An RBI single in the top of the ninth by Brad Snyder broke a scoreless tie in a pitcher's duel as the Cubs beat the Padres 1-0 in the series finale. Tom Gorzelanny was sharp, pitching six scoreless innings (which only earned him the dreaded 'no-decision'). The Cubs' bullpen was even sharper, allowing no hits and no walks as the Cubs played spoiler for Padres who are still trying to make their way into the post-season. With the series done, the Cubs now move to Houston where they'll close out the season with a three-game set this weekend against the Astros starting tonight (7:05 p.m., CSN). more ›

Freddy Garcia pitched seven solid innings, allowing just two runs, as the Sox claimed a 5-2 victory from the visiting Red Sox; the win put Garcia's 2010 record at 12-6. Down 1-0, A.J. Pierzynski tied the game at 1-1 with solo homer in the bottom of the fourth. The Sox then used a series of singles and an intentional walk to move runners around the bases in bringing in three runs in the seventh inning to pull ahead for good. An RBI on a Juan Pierre double play put an exclamation point on the night. Ozzie had nothing but good things to say about Garcia after the game: "A lot of people talk about [John] Danks and [Gavin] Floyd, all those guys. The best pitcher we had every five days was Freddy." Speaking of Danks, he gets his final start of the year tonight as the Battle of the Sox draws to a close (7:10 p.m., WCIU). more ›

The Battle of the Sox took a turn for the dramatic at U.S. Cellular Field last night as the White Sox rallied past the Red Sox for a 5-4 walk off win. The lost was extra hard on the Red Sox as before the game even finished other action officially eliminated them from playoff contention. The BoSox took an early 3-0 lead but Carlos Quentin's two-run homer in the fourth brought the Pale House to within 3-2. After a David Ortiz homer extended Boston's lead in the sixth, the White Sox scored in the seventh and eighth innings to tie it up at 4-4. That's when Juan Pierre came through for the Sox, singling to get on base and, with two outs, stealing both second and third base before pinch-hitter Dayan Viciedo delivered the game-winning single. Edwin Jackson gave up all the Red Sox' runs over seven innings, striking out six but it was Chris Sale getting the win with two innings of relief work. With the series tied 1-1, the White Sox try to take an edge later tonight (7:10 p.m., WCIU). more ›

It was a pitcher's duel at Petco Field Monday night, one that the Cubs came up on the winning side of with a 1-0 victory. Carlos Zambrano continued his dominant second half performance this season, allowing three hits over seven innings while striking out five. Not that the game was without drama. In the ninth, Carols "Drama" Marmol recorded two quick outs before, yes, loading the bases. Fortunately, with his back against the wall, Marmol got the Padres' Nick Hundley to fly out to left field, ending the attempted rally and the game. We're beginning to think Marmol does this all on purpose. A Blake DeWitt RBI single in the seventh was the only scoring hit of the game, driving home Alfonso Soriano, but it was enough with Zambrano's dominant performance; Big Z is 7-0 over his last 10 starts, striking out 55 but only giving up 9 runs and this was the third time in four outings he gave up zero earned runs. Where the hell was this Zambrano in April? The Cubs hope they can keep playing spoiler for the in-the-playoff-hunt Padres when the two teams meet again tonight (9:05 p.m., WGN). more ›

The White Sox finally showed their fans - and the Twins - some muscle last night, waxing Minnesota 11-0 and, in the process, cutting the Twins' lead to four games and maintaining hope that the AL Central Division crown is still within reach. Paul Konerko led the way for the Sox with a fantastic 5-for-5 performance, driving in four runs on his five hits which included his 31st homer of the year. Mark Teahen, Alexei Ramirez, and A.J. Pierzynski all had two RBI each in the rout. Mark Buehrle threw seven shutout innings for the win. Konerko was cautiously optimistic about the Sox' chances: "We've dug ourselves a hole here again, but there's still time to get back out of it. They had the better series. Tonight was good for us, but they did what they had to do and they won the series, so we can't be happy walking out of here just because we got a win, We've got to get back to work and try cutting into that deficit." They'll start in on that tonight when they begin a weekend series in Kansas City (7:10 p.m., CSN). more ›

The Sox tried their best to keep up with the Twins but again fell to Minnesota, this time losing 7-6, their fourth straight loss, and falling five games back of the Twins in the AL Central. Down 2-0 early, Andruw Jones hit a three-run homer to give the Sox the lead. The Sox took a 5-3 lead in the fifth with a pair of runs, but the Twins mounted their own rally in the sixth to take the lead for good. Gavin Floyd (5.1 IP, 10 H , 7 ER) took the loss for the Sox. With the wildcard out of reach, the division crown is the only chance the Sox will likely have to get into the playoffs. There's still one series left this season between the Sox and Twins, a three-game set in mid-September at The Cell. The Sox turn to Mark Buehrle today to help them stop the skid and salvage something from this series (7:10 p.m., CSN). more ›

What is it about the Minnesota Twins that the Sox just can't seem to get past? While that's an open-ended question, we know specifically that former White Sox slugger Jim Thome was part of the equation last night as his two-run walk-off homer in the bottom of the 10th put the Twins past the Sox 7-6 in dramatic fashion. Down 4-0 early, the Sox bounced back thanks to homers from Paul Konerko and Mark Kotsay in the second and tied the game on an A.J. Pierzynski RBI double in the fourth. After the Twins went up 5-4, it was Alexei Ramirez tying the game up in the ninth with a solo homer and Ramirez gave the Sox the lead with an RBI in the 10th. But it was then Thome's show as he knocked the two-run shot off of reliever Matt Thornton. The Sox had chances to score more - included having the bases loaded in the ninth - and only went 3-for-14 with runners in scoring position. The Sox have lost 3 of 4 to the Twins over the past week and are 4-9 against Minnesota on the year. The loss drops the Sox four games back of Minnesota with the closest they can get being two games back if they take the final two games of the series. Gavin Floyd starts tonight for the Sox who hope to cut back into that lead (7:10 p.m., CSN). more ›

The Cubs youth movement experienced some growing pains on Monday night. Despite a rally by the offense, a pair of young Cub relievers got knocked around a bit as the Padres downed the Cubs 9-5 at Wrigley Field. Tom Gorzelanny struggled, allowing five runs over 6.1 innings of work. The Cubs tried to mount a rally as Kosuke Fukudome had a two-run double in the bottom of the seventh and Blake DeWitt had a two-run homer in the eighth, but the rally fell short. It fell short because Andrew Cashner and James Russell each gave up two runs in relief for the Cubs. The spotlight bores brightest on Cashner who has struggled in his relief role this season, giving up 37 hits and 24 runs in only 32.2 innings pitched. Said Lou, "These young kids we have here pitching-wise, we give them the opportunity of a lifetime and none of them want to step up.You can't have better opportunities than what we've given these guys." Catcher Koyie Hill added, "It's just a learning experience. They're learning on the job a little bit and that's tough. [The Padres] are good, real good." The Cubs will try again to be better in game two of the four game set tonight (7:05 p.m., CSN). more ›

ESPN News is reporting the Chicago White Sox have managed to land San Diego Padre ace Jake Peavy at the MLB trade deadline. We're tracking this story for details. Peavy has been on the DL since early June. MLB Network reports the Sox shipped the Padres four players in return for Peavy: left-handers Aaron Poreda and Clayton Richard and right-handers Dexter Carter and Adam Russell more ›

The Cubs busted out their whooping sticks in throttling the San Diego Padres 11-3 today to complete the series sweep of the left-coasters; for the series, the Cubs outscored the Padres 23-9. It was a big day for Bobby Scales, the Little Cubby That Could, who smacked two doubles and knocked in four runs. Seriously, listening to the guy in every interview and watching him go all out on the field, we grow to love Scales more and more. Reed Johnson, Geo Soto, and even starting pitcher Ryan Dempster knocked in two runs each as the Cubs exploded for 10 runs across the fifth and sixth innings. Speaking of Dempster, he looked impressive, giving up two runs on three hits over seven innings, striking out five. The North Siders are 10-3 in the month of May and welcome the Houston Astros for a three-game set this weekend at Wrigley. more ›

Since 1940, two Major League Baseball teams have been honored each year with an invitation to play in the Hall of Fame Game -- an in-season exhibition game held in Cooperstown, New York. But because of the increasing complexity of fitting the "off day" game into teams' schedules, the 2008 game will be the final one. more ›

Answer quickly... who was the last Cubs pitcher to win 20 games? more ›

Well, that was fast! Barely 24 hours ago, Japanese outfielder Kosuke Fukudome announced that he would leave Japan to play in the major leagues. Fukudome and the Cubs have already reached an agreement on a four-year deal, supposedly for between $48 and $50 million. By signing the outfielder, the Cubs beat out the Padres, White Sox and a couple other clubs rumored to be interested. more ›

Japanese outfielder Kosuke Fukudome finally declared his intentions to play in the major leagues next season. Considered to be one of the best outfielders in Japan's top professional league, he's expected to draw interest from a number of team. Among the teams most interested are both the Cubs and White Sox, as well as the San Diego Padres. Will the latest Japanese sensation land in Chicago? “It’s no secret we’d like him to come to... more ›

Chicago won't be waiting until the Cubs win the World Series to celebrate. Given the Cubs' postseason track record over the past 99 seasons, that's probably a smart idea. A rally to celebrate the Cubs making the playoffs will be held at noon on Monday in Daley Plaza. While Cubs fans celebrate downtown, the Cubs themselves will head to Arizona. While baseball's regular season concluded on Sunday, the wild card won't be determined until a... more ›

The Cubs have clinched the NL Central crown -- and with two games to spare! Following a three game sweep at the hands of the Florida Marlins, things were looking sketchy, but the Brewers kept on losing, too. When the Cubs returned to the win column in Cincinnati on Friday night, and Milwaukee lost yet again, the final two games were subtracted from the magic number and the Cubs earned a berth in the postseason... 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 ›

While our White Sox managed to tie the KC Royals in the AL Central basement earlier this week, the Cubs are quickly closing in on the other end of the standings. Ted Lilly had another strong outing for the Cubs, who beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-1 Wednesday night. With the win -- combined with the Milwaukee Brewers' loss -- moved the Cubs to within just two games of first in the NL Central. The... more ›

On this -- officially the slowest sports day of the year -- we will take the opportunity to look back at the first half (or so) of the season for the Cubs and Sox. Fans of both teams entered the season with high expectations. Has either team lived up to those expectations? Cubs After spending a ton of money on free agents during the off season, the Cubs sit in second place in the NL... more ›

We don't know about you, but we just cannot get that excited for this weekend's Cubs-White Sox series that begins this afternoon at the Cell. The Sox have lost 20 of their last 28 games since the two last met, while the Cubs haven't played much better. The "lovable losers" haven't been so lovable of late, with their manager being suspended for bumbing an ump during an on-field tirade, the now exiles Michael Barrett getting... more ›

In a trade that was surprising in its swiftness, the Cubs traded embattled catcher and "good guy" Michael Barrett (or "number 8" for those of you who don't visit Wrigley Field for the baseball) and cash to the San Diego Padres for backup catcher Rob Bowen and minor league prospect Kyler Burke. The trade closes the book on Barrett's three-plus years as a Cub, a time marked by emotional outbursts, an uncontrollable temper, suspect defensive... more ›

The fireworks continued to fly this past weekend at the again-not-so-Friendly Confines. Derrek Lee became the latest member of the Cubs to throw a punch, when he went after San Diego Padres pitcher Chris Young in the fourth inning after being plunked on the hand by a pitch. The altercation led to a bench-clearing brawl. In addition to Young and Lee, Padres pitcher Jake Peavy and Cubs hitting coach Gerald Perry were also tossed from... more ›

For the Cubs, every silver lining seems to have its cloud. While the offense and pitching came together and led the team to a 12-4 victory over the San Diego Padres Monday night, the victory may cost the Cubs the services of Alfonso Soriano for a while. Soriano left the game in the fifth inning after straining his hamstring, which could land the Cubs' 136-million-dollar man on the disabled list. Soriano injured his hamstring trying... more ›

It's always hard to watch the playoffs when your team is out, but watching one of your erstwhile stars win games for a new team makes it sting a little bit more. Now, any time the Twins lose is a good thing, but White Sox fans had to feel a little twinge of regret yesterday when a rejuvenated Frank Thomas hit two home runs in Oakland's 3-2 win over Minnesota, including the eventual game-winner in the ninth. more ›

If you think having your car towed is a pain, consider the possibility that if you don't act quickly enough to retrieve it, it could be sold for $150, not a penny of which will go to buy your now-walking ass some new Pro Keds. Chicagoist had no idea the city was so aggressive in disposing of towed cars; we figured they were all shipped off to some desolate impound where a burly, cigar-chomping bureaucrat in a trailer milks them for every penny in late fees and fines he can get. But apparently you only have 21 days to reclaim your ride, or else it's sold for scrap, no matter if it's a Beemer or a hooptie. more ›

Baseball’s non-waiver trading deadline passed today at 3:00pm (CDT). The Cubs and Sox were both rumored to be players in possible deals, with the Cubs likely sellers of players and the Sox looking to add those missing pieces to help them right their ship and hopefully make a return trip to the World Series. Since the Cubs fell out of the running, there had been rumors that Greg Maddux and Todd Walker would get shipped... more ›

The folks over at Rivalfish should think about making a t-shirt showing the entire National League eating the Cubs alive as they continue to struggle on the road. Last night the Cubs lost their seventh game in a row. more ›

These are the days that Ernie Banks lived for! While MLB no longer puts them on the regular schedule, due to yesterday's rainout the Cubs play a double header against the San Diego Padres at Wrigley today. And it's some double header, too! Fireballer Kerry Wood pitches the first game against Jake Peavy. That game starts at 12:05pm. When the late game begins at 4:05pm, Cubs fans finally get to see Mark Prior take... more ›

Like last year, when the Cubs opened their season they were without Mark Prior in their rotation -- at least this time he only missed 7 games. Prior rejoins the roster when he starts against the San Diego Padres tomorrow in the first game of a double header. He'd been scheduled to go today, but the game was cancelled becuase of rain. more ›

Neither Chicago baseball team is doing very well lately. In recent days, both have been left at the altar when a more attractive suitor came calling. more ›