8/17/08 @ Florida; W 9-2; (76-48)

Alabama once sang "You Can't Keep A Good Man Down." Well, this Chicago Cubs roster is full of good men. So while the Florida Marlins held Chicago scoreless through six innings, the good men rose up in the seventh.

Trailing by two runs, and having managed only four hits, the Cubs sent twelve batters to the plate. They scored eight runs on five hits to take a commanding lead. Alfonso Soriano tied the game with a double. Aramis Ramirez gave Chicago the lead with a two run double of his own. Following a sac fly by Fukudome, Reed Johnson hit a bases clearing double, driving in three runs.

For Johnson it was his third hit of the game, on his way to a four for five day. He was hitting .480 for August...coming into today. He raised that average to .533 with his four knocks today! I sure am glad we picked him and Jim Edmonds up instead of Felix Pie. For more on that, check out all star center fielder Reed Edmonds.

Ryan Dempster was the beneficiary of the high scoring seventh inning. Still the pitcher of record, he earned the win, his fourteenth of the season. That's good for the team lead and fourth in the NL. He picked up ten strikeouts on the day to pass team mate Ted Lilly.

The win ties the Cubs with the Angels for the most wins in the entire major league. It also caps a 5-1 road trip. They are 11-4 in August, and are on pace for their best month of the season. As I said yesterday, the remainder of the month holds a very promising schedule for Chicago. A 20 win month is within their grasp.