The Morning After: Cubs Still Can't Beat Pirates

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Jun 29, 2010 3:00PM

Cubs Offense Impotent
There used to be a time - and what heady, glorious days those were - when the Pittsburgh Pirates were a welcome opponent for the Cubs, a chance for the team to recoup and catch a breather while beating up on a hapless franchise with an awful front office still clinging to the success of the early 90's. Those days are long gone. Last night, the Cubs' offense again sputtered to a halt in a 2-1 loss to the Pirates as the Cubs fell to 2-8 against the Bucs in 2010. Randy Wells pitched good enough to win, allowing just one run over six innings. Too bad the offense didn't hit well enough to help. A Starlin Castro RBI on a fielder's choice was the only run the Cubs could muster as they went 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position and the Pirates scored the winning run off of reliever Andrew Cashner who has now given up a run in three straight appearances. The Cubs try again tonight (7:05 p.m., WGN).

Sox Fall To Royals
The Sox have started a new streak, one that's not as much fun as that 11-game win streak. The Sox lost their second straight game as they fell to the Kansas City Royals 3-1 in their series opener. Mark Buehrle gave up all three runs while the offense went 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position. A Carlos Quentin solo homer was the only run for the Sox in the loss. Ozzie said after, "We couldn't get the big hit. Their bullpen did a tremendous job." The Sox try to jump-start a new streak later tonight (7:10 p.m., CSN).