The Cubs got off to a good start today as Alfonso Soriano doubled down the line to lead things off, Ryan Theriot walked, and Jake Fox hit his first career Major League home run. Little did we know that the offense was basically done for the rest of the game. The Tigers made the game close in the third when Ted Lilly allowed a home run to light hitting Ramon Santiago, a mistake to say the least. The Cubs added what I thought would be an insurance run in the 4th when Fukudome hit a triple to score Mike Fontenot (who reached on a fielder's choice).
Later in the bottom of the 4th the wheels came off for Ted Lilly. He allowed a double to Marcus Thames and then to new Cub-Killer Ryan Raburn to make it 4-3 Cubs. Then with Raburn on second Lilly gave up a home run to Magglio Ordonez, only Ordonez's 3rd of the year and first in a long time. The score was 5-4 and Detroit would not look back. Ordonez has been in a funk all season, comparable to Milton Bradley and David Ortiz. Lilly simply did not have it today: 6IP, 6ER, 10H, 6K, BB, 2HR allowed. It just was not his day, for as long as Lilly has been a Cub he has gone 3-5 good starts followed by one or two bad ones, this was a bad one, he will bounce back. Kevin Hart pitched a scoreless 7th followed by a troublesome 8th in which he allowed two hits and walked one (a questionable call on the 3-2 pitch, it looked good). He was also not helped when Andres Blanco made a rare defensive mistake and dropped a double play ball earlier in the inning. Sean Marshall bailed Hart out of the jam in the 8th striking out Curtis Granderson.
The Cubs were OK offensively today, at least they were better than they had been all series, but the pitching will not always be there to bail them out. Congrats to Jake Fox on his first ML HR, he had a nice game going 3-4, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, K. This guy is going to play against the White Sox, likely in all three games. I would play him at 3rd in game one with Micah Hoffpauir at DH against the right handed pitcher. Then I would DH Fox for Saturday and Sunday against the Sox's lefties. He has been hitting since he has been called up and the power is starting to come, he could replace Mark DeRosa in this line-up (Power, plays 3B, plays OF), and his defense has been better than expected. Soriano had a good game 2-4 2B, R, although his single was a blooper down in no-man's land. Fukudome also had a nice ball game going 2-4 2B, 3B, RBI. Dome had been slumping lately, so this was nice to see. Last but not least Micah Hoffpauir continues to rake as he had an opposite-field HR in the 9th off of closer Fernando Rodney, not any easy thing to do. The rally Hoff started in the 9th was not enough as Geovany Soto struck out to end the game with Fukudome standing on second.
Derrek Lee's career-high 21 game hitting streak came to an end today, he almost legged out an infield single to end the 8th. Apparently this was the second longest Cubs hitting streak of all time, only trailing Jerome Walton's 30 from 1989, when he won ROY. Congrats to Lee on the streak and his comeback this season, I did not expect it, I really hope he continues hitting this well the rest of the way. Also, can Lou Piniella please give Mike Fontenot a day off, he looks like he needs it, he did not look good today (again). At least we did not lose any ground in the division as the Mets defeated the Cardinals today, we remain 3.5 GB, manageable, but the Cubs need to get back over .500 and have 6 more road games on this trip.
Up Next: The Cubs head back to Chicago, but to the South Side, for a 3-game series with the White Sox. Tomorrow's matchup is at 3:05 and can be seen on both WGN and CSN depending on who you want to listen to. Randy Wells (1-3, 2.57 ERA) vs Jose Contreras (2-6, 5.23 ERA) is the pitching match-up. Wells is coming off of his first win, let's see if he can follow it with another one. Contreras has been pitching well of late, but I feel as if the Cubs never hit him like they should. It is going to be hot this weekend in Chicago, with temperatures in the 90s, which means the Cell should be a band-box. Hopefully the rain stays away, we already had one cross-town game postponed this season, which is one too many.
I am going out of town for the weekend, so no posts until Monday, I am sure there will be plenty to talk about after this weekend.
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