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 took the Series of Sox with a sweep yesterday after a ninth-inning rally stunned Boston and Chicago came out 7-5 winners. The Sox found themselves down 5-3, down to their final out before mounting a rally that has something of a "Team Of Destiny" ring to it. Carlos Quentin doubled home a run and Ramon Castro then singled in the tying run. But the Sox weren't done: the Red Sox bullpen obliged by walking the next two batters to load the bases and walked the next two batters - Gordon Beckham and Juan Pierre to bring in two more runs. Matt Thornton then made short work of the BoSox in the bottom of the ninth to give the White Sox the series sweep and extend their winning streak to six games. Said Ozzie: "I'm not going to say this could be the biggest game for us. But we are happier because of the way we did it." Well alright. The Sox now head to Detroit for a four-game series with the Tigers that starts in just a few hours (12:05 p.m., CSN). more ›

White Sox Sweep Double-Header With Red Sox more ›

In a story that shocks us not at all, a survey released by Team Marketing Report shows that the Chicago Cubs have the most expensive tickets in baseball at an average cost of $52.56, just edging out the Boston Red Sox at $52.32. We guess the Ricketts have to pay off Hendry's Boner somehow, eh? The average MLB ticket is $26.74, almost half of what it costs to go watch the Cubs lose play. The Red Sox had the highest Fan Cost Index - the total price to take a family of four to a game - at $334.78 while the Cubs were just behind them at just below $330, both well above the average of $195.08. As for the White Sox, they're average ticket price comes in at around $39 per and the cost of taking the family of four to the Cell for a game is about $250. So the two most expensive tickets are at the two oldest baseball stadiums in the league. Makes total sense to us. No wonder the team has such high radio ratings. more ›

Nothing like a new child to spur on a power surge: Derek Lee continued his hot streak by belting a pair of homers yesterday as the Cubs got a wet 4-2 win over the Pirates. D-Lee hit a solo shot in the first and added a two-run shot in the third. That was all the runs the Cubs needed as Ted Lilly had a sterling outing, allowing two runs on two hits over six innings with Carlos Marmol notching another save and Kevin Gregg going nowhere near the mound. Lee's homers put him over 30 for the season (now at 31 to be exact), making him the eighth Cubs player to have three seasons of at least 30 homers. The Cubs and Buccos battle again at 6:05 p.m. tonight (CSN). more ›

Second verse, same as the first: the Cubs offense struggled as the Mets edged the Cubs 4-2, wasting another great start by rookie Randy Wells. Wells gave up two runs over six innings and the Cubs were still in striking distance at 2-1 following the seventh inning stretch. Enter Kevin Gregg. Game over. For the day, the Cubs were 0 for 9 with runners in scoring position, and ominous stat if there ever was one. Geovany Soto got a pair of RBIs for the Cubs, but he was the only one who seemed to have any offensive mojo going with two RBI doubles during the game. After the game, a grumpy Lou brushed off the offense by saying, "There's no sense talking about it. Let's talk about the pitching." The Cubs have 27 games left but the Cardinals have a near-insurmountable 11.5 game lead in the NL Central while the Cubs trail Colorado by eight games for the Wild Card. The Cubs are now in Pittsburgh where game one will get underway at 11:35 a.m. (WGN). more ›

After missing two games for the birth of his newest child, Derek Lee returned to the lineup in dramatic for the Cubs, hitting a pair of homers that helped the Cubs down the Mets 5-3. Down 1-0 in the fourth, it was Aramis Ramirez that got the Cubs rolling with a two-run homer. After the Mets tied the game in the bottom of the inning, Lee hit his first homer of the game - a two-run shot - which proved to be the winning runs. Lee then added another homer in the eighth to give the Cubs a little breathing room. Rich Harden struck out 10 over five innings for the win and - after the bullpen held - Carlos Marmol got the save. The two teams tussle again today at 12:10 (WGN). more ›

Break up the Pale Hose! The White Sox have rebounded from an awful road trip and now won three straight after last night's 12-2 clubbing of Boston. Mark Kotsay got the offense started for the ChiSox with a two-run homer in the second inning, but the main offensive explosion came in the third and fourth innings when the ChiSox scored five runs in each inning. Those runs came off of a lot of singles by the ChiSox offense. Kotsay had 3 RBIs as did Alexei Ramirez and Chris Getz had an excellent night at the plate with a four for five night and 2 RBIs. Oh, and Freddy Garcia was sharp on the mound, allowing only one run and striking out five over six innings. The victory was also victory number 500 for Ozzie Guillen as the White Sox manager. Game two of the weekend series gets underway at 3:05 on FOX. more ›

Phils Snap Cubs Streak more ›

Cards Shellac Zambrano more ›

Do you crave comedy with a side of pancakes? If so, The Lincoln Lodge, located behind the Lincoln Restaurant in Northcenter, will get your carb-filled belly jiggling. more ›

CBS 2 news anchor Phil Antonio Mora is moving to Miami to do the news there. He says once he's gone, Chicago won't have any Latino nighttime news anchors. [S-T] more ›

• Londonist pondered who might be the next sponsors of the London Eye and whether or not readers would be willing to donate £1,000 each for a Londonist Eye.
• Shanghaiist was shocked to find a cameltoe in the city's only English-language paper.
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Photo Credit: Malingering more ›

You shouldn't need tooooo many awesome things today--most people are off work, gift giving is on the horizon and such--but that doesn't mean your day couldn't use at least a little perking up. Seek and ye shall receive, readers. more ›

Corruption in Chicago has evolved, according to federal hiring monitor Noelle Brennan. According to the annual report Brennan released yesterday, blatant abuses and manipulation of the hiring system in the city is no longer a problem. But patronage has moved to "more subtle types of manipulations of the hiring process." Brennan has been the hiring monitor since August of 2005, when federal prosecutors uncovered a fraudulent hiring scheme that led to Daley's former patronage chief Robert Sorich in prison being sentenced to 46 months in prison. more ›

In Los Angeles, LAist most definitely celebrated Thanksgiving like no other. After all, one has to keep up all the energy to keep on walking the line at the Writers Strike and fighting the unfortunate return of the wildfires in Malibu, which single handedly destroyed over fifty homes within the first 24 hours. National outlets may be covering the fires, but CNN also found it is easier to buy a gun than fruit and... more ›

Londonist got the big scoop of the week with what may be the first images of notorious street artist Banksy in action. They also got on a runaway train without an operator provoking a response from the transport authorities. Elsewhere, London's answer to Central Station is about to open for business, and Londonist got a sneak preview. Meanwhile, spooky goings-on beneath London Bridge, where a cache of skeletons provided an apt story for Hallowe'en.... more ›

The Red Sox has permeated nearly every facet of Bostonist's lives. When they're not live-blogging the games, waxing poetic about the games, thanking Curt Schilling for his splendid work, or telling Dane Cook to watch his hair, they're watching certain presidential candidates hop on the Red Sox bandwagon (sorry, Gothamist). The Sox are so branded on the local brain that people are using the Series to spice up their sex lives. Speaking of spice, Bostonist... more ›

Gothamist learned about the craziest urban nightmare come true: A huge python found in the bathroom pipes. It was also a nightmare for some Yankees fans, as manger Joe Torre declined to come back and manage the Bronx Bombers. At least the city's attempt to give some direction to subway riders was interesting, pranksters went shirtless at the Fifth Avenue Abercrombie & Fitch and the I Heart Brooklyn Girls calendars came out. And just... more ›

As it gets closer to Halloween for LAist, a contributer recollects her tale of staring down the serial killer, Richard Ramirez, otherwise known as the Night Stalker. Must think happy thoughts -- okay, free organic chocolate chip cookies for Los Angeles -- now that's a happy thought. Other happy Los Angeles thoughts include an interview with Jack Kehler of The Big Lebowski (he was the Dude's landlord), a beautiful and magical photographic moment in... more ›

LAist began the month with a new food series exploring the popular and unknown late night eats around town. If a Top Chef winner opened up a late night spot in Los Angeles, denizens would flock it, yet the LA Times and other media might be wary. Turning to sports, the Dodger season was quite memorable in the way that it imploded and the LA County Sheriff's Department made some games of their own... more ›

Seattlest watches as a S.L.U.T. is born and Seattle Flickr users go nuts over a local art installation. A restaurant critic demands a Diner's Bill of Rights over a gnat next to her drink, and, in lieu of a Portlandist, Seattlest debates with itself over the identity of the Northwest's crown jewel. Seattlest also joins the guys from Fantagraphics for an ill-fated gun party in the woods. Bostonist got a crash course in what not... more ›

There was very little else for Londonist to be concerned with when the threat of a Tube strike became a very unpleasant reality. The inconvenience was extreme: there aren't many alternatives to the Tube in London despite the best efforts of the Londonist team to get everyone from A to B. Brighter news came in the form of the first ever female Yeoman Warder, or Beefeater as the position is more commonly known, and... more ›

Ah, yes. First Turd Blossom, now Fredo. Yup, we're dancing a jig this evening. Are Cubs fans still waiting to exhale? Illinois' number one team - don't believe us, check the map - is only two games back. Billy Corgan will say anything to promote Zeitgeist. One viewing of this video and you'll say to yourself that at least the Chicago Public Schools aren't that bad. Illinoisans have more to love. Video of Frank... more ›

With unseasonable weather descending upon much of North America, schools getting ready to reconvene, and sports seasons getting exciting, it's a busy time of year for us here in the Ist-A-Verse. Luckily, even with all the things we have to do, we still managed to get together to let you know what we've all been up to. After cooling down from a hot weekend of many badass Sunset Junction Street Fair photo dispatches, LAist asked... more ›

We at the Gothamist network would like to express our heartfelt wishes to the people of Minnesota in the days after their tragic bridge collapse. We're not trying to discount the severity of the accident by making note of it in opposition to our usual -Ist lightheartedness - we just wanted to take a moment and recognize those affected last week. After the Minneapolis bridge collapse, Bostonist did a little research and found that Massachusetts... more ›