9/16/08 vs. Brewers; W 5-4; (91-58)

Kerry Wood on the mound. Prince Fielder at the plate. Two outs, top of the ninth. Cubs clinging to a one run lead. The Brewers have two runners on. Prince Fielder already has two home runs on the night. A ten pitch battle, won by Kerry Wood. Strikeout looking!

Two more games off the magic number and the winning streak continues! The magic is back at Wrigley.

For the third game in a row, Alfonso Soriano scored in the first inning. That has to be encouraging to a starting pitcher. What was more impressive is this time, it was against CC Sabathia. For the first time since coming to the NL, CC was hung with the loss. How sweet that the Cubs got the honor.

The Cubs tacked on two more runs in the third to open up a 3-0 lead. Ryan Dempster kept the Brewers scoreless for five innings. He had allowed only three hits and a walk heading into the sixth. Then it got a little closer. A Ray Durham double led off the inning. Two batters later Prince Fielder got his first home run of the game to pull the Brewers within one run. Dempster worked his way around two more hits in the inning and was pulled for the seventh.

Chicago, looking more like the team from three weeks ago, added some late runs to help protect the lead. Soriano homered in the seventh. Fielder answered in the eighth to keep it a one run game. In the Cub eighth, Henry Blanco came through with a two out pinch hit single to make it a two run game again.

Woody needed it, as he allowed three hits and a run in the ninth. Still, he got the big out when he needed it and picked up his 31st save on the season. For Dempster it was his 16th win, his 13th at home. That is the most since Fergie Jenkins in 1971. I do believe this team is trying to put up the best numbers in my lifetime in every category. The most important numbers I want them to put up are six zeroes.....right under the Eamus Catuli sign.

4/13/08 @ Phillies; W 6-5; (7-5)

Carlos Zambrano pinch hits in the tenth and the winning run scores as a result of his at bat! It has been a crazy road trip....may as well end it with our ace pitcher putting the ball in play as a hitter. It is the only thing close to a win our starting staff can be credited with during this road trip.

Derek Lee, Ryan Theriot, and Henry Blanco all had multiple hits today. Again our starting pitcher didn't see the sixth inning. At least Marquis left us with a lead, which Michael Wuertz promptly destroyed.

Lou used all thirteen position players by the eighth inning, forcing him to pinch hit Zambrano in the tenth. He used six pitchers, not counting Zambrano hitting, meaning twenty of the twenty five active players saw time in this game.

Whatever it takes might become the motto for this team. This win helps us avoid our first series sweep of the season and lets us leave this road trip 4-2.