The Morning After
By Marcus Gilmer in News on Jun 6, 2010 3:30PM
Cubs Snap Losing Streak
After mustering only six runs total over their last four games, the Cubs broke out the hitting sticks last night and rode a new wave of offensive output to an 8-5 win over Houston. Aramis Ramirez had a homer and a two-RBI single to help give the Cubs an early 3-2 lead in a back-and-forth affair to start the game. But the Cubs added more later, paced by Tyler Colvin's two-run homer in the seventh and Koyie Hill's two-run double in the eighth. Ryan Dempster (6.1 IP, 3 ER, 7 K) pitched well enough to earn his fourth win of the year. With the Cubs up 8-3 in the ninth, reliever Jeff Stevens allowed a pair of runs as the Astros tried to mount a rally, but Carlos Marmol was brought in and retired the final two batters without incident. The Cubs send Randy Wells to the hill this afternoon for the series rubber match (1:05 p.m., WGN).
The Fire and Sox after the jump.
Fire Burn Union
The Chicago-Philadelphia rivalry extended from the ice to the pitch Saturday night as the Philadelphia Union rolled into town to take on the Fire (and wearing Flyer jerseys for warm-ups). But it was the Fire who got the best of Philly this round, beating the Union 2-1, handing Fire legend (and now Union coach) Peter Nowak a loss on his homecoming, and earning their first win since April 24. Baggio Husidic scored in the 14th minute for the Fire after Patrick Nyarko made a nice drive along the left side of the goal and sent beautiful pass to Husidic open in front. The teams would play for an hour of game-time before Marco Pappa scored in the 74th minute, taking advantage of a rebound just after the Union goalie had made a terrific save. The Union only managed two shots on goal and didn't score until stoppage time (92nd minute). Next up for the Fire is a mid-week visit by the Colorado Rapids on Wednesday night (8 p.m., My50).
Sox Fall To Tribe
While the Cubs snapped their skid, the White Sox are mired in a new one of their own. The bats fell silent last night in a 3-1 loss to Cleveland, their fourth loss in five games. Jake Peavy had a solid outing for the Sox (7 IP, 2 ER, 3 K) but Mitch Talbot was even more effective for Cleveland, holding the Sox to a single run, a Ramon Castro RBI single in the fourth. The Sox batted a Cubs-like 1-for-6 with men in scoring position. Ozzie, who has seen his team now bat 1-for-11 with RISP over the past two games, said:
"Very bad hitting team. I think we tried to change the lineup today. It worked a little bit better than in the past. We made him pitch today. But that guy throws strikes. If you throw strikes against any ballclub, you're always going to have a chance to give your team a chance to win. We couldn't get anything going, we scored two runs in the last two games. You're not going to win that many games like that."
The Sox hope Mark Buehrle can rebound from his last start (a loss to Texas) to help prevent a sweep (1:05 p.m., CSN).