7/6/08 @ St. Louis; W 7-1; (53-36)

The Cubs scored early and often on Sunday and took the third and final game of the series 7-1. The series win was their first since sweeping the White Sox in late June.

They tallied sixteen hits on the afternoon, with every position player except Matt Murton getting at least one hit. Derek Lee and Ryan Theriot led the way with three hits apiece. Aramis Ramirez was two for three and added two sac flies to drive in three runs on the day. Cub fans are happy to see his slump behind him.

Mark DeRosa had another good day, driving in a run and going 2 for 4. Reed Johnson scored two runs in the lead off spot and also went 2 for 4. Geovony Soto, on the day he was named to the All Star team as a rookie, hit his fifteenth home run of the year.

Sean Marshall earned his first win since August 24th of last year. He was the beneficiary of a hot offense, but shut the Cardinals down in his third start of the year. His only run allowed was on Ryan Ludwick's home run. He pitched six innings, striking out four, before turning things over to the bullpen.

The season series with the Cardinals is now even at three games apiece. We won't see them again until August, when we host them for a three game stand. As happy as I am to extend the lead in the Central by a game and win our first series in four tries, I can't help but think of the impact of yesterday's game. That would have put us at 4.5 games ahead of both the Brewers and the Cards, and given us a 4-2 advantage in the season series. The Cubs played well enough to have won all three games and it hurts when one gets away.

The Cubs have a day off today, then a six game homestand heading into the All Star Break. Not that it won't be much of a break with most of the team making the trip. We need to get four or five wins this week building off the solid play this weekend.