Record: 6-4
Final Record: 45-54
Games Behind First: 10 GB
The Cubs caught fire on this homestand. The record may not show it, but the Cubs really started to put everything together in this week of 10 home games, the longest homestand of the year. With two of the three teams in playoff contention for the past few years, the Cubs would be put to the test. Ironically, they went 5-2 against those two teams but struggled against the 5th place Houston Astros.
The Phillies came to town after the All-Star Break pretty beaten up. They're missing Chase Utley, their All-Star 2B, Placido Polanco, Jamie Moyer, whose future in baseball is now in question at 47 years old, and they're also missing consistent production from 38 year old Raul Ibanez. The Phillies were falling behind the Atlanta Braves and were just trying to hang on until their stars return which will permit them to make a run at it. Starlin Castro was credited with a steal of home on what should have been a wild pitch to give the Cubs a 3-2 lead Thursday night, and they never looked back. Homers by Derrek Lee, Alfonso Soriano, and Geovany Soto and two two-run doubles by Aramis Ramirez allowed the Cubs to cruise to a 12-6 victory despite the unreliable Bob Howry giving up four in the ninth. He gave up two RBI singles and then a two-run homer to Ryan Howard, his second such homer of the night. Ramirez, already on a hot streak at the time, came up in the clutch Friday. Trailing 3-1 in the 6th, Marlon Byrd hit a two-run homer to tie the game and then two innings later Ramirez gave the Cubs the lead with a homer of his own. The Cubs once again overcame a homer by Howard to win. Saturday had the kind of game that you can't lose when you are a team trying to get back in the race but down a whole bunch of games. Excitingly scoring in a scoreless ballgame was Starlin Castro in the 7th and the Cubs looked for a shutout. Carlos Marmol was brought on for the save and the wrong Marmol showed up that day. He beat himself rather than letting the Phillies beat him allowing five walks to just one hit in only two thirds of an inning. Four runs came around and just like that Brad Lidge shut the door in a very frustrating loss. Moving onto Sunday night the Cubs knew a win would be tough off Roy Halladay. However, the Cubs impressively jumped on him supporting Tom Gorzelanny with a homer from Soto in the second, a four-run inning. Later, Soriano homered to drive in two including himself. The Phillies made it 6-3, but a five-run 7th opened the game wide open. Halladay went just six innings, an unusual low for the veteran, as the Cubs took three of four from Philly.
The Astros aren't having a season to remember. Filled with a few overpaid veteran contracts with guys past their prime and minor leaguers with little talent rushed to the bigs, the Houston franchise is pretty out of sorts right now. Years of neglect to develop talent in the minors is hurting them badly as the franchise is in 5th place. The Cubs really wanted a series win against a poor team like this. Carlos Silva struggled badly in the 1st Inning of the game Monday night, allowing five in his only inning pitched. Jason Castro hit a three-run homer in the 3rd, his 2nd career homer and that gave the Astros an unbelievable 8-0 lead. Soon enough, however, the Cubs offense started to piece together a rally. Two runs had already scored for the Cubs in the game when Tyler Colvin hit a solo shot, followed by Aramis Ramirez launching a two-run homer that really was amazing in the moment because the Cubs offense didn't usually fight back like they did Monday. Four runs put the game out of reach including a homer from Chris Johnson, his first Major League homer. Tuesday night the writer witnessed the best home game for the Cubs all season. The Astros, in their red alternate road uniforms like always, got another early lead this time for six runs. Ramirez hit a solo homer to chip into the lead that looked somewhat meaningless at the time. Chris Johnson hit another homer, his second in as many days, and that negated Ramirez's cut into the lead. Wesley Wright, making his first career start for Houston, really ran into trouble in the 5th. A passed ball after a strikeout of Xavier Nady brought in a run, and then a Starlin Castro RBI groundout, and then another homer for Ramirez, this time a three-run homer. Just like that, it became a 7-6 game. The Cubs took advantage of their momentum now with Geovany Soto hitting a huge tater to center over the Batters Eye lounge (447 feet!) to tie it up. But the Cubs weren't done yet. Derrek Lee picked up three RBI over the next two innings and Alfonso Soriano added an RBI single, and that set the stage for history. Coming up with a 11-7 lead, Aramis Ramirez batted with two on and an excited crowd backing him for what would happen next. Another fly ball went zooming into the night, and Ramirez incredibly got his third homer of the night! He is the first Cub to do that since Alfonso Soriano did it in Cincinnati in 2008 after he did it in Atlanta in 2007. Ryan Dempster joked after the game about not getting the win despite watching his team score 14. For the finale the Cubs became frustrating again because they were not able to get a hit when they needed to. Tied at 1 almost the entire game, the Cubs put runners on base in the bottom of the 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th including multiple runners in all except the 10th. If they had scored in any of the first three innings mentioned, it's game over. But no, the Cubs did like they always do and they let the other team just sit and hang around until they come back and beat you. Interestingly Soto hit a two-run homer in the 12th but it was too late and the Cubs lost by one.
A frustrating series loss to Houston gave the Cubs an off day to stew in their anger before the rival Cardinals came to town. These games would prove to be crucial with the Cubs chasing them in the division, down by 11 games at the start of the series. On Friday afternoon, Randy Wells gave the Cubs pure greatness forgetting his catastrophic start his last time against the Cardinals. He allowed hits to the first five batters and didn't record an out back in May. Wells went seven shutout innings to earn the win supported by homers from Colvin, Soto, and Soriano all of whom appeared pretty hot this homestand. Colvin hit another leadoff homer on Saturday, pretending to be Soriano, but the lead didn't last long. Tyler Greene singled in two runs, but that lead didn't last long either. Starlin Castro hit his first Wrigley Field homer to give the Cubs the lead again 3-2. A critical wild pitch in the 5th with a ball that was thrown away proved extremely important as the 6-3 lead would prove necessary as the Cardinals crawled their way back to 6-5 in the 8th. The Cubs pulled out the nail biter however, Carlos Marmol picking up the save. If the Cubs could sweep Sunday night on ESPN then they would be just eight games back of the Cardinals. After an early 2-0 lead for St. Louis, the Cubs came back with rallies in the 4th and 5th. Albert Pujols homered in the 6th to tie it, locking up the score for extra innings. Again the Cubs wasted opportunities and Felipe Lopez burned them with a go-ahead homer in the 11th for the win.
The Cubs could have easily been 9-1 on this homestand. The only game where they were truly beat was the one on Monday night against the Astros, and even then they put up a great fight. But little issues like Carlos Marmol on Saturday and offense hitting with runners in scoring position didn't allow the Cubs to make as much progress as they would have liked. As I said before, the Cubs to are looking better and beginning to put things together but the Astros series this week in Houston certainly isn't promising. They'll be put to the test against a good team in the Rockies this weekend at Coors Field, where the Cubs are 38-36 all-time.
The Astros aren't having a season to remember. Filled with a few overpaid veteran contracts with guys past their prime and minor leaguers with little talent rushed to the bigs, the Houston franchise is pretty out of sorts right now. Years of neglect to develop talent in the minors is hurting them badly as the franchise is in 5th place. The Cubs really wanted a series win against a poor team like this. Carlos Silva struggled badly in the 1st Inning of the game Monday night, allowing five in his only inning pitched. Jason Castro hit a three-run homer in the 3rd, his 2nd career homer and that gave the Astros an unbelievable 8-0 lead. Soon enough, however, the Cubs offense started to piece together a rally. Two runs had already scored for the Cubs in the game when Tyler Colvin hit a solo shot, followed by Aramis Ramirez launching a two-run homer that really was amazing in the moment because the Cubs offense didn't usually fight back like they did Monday. Four runs put the game out of reach including a homer from Chris Johnson, his first Major League homer. Tuesday night the writer witnessed the best home game for the Cubs all season. The Astros, in their red alternate road uniforms like always, got another early lead this time for six runs. Ramirez hit a solo homer to chip into the lead that looked somewhat meaningless at the time. Chris Johnson hit another homer, his second in as many days, and that negated Ramirez's cut into the lead. Wesley Wright, making his first career start for Houston, really ran into trouble in the 5th. A passed ball after a strikeout of Xavier Nady brought in a run, and then a Starlin Castro RBI groundout, and then another homer for Ramirez, this time a three-run homer. Just like that, it became a 7-6 game. The Cubs took advantage of their momentum now with Geovany Soto hitting a huge tater to center over the Batters Eye lounge (447 feet!) to tie it up. But the Cubs weren't done yet. Derrek Lee picked up three RBI over the next two innings and Alfonso Soriano added an RBI single, and that set the stage for history. Coming up with a 11-7 lead, Aramis Ramirez batted with two on and an excited crowd backing him for what would happen next. Another fly ball went zooming into the night, and Ramirez incredibly got his third homer of the night! He is the first Cub to do that since Alfonso Soriano did it in Cincinnati in 2008 after he did it in Atlanta in 2007. Ryan Dempster joked after the game about not getting the win despite watching his team score 14. For the finale the Cubs became frustrating again because they were not able to get a hit when they needed to. Tied at 1 almost the entire game, the Cubs put runners on base in the bottom of the 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th including multiple runners in all except the 10th. If they had scored in any of the first three innings mentioned, it's game over. But no, the Cubs did like they always do and they let the other team just sit and hang around until they come back and beat you. Interestingly Soto hit a two-run homer in the 12th but it was too late and the Cubs lost by one.
A frustrating series loss to Houston gave the Cubs an off day to stew in their anger before the rival Cardinals came to town. These games would prove to be crucial with the Cubs chasing them in the division, down by 11 games at the start of the series. On Friday afternoon, Randy Wells gave the Cubs pure greatness forgetting his catastrophic start his last time against the Cardinals. He allowed hits to the first five batters and didn't record an out back in May. Wells went seven shutout innings to earn the win supported by homers from Colvin, Soto, and Soriano all of whom appeared pretty hot this homestand. Colvin hit another leadoff homer on Saturday, pretending to be Soriano, but the lead didn't last long. Tyler Greene singled in two runs, but that lead didn't last long either. Starlin Castro hit his first Wrigley Field homer to give the Cubs the lead again 3-2. A critical wild pitch in the 5th with a ball that was thrown away proved extremely important as the 6-3 lead would prove necessary as the Cardinals crawled their way back to 6-5 in the 8th. The Cubs pulled out the nail biter however, Carlos Marmol picking up the save. If the Cubs could sweep Sunday night on ESPN then they would be just eight games back of the Cardinals. After an early 2-0 lead for St. Louis, the Cubs came back with rallies in the 4th and 5th. Albert Pujols homered in the 6th to tie it, locking up the score for extra innings. Again the Cubs wasted opportunities and Felipe Lopez burned them with a go-ahead homer in the 11th for the win.
The Cubs could have easily been 9-1 on this homestand. The only game where they were truly beat was the one on Monday night against the Astros, and even then they put up a great fight. But little issues like Carlos Marmol on Saturday and offense hitting with runners in scoring position didn't allow the Cubs to make as much progress as they would have liked. As I said before, the Cubs to are looking better and beginning to put things together but the Astros series this week in Houston certainly isn't promising. They'll be put to the test against a good team in the Rockies this weekend at Coors Field, where the Cubs are 38-36 all-time.
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