The Morning After: Cubs Win, Sox Fall
By Marcus Gilmer in News on Jul 19, 2010 3:15PM
Cubs Power Past Phils
The Cubs have come out strong in the second half, powering their way to an 11-6 win over Philadelphia yesterday and taking three of four games in their weekend series against the defending NL champs. Geovany Soto and Alfonso Soriano both homered to help put the Cubs up 6-3 early and then they broke the game wide open with a five-run seventh. Derek Lee delivered a bases loaded double that scored three runs and the Cubs added another pair to extend the big lead. Tom Gorzelanny pitched 6.2 innings and got the win, moving to 5-5 on the year as the Cubs "improved" to 42-51 on the year. There's still a long way to go as they try to claw their way back into any sort of playoff race but it takes baby steps and their series win is a start. Next up, the Astros come to town for a series, starting tonight (7:05 p.m., WCIU).
Sox Blow Lead, Struggles Continue
The Sox were three outs away from earning a weekend split with the Twins but poor pitching and fielding gave way to a 7-6 loss to Minnesota as the Sox have now dropped three straight. The Sox trailed early but rode a four-run rally in the sixth to a 6-3 lead over the Twins. With the score the same heading into the ninth, the wheels came off. A pair of walks to open the ninth gave the Twins the head start they needed and they took it from their, lighting up Bobby Jenks and Sergio Santos for four runs and taking advantage of an Alex Rios throwing error to pull a victory out of almost certain defeat. Said Ozzie, "Obviously, it's not an easy one to swallow. A tough one, a very, very tough one." Despite the losing streak, the Sox remain 1.5 games up on both the Twins and the Tigers heading into a West Coast road trip which starts tonight in Seattle (9:10 p.m., CSN).