Cubs come back to win 2-1, to even series with L.A.

Friday afternoon there was a pitcher's duel at Wrigley Field. The wind was blowing straight in, so runs were at a premium. Ted Lilly was masterful: 7IP, ER, 4H, 5K and a rare 3BB. The lone run he allowed was a solo-HR to Matt Kemp in the 7th inning. Cubs announcer, Bob Brenly, was very surprised the ball left the yard, as it barely cleared the basket in left-center. Overall, Lilly (6-4) did a great job keeping the Dodgers' hitters off balance and got them to ground into three double plays.

The Dodgers starter, Chad Billingsley, was equally impressive yesterday: 7IP, 2ER, 8H, 7K. Billingsley got into a few jams early like in the second inning, when Derrek Lee and Micah Hoffpauir led off the inning with a single and a double respectively. However he was able to strand them at second and third base. The Cubs had multiple opportunities with men in scoring position, but were unable to get anything done. Mostly because Andres Blanco left 4 runners on in scoring position with two outs. I did not think the Cubs would score a run in this game. Then the Cubs offense finally broke through in the bottom of the 7th when Koyie Hill belted a solo-HR to right field. Later in the inning, Jake Fox singled to center-field, and would later score on a Sac-Fly by Fukudome. Unfortunately for me, I did not get to see the Cubs score these runs, I was on a bike ride with my girlfriend. We did stop by a great dive, The Corner Bar, and did manage to catch the 8th and 9th innings.

The Cubs bullpen did there job yesterday. Carlos Marmol pitched a scoreless 8th, despite walking two batters. Kevin Gregg pitched a scoreless 9th to earn his 8th save of the season. Things did get interesting with two outs in the 9th however, Gregg allowed a bloop single to Andre Eithier. Then Cubs third-baseman, Bobby Scales, booted what should have been a game ending ground ball. Gregg recovered nicely though, getting pinch-hitter extraordinaire Mark Lorretta to ground into a fielder's choice to end the game.

In other news, Micah Hoffpauir was 2-4 2B, and seems to have broken out of his "slump". Derrek Lee and Andres Blanco were each 0-3, but more than made up for it with some flashy defensive plays. Blanco can not hit a lick, but he can really field. Fukudome had a nice game as well, with a 2B (in which he reached 3rd on an error) and a Sac-Fly.

This afternoon the Cubs and Dodgers play at 3:05 and will be televised nationally on Fox. Ryan Dempster (3-3, 4.99 ERA) is pitching for the Cubs. Eric Stults (4-1, 4.29 ERA) is pitching for the Dodgers. I have never heard of Eric Stults, I thought we were facing Eric Stoltz, the actor (see Mask, Pulp Fiction, The Butterfly Effect, and The Rules of Attraction). Nevertheless, Dempster needs to pitch well today, he has sucked as of late, example: Monday night vs Pittsburgh. Dempster needs to step up and pitch like the ace the Cubs are paying him to be! Maybe today is the day he finally shows up to play?