112

Holy cow! The Cubs continued their hot road trip, downing the Mets 5-1 behind a quality start from Jose Quintana and a big night from Ben Zobrist (3-for-5, HR, 2 RBI).

Zobrist's night raised his season average to .291, while J-Hey's 2-for-5 night raised his BA to .262, 42 points higher than it was on May 25. Heyward hit .283 in May and has 8 hits in his last 13 at-bats.

The Cubs bullpen allowed one hit in three innings of relief. Along the way, Steve Cishek lowered his season ERA to 1.78, Pedro "Hats Left" Strop lowered his to 1.52, and Brandon Morrow lowered his to a filthy 0.98. That's Cub.

The series continues Friday in New York.

Go Cubs go!

113

Jon Lester went 6 innings giving up 8 hits and 4 runs while striking out 6 and most importantly no walks.  Lester also helped his own cause with his 2nd career 2 hit game.  Anthony Rizzo was able to cancel out the boos as he reached base 4 times last night including a game tying home run after the Cubs were down early.  Jason Heyward and Kyle Schwarber combined to help add 4 runs late and Brandon Morrow got the save to seal the comeback win.  The series continues tonight at 6:05 as the Professor takes the mound.

115

Holy cow! The Cubs downed the Bucs 7-0 in Pittsburgh on Monday behind a tremendous spot start from Mike Montgomery and a 3-for-4, 3 RBI day from Anthony Rizzo.

Montgomery (5.2 IP, 5 K, 0 BB, 2 H, 0 ER) was called into service with Yu Darvish landing on the DL. The Cubs bullpen was perfect, tossing 3.1 innings of perfect ball.

Addison Russell added a pinch-hit, two-run homer to ice the game late.

The series continues Tuesday at PNC Park. 

Go Cubs go!

116

Holy cow! The Cubs downed the Giants 8-3 on Sunday night at Wrigley behind Javier Baez's three-run homer and 6 1/3 innings of scoreless relief from the Chicago bullpen.

The Cubs picked up Tyler Chatwood quickly, tying the game at 3-3 in the bottom of the first. Baez's blast broke the game open in the fourth, and the Cubs never looked back. Albert Almora had quite a night, going 3-for-5 and making a great catch.

The North Siders head to Pittsburgh on Monday to kick off a three-game series.

Go Cubs go!

117

Hey hey! The Cubs downed the Giants 6-2 at Wrigley on Friday behind a dominant start from Kyle Hendricks (7 IP, 7 K, 2 H, 1 ER) and 2-for-4, 2 RBI days from Ben Zobrist and Kris Bryant.

Ian Happ reached base in all four plate appearances, going 2-for-2 with 2 runs scored.

The series continues Saturday at Wrigley.

Go Cubs go!

119

Yu Darvish overcame a 39 pitch first inning to go 6 innings giving up only 2 hits and one earned run while striking out 7 and walking 3.  Javy Baez had 3 hits including a solo home run going back to back with Kyle Schwarber who had hit a two run shot before him.  Javy also had a nifty 6-3 double play to help Darvish get through the 5th where he had a 31.50 ERA coming into today.  Kyle Schwarber was later ejected for arguing a called strike 3 which Pitch Trax showed was high for his first career ejection.  The Cubs are off Monday before hosting the Cleveland Indians for two back at Wrigley.

121

The Cubs split a doubleheader at Cincinnati on Saturday, dropping the first game in extras 5-4 and coming back to win the nightcap 10-0 behind a dominant start from Jose Quintana (7 IP, 0 ER, 7 K, 1 H), 3 RBI from Anthony Rizzo, and 4 RBI from Jason Heyward.

Ian Happ homered in both games, the youngest Cub to do so since Ron Santo in 1963. Ben Zobrist went 2-for-4, raising his average to .291 while reaching base in 4 of 6 plate appearances.

The series wraps up Sunday at the Great American Ball Park.

Go Cubs go!

Image Credits:  Chicago Cubs

122

Hey hey! The Cubs downed the Reds 8-1 on Friday night behind a quality start from Jon Lester and three innings of no-hit ball from the bullpen. Chicago's first five batters reached safely, scoring three runs and putting the Cubs up for good.

Anthony Rizzo (2-for-6) had 2 RBI, Willson Contreras went 3-for-6 with an RBI, and Addison Russell went 4-for-4 with an RBI as the Cubs scored early and often.

The series continues Saturday at the Great American Ballpark. 

Go Cubs go!

124

The Chicago Cubs rallied in the 9th with back to back doubles by Albert Almora Jr and Addison Russell and then World Series MVP Ben Zobrist lined a single to center to give the Cubs a 3-2 win over the Brewers in Yu Darvish's return from the flu.  Yu went 4 innings giving up three hits and a run on two walks and five strikeouts.  Brandon Morrow notched his 10th save in 11 chances.  The Cubs-Braves series continues tomorrow at 6:35 P.M.  Tyler Chatwood faces Brandon McCarthy.

126

The Cubs dropped the series finale to the White Sox on Sunday, but the Cards lost to the Padres, dropping the CMN by 1.

Atlanta comes to Wrigley on Monday for a makeup game -- it'll close out the homestand before the Cubs head to Atlanta on Tuesday.

Go Cubs go!

127

The Cubs offense got to James Shields early with 4 runs in the first inning including a leadoff triple by Javy Baez and a three run home run by Anthony Rizzo.  Jon Lester went 5 2/3 allowing only one run.  Carl Edwards Jr had a 14 outing scoreless streak snapped after giving up a 3 run Matt Davidson HR.  Brandon Morrow however was able to notch his 9th save after Kris Bryant had a fly ball hit off his glove.  The series continues tomorrow at 1:20 CST as Kyle Hendricks will face Lucas Giolito.

129

Hey hey! The Cubs trounced the ChiSox at Wrigley on Friday, 11-2. Willson Contreras had himself a day: 4-for-5 with a grand slam, another homer, and 7 RBI. That's Cub.

The series continues Saturday at the Friendly Confines.

Go Cubs go!

130

Holy cow! The Cubs' offense had a field day at windy Wrigley on Wednesday, downing the Fish 13-4 to sweep the series. Homers from Bryzzo and Addison Russell paced the Cubs, giving Jose Quintana all the offense he'd need while tossing a quality start (6 IP, 5 K, 1 ER).

The Cubs uncorked an eight-spot in the third and never looked back. Russell, Almora, Rizzo, and Contreras each had three-hit days, and Rizzo drove in five. That's Cub.

The South Siders head to Wrigley on Friday to start a three-game weekend series.

Go Cubs go!

131

Holy cow! The Comeback Cubs showed up again at Wrigley on Tuesday night, overcoming a 3-0 deficit to win 4-3 behind RBIs from Caratini & Bote, and nice pitching from no fewer than seven Cubs pitchers. Iowa callup Tseng gave up three runs in the first, and the bullpen combined for seven innings of two-hit scoreless ball.

The series wraps up Wednesday afternoon at Wrigley; the White Sox come to the north side for a weekend series after that.

Go Cubs go!

132

Holy cow! The Friendly Confines were certainly friendly to the Cubs on Monday, as they knocked off Miami 14-2 behind a huge night from Ian Happ (2-for-5, 2 HR, 5 RBI) and a dominant start from Kyle Hendricks (8 IP, 2 ER, 3 K, 0 BB).

The North Siders scored early and often in this one, putting up two in the 1st and never looking back, scoring seven unanswered before the Marlins tallied one. Javier Baez hit his 10th homer of the year, Kris Bryant went 3-for-4 with a homer and 2 RBI, Ben Zobrist went 2-for-4 with 3 runs scored, Addy Russell had a 2-for-4 night with 2 RBI, and Victor Caratini had a 2-for-4 night with two runs scored.

The series continues Tuesday night at Wrigley.

Go Cubs go!

135

Wow, that was a rough weekend in St. Louis. Good news -- the Cubs head back to the Friendly Confines Monday to kick off a seven-game homestand against the Marlins, White Sox, and Braves.

Go Cubs go!