The White Sox struggled to get the offense going as they fell last night to the Tampa Bay Rays 5-1. Starting pitcher Gavin Floyd was effective, allowing three runs while striking out five over seven innings of work. But the Sox offense could never get going and reliever Scott Linebrink gave up two more runs in the bottom of the eighth, giving the Rays a bigger cushion. The Sox only managed three hits off of Tampa Bay starter Jeff Niemann, their one run coming on a Mark Teahen homer in the eighth. Ozzie Guillen lamented his team's inability to get the offense going, saying, "When we hit, our momentum is very different. When we score some runs, there's more excitement in the dugout, more good things happen. When we're shut down, we're just flat." Speaking of Guillen, MLB is investigating Wednesday's shenanigans in which both Mark Buehrle and Guillen were tossed for arguing with an umpire over several balk calls. But, for now, the Sox will focus on their weekend series with the Rays which picks back up tonight (6:10 p.m., CSN). more ›

Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano looked good in a single-A level rehab start last night for the Peoria Chiefs, pitching five shut-out innings. Said Big Z on his 74-pitch outing: "I felt good...My slider was a little flat, but I have to settle back, do my rehab, work on my pitches and have some fun and get ready for my start on Tuesday." Z even had a clever response to the Sun-Times' Carol Slezak, who took Zambrano to task this week after the pitcher admitted to being lazy. From ESPNChicago: more ›

With the Cubs' 2-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Friday Carlos Zambrano notched the 100th win of his career, and did so in impressive fashion. One the mound, the Cubs' ace threw six-and-two-thirds shutout innings, allowing only two hits and striking out seven. At the plate, Zambrano scored the game's winning run on a solo shot to center field. Big Z's big fly gave Chicago a 2-0 lead, adding to Mike Fontenot's RBI walk in the opening inning. That lead shrunk to one when setup man Carlos Marmol surrendered a walk and subsequent RBI triple in the eighth, and closer Kevin Gregg had to escape a first-and-third jam in the ninth to preserve the victory. When the 28-year-old Zambrano was asked about the possibility of reaching 300 wins, Z announced his plans for retirement, stating, "after this contract, I'm done." The Cubs will try to extend their modest winning streak to three games when the step into the box at 6:10 this evening. more ›

The Cubs' Carlos Zambrano dug his hole a little deeper when he missed a team flight to Atlanta on Monday, reports the Trib. Zambrano—who is currently serving a six-game suspension for this dandy of a tirade—finally showed on Tuesday afternoon, prompting a brief heart-to-heart with manager Lou Piniella. No details of the discussion were divulged, but we here at Chicagoist have come up with a list of possible excuses for Big Z's tardiness: more ›

Zambrano Does It All In Cubs Win more ›