Morning Box Score

By Matt Motyka in News on May 29, 2009 3:00PM

L.A. Dodges Cubs
The Cubs were a clutch hit away from beating the Los Angeles Dodgers Thursday night, but instead dropped the series opener 2-1. L.A. picked up runs in the first and third innings against an otherwise stingy Randy Wells, who fell to 0-2 in four starts despite his 1.80 ERA. With the Cubs trailing 2-0 late, Bobby Scales welcomed himself back to the roster with a pinch-hit solo shot in the eighth inning, cutting the deficit to one run. Then in the ninth, Milton Bradley and Derrek Lee put themselves aboard, and Reed Johnson moved them into scoring position on a ground out to short. This granted Geovany Soto a free pass and gave Chicago loaded bases with only one away, but the Dodgers’ Ramon Troncoso settled down, fanning Scales and Jake Fox to end the threat. The Cubs will look to avenge the loss when game two gets under way today at 1:20.

Fire Shock Chivas
With their undefeated streak in serious jeopardy, the Fire scored two goals in the waning minutes to defeat Chivas USA 3-2. Cuauhtemoc Blanco recorded the winner on a penalty kick in stoppage time, following Patrick Nyarko’s game-tying right-footer in the 89th minute. Blanco also scored Chicago’s first goal of the game on a penalty kick during the first half. The complexion of the game changed at the 63’ mark when Chivas lost a man due to Jesse Marsch’s second yellow card of the contest. The Fire will look to extend their lossless start to 12 games when they play FC Dallas on Sunday.