Game 6 Recap: Cubs 3, Astros 2

• Z has a 20 and 2/3 scoreless inning streak, going back to last year?!?!
• Tejada taps to Z, one out.
• Blum whiffs on a 69mph curve. Blum came closer to hitting the pitch on his backswing than he did on his foreswing, as he was at least a couple feet out in front of it.
• Tomas Perez, still alive, pulls one into right for a single.
• Towles with an easy fly to left, inning over.

Inning 2 - Bottom

• DeRosa singles through the hole to left.
• DeRosa runs as Theriot grounds to third. Blum throws to second, and DeRosa beats the throw. Theriot beats the relay to first as well, everybody safe. Ugly fielding work by both Blum and Perez on the play. That's what you get for having the name "Geoff."
• Blanco lines one sharply to right. Bases loaded for Z!
• Z takes a Babe Ruth style uppercut swing, but weakly rolls into a 4-6-3 DP. Run scores, at least. Runner to third.
• Soriano strikes out on three pitches.

Inning 3 - Top

• Backe bloops one towards the shallow RF line, drops in. Fukudome overplays it a bit, and it squirts past him. Backe takes second.
• Bourn bounces out to DeRosa, Backe advances
• Some nobodies from Budweiser who are confusing themselves for celebrities show up in the booth and waste all of our time. Go away. I'm missing the Lord of The Rings on TNT to listen to THIS?
• Pence flies to shallow right, and Fukudome throws a perfect one-hopper to Blanco. Backe holds at third base.
• These budweiser douchebags continue their promotional work. I'm watching Lord of the Rings. The little munchin guys are battling some huge CGI monster in some dwarf dungeon somewhere. Go Munchkins!
• I'm told Erstad lined one to Center, letting Backe score. But the Bud guys are still yacking, so I'm watching the little dwarfs and wizards and whatnot on TNT. Oh, go big effininate looking Elf-man! Kill the CGI Beast!
• And according to Parachat, Erstad is out stealing second on a nice throw by Blanco, and a questionable tag.

Inning 3 - Bottom

• Johnson pops out to center. Pie could have done that.
• Lee not happy with a strike two call on a slow curve, outside corner.
• Lee hits one hard to dead center, again, but Bourn catches it on the warning track. Wind is blowing in, holds it up. Lee's 6 straight ABs with a hit comes to an end. But he still looks totally locked in
• Ramirez follows it up with a little blooper that drops perfectly between CF, RF and 2B. BJB comments on the lack of justice in baseball. Somewhere, Voros McCracken is smiling.
• Fukudome laces one to center, forcing Bourn to retreat and make a leaping twisting catch. Bourn has struggled to get good reads on several hard hit line-drives at him. (Not that it's easy to do, but it's happening with regularity...)

Inning 4 - Top

• Carlos Lee singles sharply to left.
• Tejada hits one up the middle. Theriot grabs in in front of second, decides against trying to shovel the ball against his momentum, and just throws to first for one out. Lee to second.
• Pence pops to Theriot.
• BJB ripping the DH, on this the 35th anniversary of its introduction. Go Bob!
• Tomas Perez with an ugly swing at strike 3, inning over.

Inning 4 - Bottom

• DeRosa pops to shallow center. Bourn, running in hard and looking into the sun, has the ball bounce off the heel of his glove. DeRosa on, at first.
• BJB and Len discussing Bob's career as a leadoff hitter. So glad I can listen to my first WGN broadcast, here.
• Theriot K's, Blanco flies out to left, and it's up to Z.
• And Z K's swinging. What a boring inning. Backe with 4 hits, a BB and 5 Ks through four IP

Inning 5 - Top

• Towles K's swinging at a fastball. Z's fastball has rarely broken 90 mph this game, going with a lot more off-speed stuff.
• Backe taps back to Z.
• Bourn flies out to left. Z suddenly cruising. Six hits, zero walks, 4 Ks through 5.

Inning 5 - Bottom

• Soriano leads off the bottom of the sixth by swatting a hanging curve ball into the basket of the left-field well. Just barely enough to get out. 2-1 Cubs.
• Johnson rolls out to Blum. Pie could have done that.
• Lee walks.
• Didn't realize it until Len says so, but Hart's win yesterday was his first in the majors. Congrats!
• Ramirez inside-outs one to right, through the 1B hole. Nice hitting, runners on 1 and 2, one out
• Kosuke at the bat.
• Fukudome walks. Bases loaded for DeRosa
• DeRosa K's, way out in front of a breaking pitch
• Theriot up, bases loaded and two outs.
• 2-2 count, Theriot reaches a bit for one, rolls slowly to Tejada, out at first. So much for that inning.
• It's the Foster Kids ad!

Inning 6 - Top

• Pence chops to Lee, wide of the bag. Flips to Z to beat Pence by a step
• Erstad whiffs, the ball goes to the backstop, riccochettes right back to Blanco, who throws to first to just get Erstad, and without Lee getting clobbered, either. Well executed and also lucky play
• Carlos Lee flies deep to the well in left. 9 straight for Zambrano.

Inning 6 - Bottom.

• Blanco flies to straight-away center.
• Zambrano whiffs. For a second, thinks about splitting the bat over his leg, but decides better of it. Z then goes back to the bench and discusses the virtues of a well diversified portfolio. Ah, maturity.
• Soriano pops to Perez.

Inning 7 - Top

• Z hangs a slider over the heart of the plate on an 0-2 count, and Tejada crushes it deep into the bleachers behind the well in left. 2-2 game.
• After a long battle, Blum K's on a full-count fastball, looking. Blum not happy about it, but pretty clearly a strike.
• Perez taps back to Zambrano for an easy out.
• Bob Dernier into the booth, looks like he could still play OF.
• Towles blown away on a fastball, inning over.
• Dernier not the greatest singer, but tries his best. Sort of truncates all of his words, very clipped manner.

Inning 7 - Bottom

• Oscar Villarreal in.
• Johnson with a lazy fly to right. Pie could have done that.
• Lee demolishes a baseball way up the bleachers to left-center. Solo HR. He's just hitting everything right on the screws. 3-2 Cubs.
• Ramirez k's.
• Kosuke at the bat.
• Fukudome squirts one to third, easy out.

Inning 8 - Top

• Marmol and Pie both in, Z and Johnson out.
• Cruz Jr. up to hit.
• Cruz flies to shallow left
• Weird play. On a 3-2 count, Bourn checks his swing, things it's ball four and that he held up, and runs to first. Blanco things it was either a called or swinging strike three, and fires it around the horn. Finally, home plate ump appeals to third base ump, who says Bourn swung. Strikeout. Third base ump puts up the left hand in a big old "Stop" sign, telling the managers to not bother arguing the call.
• Pence K's looking at a fastball on the outside corner. Makes a gesture at the outside corner, not happy at the call. Runge's been a bit inconsistent with the balls and strikes, more to the annoyance of the Astros than the Cubs.

Inning 8 - Bottom

• Borkowski in to pitch, DeRosa up
• DeRosa rolls out to third.
• Theriot breaks his bat in half hitting one to Erstad's right. Erstad flubs it and Theriot beats the throw to first. Ruled a hit. Somehow
• Blanco ends the inning on a 5-4-3 DP

Inning 9 - Top

• Wood in, to face Erstad, LEe, Tejada
• Erstad with an easy come-backer to Wood. One out.
• Lee grounds easily to Ramirez. Two out.
• "Ker-Ree" chant starts
• Wood reaching 95 mph on the gun, as he goes 1-2 on Tejada
• Tejada K's swinging on a nice slider that drops straight down. Game over!
• Cue the foster kids ad!