The Morning After
By Marcus Gilmer in News on Jul 21, 2010 3:06PM
Cubs' Offense Explodes
Now that is a rally. In a finally score more befitting the Northwestern-Illinois game to played at Wrigley this fall, the Cubs' offense exploded late to rally from an early 6-0 deficit to defeat the Houston Astros 14-7. The big bat of the game belonged to Aramis Ramirez who belted three homers (4th, 5th, and 8th innings) and drove in seven runs. Geovany Soto also knocked a homer and Derrek Lee knocked in three runs as well. The Cubs scored in each of the final five innings they batted in and scored five runs twice (5th and 8th innings), an uncharacteristic - but very welcome - offensive onslaught. Aramis continues his scorching July, now batting .383 with 9 HR and 24 RBI for the month. The North Siders are now 4-2 since the All-Star Break, nothing mind-blowing, but have scored 47 runs in that span, easily their best offensive stretch of the season so far. They'll hopefully be able to extend the new-found offense another game as they face off against the Astros this afternoon in the rubber match of the series (1:20 p.m., WGN).
Sox Shut Out Seattle
While the Cubs were about offense, it was pitching for the Sox as John Danks struck out eight over 7.2 innings in a terrific outing and the Sox beat the Mariners 4-0. The Sox used singles and doubles to put up a 3-0 lead and a late Alexi Ramirez solo homer was icing on the cake for the Sox who have moved to 3-3 since the All-Star Break. Danks overcame some control issues early but settled in for his 10th win of the year. After the game, he said, "If you would have told me after the first inning that I was going to walk four and two on four pitches, I would have called you a liar, but I felt good." The Sox hope Gavin Floyd helps them secure the sweep later tonight (9:10 p.m., CSN).
Fire Edge Pumas
The Fire are now out of SuperLiga play, but at least they went out on a high note, beating Pumas UNAM 1-0 to earn their first victory of the year in non-MLS play. Wilman Conde headed in a corner from Marco Pappa in the 35th minute for the only goal of the game. The Fire next return to action on August 1 when they head to L.A. to take on Landon Donovan and the Galaxy (6:30 p.m., Fox Soccer).