The St. Louis Cardinals completed the series sweep of the Cubs, with the help of yet another walk-off homer by Albert Pujols -- his fourth of the series. At the top of the tenth inning, Pujols' slammer put the Cards ahead. This was the sixth straight loss for the Cubs, and it ended Cubs closer Carlos Marmol's franchise record scoreless inning streak at 25 1/3 innings. more ›

The Sox completed a sweep on the Left Coast while the Cubs finished a bad season at home with ... another loss. more ›

Cubs Trip Up Cards more ›

In something of a pitcher's duel, the Sox got their second straight win, downing the Angels 2-1 in their series opener. The Sox fell behind 1-0 early but Paul Konerko evened up the game in the fifth with a solo shot. Then, in the top of the ninth, still tied 1-1, Juan Pierre walked and Omar Vizquel singled to put two on and Alex Rios drove home Pierre with an RBI single to put the Sox up 2-1. Freddy Garcia gave up a run and struck out five over six innings for the Sox but got a no-decision, the win going to Matt Thornton in relief. Ozzie remained upbeat despite the Sox' elimination from playoff contention earlier this week: "Well, everything you do, you take a little pride about it. You didn't make it to where you want to make it, but you want to finish the best you can." The Sox keep playing for pride later tonight against the Angels once more (8:05 p.m., CSN) more ›

The Twins have, for all intents and purposes, pushed the Sox out of the AL Central race after last night's 9-3 drubbing. While the Sox are still mathematically alive, there just appears to be too much ground for the Sox to cover and they're not playing good enough baseball at the moment to do it. Gavin Floyd gave up six runs on nine hits over 5.1 innings, opening the door wide open for the Twins; the Sox offense was never able to recover. Carlos Quentin belted a two-run homer in the sixth but it was far too little and far too late. The Sox now sit eight games out with 17 remaining. A comeback isn't impossible but it is highly unlikely, especially given the Twins' recent hot streak (9-1 over their last 10). The Sox give it one more go tonight (7:10 p.m., CSN). more ›

The Sox' chances at making a run at the AL Central took a major hit last night - perhaps were even snuffed out for good - in a tough 9-3 loss to the Twins. In fact, the Sox proved Benjy right last night as, down 4-3 with the bases loaded in the seventh, Manny Ramirez struck out (as did Paul Konerko) and the bullpen struggled, giving up five runs in the eighth to seal the Sox' fate. And we're not the only ones declaring the Manny Experiment a failure. Ozzie tried to remain optimistic even as the Sox fell seven games back of the Twins, saying, "I don't know if it's impossible, but it's going to be tough. There's still a lot of season to go, but in the meanwhile, we all know how important those next two games are." Gavin Floyd gets the start in game two of the series tonight (7:10 p.m., WCIU). more ›

With the Cubs out of the playoff race since April and the Cardinals slipping further back of the Reds in the NL Central, some of the heat is gone from this week's rivalry series. But that doesn't mean Cubs fans can't take some enjoyment out of the team's 5-1 victory over St. Louis last night. Jeff Samardzija, starting for the first time this season, threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings and even knocked in a run in his own defense. The Cubs, in fact, had four RBI singles - one by Alfonso Soriano knocked in two runs - to provide the offense they needed for victory. Who needs a show of power anyway? And the Cubs have shown some signs of life since Mike Quade took over for the retiring Lou Piniella, going 12-7 since they changed skippers and getting Quade a vote of confidence from GM Jim Hendry. The Cubs keep trying to play spoiler for the Cardinals' fast-fading playoff chances tonight (7:15 p.m., WCIU). more ›

It was a wild one yesterday at The Cell where the Tigers battled past the Sox and themselves for a 13-8 win over the Pale Hose. Down 5-1 early, the Sox rallied back and a two-run Paul Konerko homer in the sixth pushed the Sox out in front 7-5. But the bullpen couldn't hold the lead as JJ Putz was scarred with a blown save for the second straight game, giving up three runs (two earned), and Tony Pena gave up four more to Detroit with the Sox only mustering one more run through the final three innings. The Tigers also managed to overcome some (Cubs-like) inner turmoil in the dugout after the first inning when pitcher Armando Galarraga argued with some teammates. The loss drops the Sox three games behind the Minnesota Twins. Both teams have today off before reconvening for a big three-game series in Minnesota on Tuesday night (7:10 p.m., WCIU). more ›

It was a rare win for the Cubs on Saturday as they managed to clip the rival Cardinals and their ace Chris Carpenter 3-2. Aramis Ramirez and Derrek Lee both had solo homers for the Cubs and Carlos Zambrano had a solid enough outing to earn his fourth win of his roller coaster season, allowinf two runs over 5.2 innings. Carlos Marmol pitched 1.2 innings to earn his 20th save of the year. Said Lou after the game, "Yeah, it is nice to win a close ball game." Ryan Dempster heads to the hill this afternoon with the hopes of giving the Cubs two wins in a row (1:15 p.m., WGN). more ›

Not even an 82-minute rain delay could disrupt the Sox this time around, the team marching on to an 8-4 victory over Detroit to stay a game behind the Minnesota Twins in the AL Central. The Sox blew the game open in the fifth, led by Gordon Beckham's three-run homer and Mark Teahen added a two-run shot in the sixth to keep the offense rolling. Mark Buehrle allowed three runs over 6.1 innings of work to get the win, his 11th on the year. The Sox are only 7-6 in August so far but still only a game behind the Twins. They've also owned the Tigers, winning four of their last five against Detroit, a trend they aim to continue into tonight's game to help them keep pace with the Twins (6:05 p.m., WGN). more ›

The Cubs battled back from an early hole but couldn't take advantage of men on base in a 4-3 extra-inning loss to the Cardinals, preventing a Cubs' sweep. The Cubs put the lead-off man on in each of the first five innings, giving themselves plenty of chances. But the team went 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position and left a total of nine men on base for the whole game. Marlon Byrd knocked in a run for the Cubs in the fourth and the Cubs took the lead in the fifth thanks to RBI from Ryan Theriot and Starlin Castro but the Cards scored in the sixth off of Ryan Dempster (7 IP, 9H, 3ER, 4K) to tie it up. The Cubs still had chances, putting the winning run in scoring position in the ninth and again in the tenth, when they loaded the bases. But nothing came of it and the Cards scored off of reliever Brian Schlitter in the top of the 11th to take the lead for good. The Cubs stay in the NL Central even as they hit the road for Houston where they kick off a new series against the Astros tonight (7:05 p.m., CSN). more ›

Cubs Hold Off Cards more ›

The Sox took advantage of some Oakland mistakes to score and starter Mark Buehrle threw a complete game as the Sox bounced back from Wednesday's loss to Seattle and opened their series with Oakland with a 5-1 win. Carlos Quentin had two RBI despite not being crediting with a hit and A.J. Pierzynski added two more in the top of the ninth with a two-run single. The win moved the Sox to 4-4 since the break and they're 2.5 games up on Detroit and three games up on the Twins in the AL Central. The two teams square off again later this afternoon (3:10 p.m., FOX). more ›

Yeah, it was hot at Wrigley today, but Randy Wells was scorching as the Cubs opened up a weekend series against the rival Cardinals with a nice 5-0 win. Wells scattered five hits and struck out seven over seven innings in one of his sharper outings this season, earning the win and moving to 5-7 on the year, only his second win since April 30. On the offensive end, the Cubs rode three homers to an early lead as Tyler Colvin belted a solo shot in the first and Geovany Soto added one in the fourth. Alfonso Soriano piled on with a two-run shot in the fifth to extend the Cubs lead to 4-0. Another run courtesy of Starlin Castro in the sixth would put the lead at 5-0 for good. more ›

Sox Slam Rays more ›

Cubs Cleat Cards more ›

Sox Edge Rays more ›

Cubs Finally Beat The Cards more ›

A day after being shellacked 11-0 by the Kansas City Royals, the White Sox finally got a start out of there high-profile trade acquisition and exploded for 13 runs of their own to blow out the Royals 13-3. Jake Peavy, making his first start for the Sox and coming off a rehab stint, pitched good enough, giving up three runs over five innings. It wasn't a mind-blowing performance, but it was effective enough and White Sox fans can breath a sigh of relief. Meanwhile, the offense exploded for the Pale Hose, led by Carlos Quentin's fifth inning grand slam, which broke a 3-3 tie. The Sox exploded again in the eighth for six runs while the bullpen shut down the Royals offense. Said Peavy of his first performance in Sox black, "I did some things well, and I did some things not so well. I have a long way to go to be where I want to be...I'm used to having more arm strength and having a little more giddy-up. It will all come in time. I'm not so sure how it will come along this year, because I'm so far behind, but it felt good to get out there and compete." The teams close out the series today at 1:05 p.m. (CSN) before the Sox start a crucial six game, seven day stretch against the Twins and Tigers - believe it or not, the Sox are still in striking distance, 5.5 games back of the Tigers. more ›

There's not a whole lot Sox fans can take away from last night's 11-0 loss to the Kansas City Royals. Nothing, in fact. No bright spots. Even Ozzie seems to have finally thrown up his hands, saying after the loss, "My motivational speech before the game, it didn't work at all...I wasted 25 minutes of my time to try to motivate those guys." The White Sox offense only manged three hits off of Royals pitcher Luke Hochaver, who pitched a complete game. Meanwhile, all four Sox pitchers who saw action gave up at least one run. Starter Mark Buehrle gave up the most - five runs over six innings. The Sox remain 6.5 games out of first with 14 games left (meanwhile, the Twins have closed the gap to 3 games). The Sox try to muster...something in an attempt to make one last run at first starting tonight at 6:05 p.m. (WGN). more ›

Cubs & Cards Split Doubleheader more ›

Apparently the Cubs' post-season collapse had nothing to do with inconsistent pitching, a tattered bullpen, or an impotent offense. Rather, it can apparently be blamed on Jimmy Burroughs' new Cubs tattoo that has a pro-Cardinals sentiment in it. Burroughs stopped by American Rebel Tattoo Studios in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee where he got the tattoo (pictured right). Tattoo artist Deke Rivers wrote "Go Cards" as a joke and Burroughs laughed along, eventually asking Rivers to color it in, but the message remained visible. Instead of getting the tattoo fixed, though, Burroughs left it as is because the Cubs went on a hot streak. But now that the Cubs have crapped the bed, the superstitious Burroughs plans on getting the tattoo fixed. "I pretty much blame the tattoo for the Cubs losing. It kills me to have a tattoo that says 'Go Cards.'" Fortunately for Burroughs, he's also a child therapist which will surely help him deal with his masochistic tendencies. [via Fark] more ›

Cubs Win Home Closer more ›

Cubs Clip Cards, Clinch Crown more ›

Cards Throttle Cubs more ›

Cubs Blow Another One more ›

Cards Shellac Zambrano more ›

This t-shirt is going to be popular among the Chicagoist staff. So far, both Benjy and myself (briefly dropping the third person) have ordered this sweet Obama t-shirt using the old school 80's White Sox logo. Fret not, north siders, there's an version with the vintage Cubs logo for sale, as well. Even you downstate Cardinals fans can get in on the action. They're all available here. more ›

How many times have we seen this? A player seems likely headed out of town, and Kenny Williams begins the smear campaign against that player and his agent in order to shift blame. He did so to Magglio Ordonez after the 2004 season. And there were numerous comments suggesting that Mark Buehrle was set on signing with his hometown Cardinals as a free agent, only to see the Sox's Ace sign a longterm extension last season. But had he been traded, that would have made Mark look like the bad guy, right? more ›

The Cubs couldn't help themselves Wednesday night, as they dropped their second straight game to the lowly Florida Marlins, losing 7-4 in Miami. more ›