36-21 2.5 GMs ahead of Cardinals
The Week that was:
- Game 1: Ryan Dempster pitches 7 IP, allows only 1 ER and Ks 3. Bob Howry and Kerry Wood close the door, Wood getting his 11th SV. Derrek Lee hits his 12th HR in the first, scoring Ryan Theriot. Aramis Ramirez gives the Cubs the lead in the 8th with a solo shot off of Scott Procter, his 9th. Cubs win 3-1
- Game 2: Another 7 IP, 1 ER 3 K preformence this time by Sean Gallagher, his best start of the season. Hiroki Kuroda kept the Cubs in check until the 7th, when they scored 2 unearned runs. Carlos Marmol struggled, walking 2 and throwing 28 pitches, but didn't allow a run. Kerry Wood came on for his 12th SV of the year. Cubs win 3-1
- Game 3: This is a game the Cubs shouldn't have won. Carlos Zambrano didn't have very sharp control, but he ended up going 8 giving up 1 ER. Jose Ascanio pitched a scoreless inning, his last before being sent back down to Iowa for Neil Cotts. Derek Lowe shut down the Cubs offense for 7 IP. But the Cubs were able to capitalize of the wildness of rusty close Takashi Saito with a Geovany Soto sac fly. Alfonso Soriano finished the game in the 10th, where following a Mike Fontenot double, he singled off of Chan Ho Park for the victory. Cubs win 2-1 in 10.
- Game 4: Cubs got off to an early 2-0 lead, which included Lee's 13th HR of the season. Then a combination of Jason Marquis, Cotts and Michael Wuertz gave up the lead. Marquis ended up going 5.1 IP with 3 ER. But the Cubs scored 2 in the 7th, and 3 in the 8th, including an Alfonso Soriano 2-run single. Marmol and Wood pitched 2 scoreless innings to end the game. Cubs win 8-4
- Game 5: Ted Lilly did not have his control on this day. With the wind blowing out, Lilly gave up 7 Rs (4 ER) in 3 IP. Lou even replaced Lee and Soto with Micah Hoffpauir and Henry Blanco because he figured the game was out of reach. But it wasn't. The Cubs ended up scoring 3 runs in the 6th, and 6 runs in the 7th to take the lead. Kosuke Fukudome (3), Henry Blanco (1), Mark DeRosa (5) and even Jim Edmonds hit HRs, Edmonds' first as a Cub. Eyre got the win (2-0), Marmol the H (16) and Wood the SV (13). Cubs win 10-9
- Game 6: Ryan Dempster didn't throw his best game (5 IP 3 ER 7 SO 4 BB) but the offense, lead by Soriano (his 12th HR and 3 RBIS) was plenty. Wuertz, Cotts and Howry all went scoreless and Marmol picked up his 3rd SV, despite surrendering a HR to