Game One Hundred Thirty-Four: Cubs (83-50) vs. Phillies (73-60)
Game Time - 7:05pm C.T.
Coverage - TV: WGN - Radio: 720 WGN, XM Radio Channel 184
Location - Wrigley Field, Chicago

Ryan Dempster (15-5, 2.85/1.17) vs. Cole Hamels (11-8, 3.20/1.04)

The stretch run of the 2008 season begins tonight with the first of four against one of the hottest teams in the National League....the Philadelphia Phillies. Despite losing the finale of the series against the Mets on Wednesday night, the Phillies are 8-2 in their last 10. The Cubs and the Phillies will send their four best starters to the mound during this series, but tonight it is Ryan Dempster against Cole Hamels.

The Phillies won two of three against the Cubs in Philly back in April (11th - 13th) on the Cubs first road trip of the season. And the Cubs will be looking to repay the favor. The Phillies are the only team in the National League with a winning record against the Cubs this season....26 of the Cubs final 29 games will be against team's with a record of .500 or better.

There are several keys to attempting to beat the Phillies. One...keep Jimmy Rollins in check. Two...do not allow Shane Victorino to jump-start the offense. Three...do not help their potent offense. In other words, make 'em earn it and keep the free passes to a minimum. And finally, score early and keep tacking on. The Phillies have the offense to come back at will and if they are ahead in the 9th, well....Brad Lidge has not blown a save all season.

The Cubs and Phillies will be one of three games around the league to feature instant replay for the first time tonight....and the rest of the league will have the new technology on Friday. And as fate would have it, Wrigley Field will be the first park in the Senior Circuit to use instant replay in an official game.

Fasten Those Seatbelts....

In this fourth installment of those players I see that have been touched by the magic of the Cubs this year, I will take a look at the minor leaguers. More specifically I am referring to Micah Hoffpauir and Jeff Samardzija, who have been called up, jumped in and helped the Cubs continue to win.

Game One Hundred Thirty-Three - Cubs 2 Pirates 0
WP - Jason Marquis (9-7) LP - Zach Duke (4-13) Save - Kerry Wood (27)

Lou Piniella's crew completed the 3-game sweep against the Pirates on Wednesday afternoon behind 7 shutout innings by Jason Marquis. Marquis picked up his third win of the season against the Bucs and gave his skipper a very strong outing on getaway day. The key to Marquis' success was he kept the ball down and most importantly....he did not issue a single walk. The best inning of the afternoon by Marquis came in the bottom of the 7th after his team handed him a 2-0 lead....a solid shutdown inning.

Carlos Marmol pitched around a lead off walk and struck out the last two batters he faced in the 8th. Kerry Wood picked up his 27th save of the season with a perfect 9th inning. Wood struck out two of the three batters he faced on 10 pitches.

Marquis, Marmol and Wood combined on a 5-hit shutout with only 1 walk and 7 strikeouts.

The Cubs scored 26 runs in the first two games but managed only 2 in the season finale against the Pirates. The Cubs had chances early and put the leadoff runner on base in three of the first 6 innings. Reed Johnson was in the middle of the action once again and his leadoff bunt single in the 7th led to the eventual winning run.

Mark DeRosa followed Johnson with a double to left. Ronny Cedeno hit a slow grounder to 3rd baseman Andy LaRoche and the only play was to first as Johnson broke with contact. DeRosa advanced to 3rd on the play and scored on a perfectly executed suicide squeeze by Henry Blanco. Hank White popped up the low pitch down the 1st base line, the ball stayed fair and DeRosa scored standing without a throw.

Less than 14 hours after completing a long, ugly game....the Cubs wrapped up the season series with the Pirates (14-4) in just 2 hours and 17 minutes. The Cubs finished an important 9-game stretch against the Reds, Nationals and Pirates with a 7-2 record.

In a season full of 'firsts' and 'since', the Cubs improved to 33 games over .500 for the first time since 1945. The Cubs own a major league best mark of 83-50 as the stretch run begins on Thursday night at Wrigley against the Philadelphia Phillies....

Game One Hundred Thirty-Three: Cubs (82-50) vs. Pirates (57-75)
Game Time - 11:35am C.T.
Coverage - TV: Comcast SportsNet - Radio: 720 WGN, XM Radio Channel 184
Location - PNC Park, Pittsburgh

Jason Marquis (8-7, 4.76/1.44) vs. Zach Duke (4-12, 5.29/1.55)

While Major League Baseball sorts out the last of the details on instant replay that will debut at Wrigley on Thursday, the Cubs will complete their season series today against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Cubs offense must continue what they started in the first two games....26 runs in 18 innings and not let up on getaway day. Lou Piniella's crew is 13-4 versus the Bucs this season with one left to play....

Jason Marquis will remain in the rotation for at least his next two starts according to a report in the Tribune. With the way Piniella went through his pen last night, don't be surprised to see Sean Marshall or Chad Gaudin early on if Marquis struggles with his command....and himself. If Marquis is replaced in the rotation for the last month of the season, Sean Marshall would give his skipper another southpaw in the rotation and a proven winner at the big league level.

Lou Piniella has been receiving contributions from his entire roster of late and his bench should receive a lot of playing time today. Henry Blanco should be behind the plate to give Geovany Soto a day off. Reed Johnson will be in center. Mark DeRosa could spell Kosuke Fukudome in right with Ronny Cedeno somewhere in the middle infield....Cedeno has hit Zach Duke extremely well in his career.

Game One Hundred Thirty-Two - Cubs 14 Pirates 9
WP - Sean Marshall (3-3) LP - Craig Hansen (1-5, BS 3) Save - None

There is no such thing in baseball as a bad win, but there are ugly ones and if there could be only one word used to describe Tuesday night's game against the Pirates it would be....U-G-L-Y. Lou Piniella used his entire bench and all but Bobby Howry out of the pen after Carlos Zambrano was lifted with 1-out in the 5th inning. The Cubs scored 14 runs on 13 hits with 9 walks and while the Cubs never stopped battling and it was a team win....the night belonged to Geovany Soto.

The Cubs' rookie catcher drove in half of the 14 runs with a career high 7 RBI's. Soto hit two bases clearing doubles and his 20th home run of the season in the 6th inning. Soto set a new franchise mark for home runs by a rookie catcher and became the first Cubs' rookie since Billy Williams in 1961 to hit 20 long balls in his first big league season....the Hall of Famer hit 25 home runs 47 years ago.

The difference in the game was the Cubs' patience at the plate. The Cubs trailed 8-7 entering the 8th and Mike Fontenot led off the inning with a check swing single to center. Alfonso Soriano blooped a single to right and Ryan Theriot walked to load the bases. Derrek Lee walked with the bases loaded and plated Mike Fontenot with the tying run. Aramis Ramirez followed with a 4-pitch walk that forced in Alfonso Soriano from 3rd with the go ahead run. Reed Johnson added a RBI single and Geovany Soto came through with a 2-out, bases clearing double. Fontenot followed with a double that plated Soto with the Cubs' 14th run of the game.

The Cubs defense was very questionable to say the least and they committed three big errors on the night. Carlos Zambrano had a wild pickoff attempt in the 1st inning. Aramis Ramirez committed a throwing error in the 3rd and Alfonso Soriano dropped a routine fly in the 6th. Soriano did not lose this one in the sun and right after he hopped, he dropped the ball.

The defensive highlight of the game came in the 5th inning when Kosuke Fukudome threw out Brandon Moss trying to go from 1st to 3rd on a single by Doug Mientkiewicz.

Carlos Zambrano struggled mightily once again and left the game before the end of the 5th inning for the second time in his last four starts. Zambrano could not control himself or the ball, ran up his pitch count and then beat up another cooler on his way out of the game. Zambrano allowed 6 runs on 8 hits with 4 walks and 3 strikeouts. Lou Piniella and Larry Rothschild must get him back on track....his last good outing was on July 29th in Milwaukee. Zambrano has not recorded a 1-2-3 inning in his last two starts....but he keeps on hitting.

Carlos Zambrano drove in a run with a single in the 4th inning. Zambrano set the All-Time Major League record with his 13th consecutive start with a hit and broke the record of 12 set by Johnny Sain in 1947. Big Z has recorded at least one RBI in his last 8 starts.

The Cubs' bullpen did a good job on an extremely weird night in Pittsburgh. Six pitchers allowed 3 runs, 2 earned, on 7 hits with 1 walk and 7 strikeouts. Sean Marshall picked up the win with a scoreless 7th and Carlos Marmol was the only Cubs' pitcher to retire the side in order. Kerry Wood allowed a run on two doubles but struck out the side in the 9th.

With the win in Pittsburgh on Tuesday night the Cubs notched several notable accomplishments.... The Cubs have won 9 consecutive series of at least 2 games for the first time since they won 10 in a row 101 years ago....1907. Lou Piniella's crew improved to a season high 32 games over .500.... the last time the Cubs were 32 games over .500 was September 15, 1984. The Cubs also became the first team to post the 82nd win of the year and guarantee themselves a winning record in back-to-back seasons for only the second time in 35 years (2003-2004).

Game One Hundred Thirty-Two: Cubs (81-50) vs. Pirates (57-74)
Game Time - 6:05pm C.T.
Coverage - TV: WGN - Radio: 720 WGN, XM Radio Channel 184
Location - PNC Park, Pittsburgh

Carlos Zambrano (13-5, 3.29/1.26) vs. Ian Snell (5-10, 5.60/1.83)

The Cubs will try to win their fourth game in a row tonight behind Carlos Zambrano....and pick up their 9th consecutive series win in the process. The last time the Cubs won nine consecutive series of two or more games was in 1907 when they won 10 in a row. In order to accomplish that feat they will have to beat Ian Snell who is coming off his best start of the season against the St. Louis Cardinals.

For more historical facts, the Cubs are 16-6 this month with 6 games remaining on the schedule. Lou Piniella's crew has won 15 games in each of the first 5 months for the first time since 1969.

Lou Piniella reminded the Faithful that his team still has plenty of work to do this season and the next step would be a win tonight against the Bucs while the Brewers and Cardinals are battling each other in St. Louis....

Game One Hundred Thirty-One - Cubs 12 Pirates 3
WP - Ted Lilly (13-7) LP - Jeff Karstens (2-3) Save - None

Monday night in Pittsburgh was a total team effort led by Kosuke Fukudome, Jim Edmonds and Aramis Ramirez. The Cubs pounded out 17 hits and put the game out of reach after the 5th inning. Lou Piniella's crew scored early and often and 10 of the 12 runs came in the first 5 innings. Jim Edmonds broke out of a 0-for-18 slump with a triple and two doubles in 5 trips to the plate. Edmonds scored the first run on a sacrifice fly by Kosuke Fukudome in the 2nd inning.

After working with Lou Piniella and Gerald Perry over the past two days Kosuke Fukudome might be breaking out of his slump. Fukudome followed his pinch-hit 2-run homer on Sunday with a 3-for-4 night in Pittsburgh that included 4 RBI's and his 23rd double of the season. Aramis Ramirez hit his 23rd long ball of the year and his third 3-run homer in the last three games.

Ted Lilly threw a very good game and made only two mistakes in 7 innings of work. Lilly allowed 3 runs on 7 hits with 7 strikeouts and a walk. The Pirates three runs came off two swings of the bat....a solo home run by Brandon Moss in the 4th and a 2-run shot by Adam LaRoche in the 6th. Ted Lilly did help his own cause in the 5-run 5th inning with his 4th RBI of the year....a single to center on a 0-2 pitch.

Bobby Howry faced the minimum in the 8th and Kerry Wood pitched for the first time in four days. Wood shook off a little rust and retired the side in order to end the game.

All but one starter recorded a hit. Alfonso Soriano added 3 hits, scored a pair of runs and swiped 2 bases in 5 at bats. After missing Sunday at Wrigley, Derrek Lee drove in the Cubs second run of the night, scored 2 times and finished 3-for-4 with a double and a walk. The offense truly took care of business against Jeff Karstens after he shut them out at Wrigley to start the month.

With the win on Monday night, the Cubs improved to 31 games over .500 for the first time this season....the last time the Cubs were 31 over the break even point was the final day of the 1984 season. After struggling mightily on the road, the Cubs have won 11 of their last 12 away from Wrigley and for the first time since May 3rd, the Cubs are above .500 on the road for the season with a mark of 32-31....

Game One Hundred Thirty-One: Cubs (80-50) vs. Pirates (57-73)
Game Time - 6:05pm C.T.
Coverage - TV: Comcast SportsNet - Radio: 720 WGN, XM Radio Channel 184
Location - PNC Park, Pittsburgh

Ted Lilly (12-7, 4.25/1.32) vs. Jeff Karstens (2-2, 2.25/1.11)

Lou Piniella's crew opens a quick 3-game road trip tonight in Pittsburgh behind Ted Lilly. The Cubs will face three of the good young arms in the Pirates' rotation in the final series of the season against the Bucs. Lilly will face Jeff Karstens tonight, Carlos Zambrano is scheduled to match-up against Ian Snell on Tuesday and Jason Marquis is slated to face Zach Duke in the finale on Wednesday. The Cubs have won 11 of the first 15 versus the Pirates this season and must not take the 'Battling Bucs' for granted over the next three days. The Pirates have traditionally played their best ball of the season against the Cubs and the next three games figures to be more of the same.

The Pirates are coming off a disappointing loss in Milwaukee on Sunday afternoon. They chased CC Sabathia from the game and had a chance to beat the Brewers in the 12th inning but were unable to capitalize after loading the bases with no outs.

Derrek Lee and Kosuke Fukudome are expected back in the lineup tonight. Lee was held out on Sunday after leaving Saturday's game with back spasms. Reports indicated Lee aggravated the bulging disc problem "that cropped up early last season in Philadelphia." Fukudome was held out of the starting lineup in order to continue to work on the adjustments made by Gerald Perry and Lou Piniella in his swing. However, Fukudome launched a pinch-hit home run on Sunday that will hopefully allow the Cubs' right fielder to relax at the plate and contribute down the stretch.

This is an important 3-game set for the Cubs. With both the Brewers and Cardinals off tonight before opening a brief 2-game series in St. Louis on Tuesday, the Cubs could put a little distance between themselves and the two closest pursuers in the division before welcoming the Phillies to Wrigley for a 4-game series on Thursday.

The Little League World Series has been front-page news in the baseball world in recent weeks. There are always intriguing stories that come out of South Williamsport, Pennsylvania but none so captivating as the one 7 years ago. Danny Almonte grabbed all of the headlines as he dominated the Little League World Series. Almonte had more than a bright future until it was discovered the pitching phenom was two years past his eligibility to play in the games. All of Almonte's accomplishment were erased from the record books but it still had an impact on one player....Mathew Cerda.

Some may recognize his name, Cerda was the 4th round pick of the Cubs in this year's draft and the 5'9" shortstop, turned catcher, used his negative experience against the older Almonte as motivation to improve at the game of baseball.