Morning Box Score

By Matt Motyka in News on Jul 26, 2009 3:30PM

Cubs Down Reds
The Ted Lilly-less Cubs got the best of the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday afternoon, winning 5-3. With Lilly sent to the 15-day D.L. due to shoulder inflammation, substitute starter Kevin Hart gave Chicago six innings of five-hit, one-run baseball. The Cubs’ big bats made that one run inconsequential, as Aramis Ramirez, Alfonso Soriano and Milton Bradley each went deep for the North Siders. Bradley’s homer—a pinch-hit solo job in the eighth—seemed superfluous at the time, but provided the Cubs some breathing room when Jonny Gomes launched a two-run homer off Aaron Heilman in the ninth. Kevin Gregg stepped in to record the final out, and the Cubs extended their winning streak to three games. The Cubs will attempt to sweep the series at 1:20 this afternoon.

Tigers Best Sox
The White Sox suffered a tough loss in their Saturday game with Detroit, falling to the Tigers 4-3. A walk, error, bunt and base hit equaled two runs for the Tigers in the bottom of the first, but Sox’s starter Gavin Floyd bounced back with 5.2 innings of shutout pitching. In the meantime Chicago turned the tables, scoring on an A.J. Pierzynski solo shot and RBI knocks from Gordon Beckham and Scott Podsednik, resulting in a 3-2 lead. The Sox held that lead until the ninth, when the struggling Bobby Jenks allowed a run to score on three hits, forcing the game into extra innings. After Chicago went in order to begin the tenth, Detroit recorded three straight singles off D.J. Carrasco to push home a run and steal the win. The Sox will try to avoid the four-game sweep when they step to the plate at 7:05 tonight.

Fire Draw with Seattle
Nil-nil was the final score of the Fire’s match with Seattle on Saturday, dropping Chicago a point back of Columbus in the Eastern Conference table. Keeper Jon Busch thwarted the Sounders’ offensive efforts, recording a season-high nine saves in the contest. The stellar performance in net earned Chicago a point on the road against a surging Seattle squad and extended the Fire’s unbeaten streak to four games. The next MLS match for the Fire will take place Saturday against Real Salt Lake.