7/20/08 @ Houston; W 9-0; (58-40)

Ryan Dempster picked up his first road win in almost two years. He also picked up the spirits of the entire Cubs fan base. How quickly we can forget we won the last three series prior to the All Star break. Instead we were focused on losing our last game before the All Star break and the first two coming out of it.

Even more exciting was the way the offense poured it on in the Houston series finale. Nine runs on thirteen hits, and all that with no batting practice. An on field fan event in Houston prevented either team from getting BP before the game.

It would be hard to single out one offensive hero for the day. Here are the candidates.

Mike Fontenot - Three of a kind. Three hits, three runs, three rbi. Fontentot homered in the fifth and doubled in the ninth.

Derek Lee - One, two, three. One run, two hits, three rbi. His double in the first inning provided the first run and he scored on Edmonds single to give the Cubs all the runs they needed.

Ryan Theriot - Lucky 13. His hitting streak continued and stands at thirteen games now. He went three for five with two rbi and a run scored.

Regardless whom you may choose, it is good to see the offensive firepower again. It was only the second time in the last six games they have scored more than three runs. Kosuke even got a couple hits on the night.

Dempster really threw a good game, and I was hoping he would get a shot at a complete game again. He only allowed six hits and one walk in eight innings while striking out seven. Only in the fifth inning did Houston get a runner to second. They started the inning with three singles to load the bases with no outs. But Dempster struck out two and induced a foul pop out by Kaz Matsui to prevent any runs from scoring.

He was over 100 pitches at eight innings, meaning Carlos Marmol got a chance. He made the most of it getting all three batters he faced out. That could be a boost of confidence for him as we start the second half.

With the Cardinals and Brewers both sweeping their series, St. Louis a four gamer, Chicago had their lead cut to two and three games respectively. Luckily the Brewers will head to Busch Stadium for a four game series starting Monday, Cub fans can hope for a 2-2 split. Chicago needs to have a good series against the D'backs in Arizona before returning home to face the Marlins.

They will start off with Rich Harden trying to get his first win as a Cub. They will face the Big Unit. The Cubs missed Randy Johnson in their sweep earlier this year. It will be nice to see if the offense can continue tonight against a future hall of famer.