Dempster wins, Lee hits, and Cubs blank the Dodgers
The Cubs beat the Dodgers, 3-0, on Tuesday night as Ryan Dempster outdueled Clayton Kershaw. Derrek Lee had a single, double, and two-run homer, and drove in all three Cub runs.
It was Dempster's first victory since April 23rd, Lee's first three-RBI game since April 16th, and his first three-hit game since the fourth game of the season way, way, way back on April 9th.
Dempster held the Dodgers to three singles and fanned seven over eight innings. He looked capable of going the route, but Lou Piniella gave the ball to Carlos Marmol in the ninth, and the Cub closer made quick work of Russell Martin, Matt Kemp, and Manny Ramirez to secure the win.
Kershaw was pretty impressive as well. He held the Cubs to four hits and just one, unearned run in his six innings. He threw 104 pitches, however, and as Jon Weisman at Dodger Thoughts tweeted during the game, Kershaw is on a pace that would have him throwing more pitches in a season than any pitcher age 23 or younger since 2000.
Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Brian Campbell, and Adam Burish were in attendance Tuesday night. In their honor, here the 3 stars of the game:
Third Star...Clayton Kershaw. (Over his last four starts, spanning 28 1/3 IP, his ERA is 0.64.)
Second Star...Derrek Lee (Could he finally be regaining his stroke?)
And the #1 Star of the Game...Ryan Dempster (Now has a 15-inning shutout string vs. L.A.)
Game two in the series will be tomorrow night, when Tom Gorzelanny goes up against Chad Billingsley.
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