Morning Box Score

By Marcus Gilmer in Miscellaneous on Sep 16, 2008 3:40PM

Cubs Shut Down 'Stros
A day after Carlos Zambrano threw the first Cubs no-hitter in 36 years, Ted Lilly took a no-hitter into the seventh. While he lost the no-no, his strong performance still helped the Cubs to a 6-1 victory over Houston. Lilly struck out 9 over seven shutout innings. Jim Edmonds, Derek Lee, and Geovanny Soto all had homers to lead the Cubs offense. This only feeds the controversy surrounding the decision to play two of the games in Milwaukee, moved due to Hurricane Ike striking southeast Texas; the games were played in front of mostly pro-Cubs crowds, 1,000 miles away from Houston. Aramis Ramirez had no sympathy, though: "If they cry about it, that's the wrong thing to do, because you've still got to play the game. You've got to go out there and try to win ballgames. It doesn't matter where you play or what situation you're in. We're on the road, too. Even though we had a lot of Cubs fans, we weren't playing at Wrigley Field." I remember watching my Saints play all over the country following Katrina (including a "home" game against the Giants in New York), so I have a little bit more sympathy for the previously-surging Astros than Ramirez. But only a little.

With the win, the Cubs' lead over the struggling Brewers is extended to eight games. It's quite a turn-around from last week when the Cubs were asking fans not to panic; the Brewers gave in quickly, pushing the panic button and firing manager Ned Yost even though the Brewers are still in the thick of the Wild Card race. New manager Dale Sveum, formerly 3B coach and the man who made several hilariously bad decisions for the Red Sox at the same position several years ago, brings the Brewers to Wrigley today in what appears to be a chance for the Cubs to slam the door closed on the NL Central.

White Sox Drops Game To Yankees
In spite of a good outing by starter Mark Buerhle, the White Sox dropped the first of a four-game series at Yankee Stadium 4-2. D-Wise continued his current tear, hitting another home run, but it was all the offense the Sox could muster against the Yankees' pitching staff. Ehren Wassermann earned the loss for the Sox in relief as Buerhle was left with a no-decision as Buerhle was pulled due to a high pitch count. In spite of the loss, the White Sox remain ahead in the AL Central over the Twins due to a Twins loss. "We just have to win We don't have to hope for someone to beat Minnesota," said Ozzie. The White Sox remain ahead by 1.5 games and have a pivotal series with Minnesota next week to close out a grueling 10-game road trip. Fortunately, for the Sox, after New York, they head to Kansas City and then get an off day before the three-game set next week in Minnesota which will likely decide the division.