B, 2 HR, & 4 RBI).

The North Siders have now won 11-of-13 since the All-Star break, going from 5.5 games behind to 1.5 games ahead of Milwaukee, where the Cubs head next for a three-game weekend series.

Go Cubs go!

60

Holy cow! The first place, defending World Series champion Chicago Cubs downed the White Sox Wednesday night 8-3 behind Jake Arrieta's quality start (6.2 IP, 5 K, 2 H, 2 ER) and a 3-for-4, 4 RBI night from Anthony Rizzo.

Mike Montgomery added 2.1 innings of one-run ball, Addy Russell added a solo HR, and Jon Jay made an outstanding catch in what was a great team win.

The crosstown series wraps up Thursday night on the south side; a Cubs win would return the Crosstown Cup to Wrigley for the first time since 2014.

Go Cubs go!

62

Brewers lose, first place Cubs up 7-3 against the ChiSox in the 9th.

Stay tuned...

64

Holy cow! The defending World Series champion Chicago Cubs beat the Cards 5-3 Sunday night to move back into first place!

Jose Quintana tossed a quality start in his Wrigley debut as a Cub, Kyle Schwarber homered, and Willson Contreras drilled a two-run homer to take the lead for good. Ronny & CJ combined for two scoreless innings, and Wade Davis picked up the save, his 20th in 20 chances.

The Cubs are now 8-1 since the All-Star break.

Go Cubs go!

65

It's Cubs - Cards Sunday night at Wrigley! A win for the North Siders would put them back in first place in the NL Central.

Go Cubs go!

66

Hey hey! The Comeback Cubs did it again Saturday, turning a 2-0 deficit into a 3-2 victory. Jon Lester hurled a dominant start (8 IP, 10 K, 2 ER) and the offense mounted a three-run rally in the 8th for the win. All three runs scored with two outs. That's Cub.

The series wraps up Sunday at Wrigley.

Go Cubs go!

67

Friday's CMN news: Brewers lost, Jake Arrieta looked sharp, and Willson Contreras homered again.

Otherwise, there's nothing to see here. Move along.

Cubs-Cards again Saturday at Wrigley.

Go Cubs go!

68

Sweep! The Cubs dismantled the Braves 8-2 on Wednesday behind a quality start from Mike Montgomery and plenty of offense.

In their first six games since the All-Star break, the men in blue have put up 9, 10, 8, 4, 5, and 8 runs, respectively (7.3 rpg), while holding their opponents to 2.8 rpg. That's Cub.

Monty also collected his first hit of the season, a solo homer. Addison Russell went 4-for-4 with 2 RBI. Tommy LaStella filled in nicely for KB, who left the game early with a sprained finger sustained on a slide, by going 2-for-3 with a solo HR and 2 runs scored. Javy Baez had the big blow, a two-out, three-run homer that iced the game and capped off a 2-for-4 day. 

The Cubs kick off a five-game homestand on Friday: three games against the Cards and two against the White Sox.

Go Cubs go!

71

Holy cow! The Cubs won their fifth straight on Tuesday, downing the Braves 5-1.  Willson "We Are Back" Contreras belted a three-run homer, and John Lackey returned from the DL to toss five innings of one-run ball.

The Chicago bullpen combined for four scoreless innings of relief, and Javy Baez added a solo shot en route to a 3-for-4 night. That's Cub.

The series wraps up Wednesday in Atlanta before the Cubs return to the Friendly Confines for a weekend set against the Cardinals.

Go Cubs go!

73

Hey hey! The Cubs won their fourth straight on Monday, downing the Braves 4-3 in Atlanta behind Jon Lester's dominant start.

Game two of the three-game series is Tuesday.

Go Cubs go!

75

Hey hey! Welcome to the north side, Jose Quintana! The Cubs put up 8 runs in Q's Cubs' debut while he blanked the O's (7 IP, 12 K, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 H) in a dominant start that resulted in an 8-0 win and a sweep of the series in Baltimore.

Bryzzo homered, Willson "We Are Back" Contreras went 4-for-5, and the team was 5-for-13 with RISP.

The defending World Series champs start a three-game set in Atlanta Monday before heading back to the Friendly Confines.

Go Cubs go!

77

Holy cow! The Cubs beat the O's again on Saturday. The offense put up 10 runs and Jake Arrieta tossed a quality start. That's 19 runs scored in the first two games after the All-Star break.

The series wraps up Sunday in Baltimore before the North Siders head to Atlanta for a three-game set to end the road trip.

Go Cubs go!

79

The All-Star Break is upon us. Here's hoping the rest does the Cubs some good and that the second half is better to them than the first!

Go Cubs go!

81

Holy cow! The Comeback Cubs were at it again on Wednesday, scoring seven unanswered runs to down the Rays 7-3. Jon Jay's pinch-hit, three-run homer tied the game in the 6th and the Cubs scored two runs in each of their final two at-bats to seal the win.  

That's Cub.

John Lackey tossed a quality start (6 IP, 3 ER, 3 K, 0 BB) and the bullpen combined for three innings of scoreless, two-hit ball.  Rizzo went 2-for-3 with 2 BB and 2 RBI, KB went 1-for-3 with 2 R and 2 BB, and Happ went 2-for-4 with 2 RBI.

The win earned a series split with Tampa Bay.  The Brewers head to Wrigley for a makeup game Thursday, and the North Siders finish the first half of the season with a three-game set against the Pirates at home starting Friday.

Go Cubs go!

82

Hey hey!  The Cubs took the series finale against the Reds on Sunday 6-2 behind Jake Arrieta's dominant start, his best of the season (7 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 6 K), and an offensive outburst led by Ian Happ (3-for-4, 2 HR, 4 RBI).

Javy chipped in with an RBI and a 3-for-4 day, Addy scored a run while going 2-for-4, and Rizzo added a solo HR. 

The Cubs head back to Chicago for a six-game homestand that leads up to the All-Star break.  They'll host the Rays for two, make up a rainout with the Brewers, and the Pirates come to Wrigley for three next weekend.

Go Cubs go!