Ivy’s Cubs Game Roundup: 7/13 to 7/19
While we play the waiting game and find out what the team will look like for the rest of the season, let’s look at how our Cubbies have played the last two series. With the victory on Thursday, the Cubs improved to 14-5 in their last 19 games. They have the best record in the Majors…since June 25th. They had a great homestand coming out of the All-Star break in which they went 5-1, sweeping the Arizona Diamondbacks and taking two out of three from Ozzie and the Marlins.
7/13 vs. Diamondbacks W 8-1 7/17 vs. Marlins L 5-9
7/14 vs. Diamondbacks W 4-1 7/18 vs. Marlins W 5-1
7/15 vs. Diamondbacks W 3-1 7/19 vs. Marlins W 4-2
7/13- The Cubs had to wait out an almost 4-hour rain delay. The delay didn’t seem to faze Paul Maholm as he went seven strong innings. Alfonso Soriano had a great game, which made it seem like the 4-day rest he had was very good for him. He went 4-for-4 with two homers, two doubles and collected five RBIs.
7/14- With his win on the 14th. Ryan Dempster became the first Cubs pitcher to toss 33 consecutive scoreless innings since Ken Holtzman did so in 1969. He hasn’t allowed a run since May 30, and now boasts an ERA of 1.86. Dempster went six strong innings, striking out five batters. The Cubs offense backed him up by giving him a four-run cushion. Darwin Barney and Luis Valbuena had the big RBIs. James Russell gave up a solo homerun in the seventh inning, but it wasn’t enough for the Diamondbacks to put together a comeback. Shawn Camp and Carlos Marmol took care of the eighth and ninth inning respectively, and gave the Cubs the Win.
7/15- Matt Garza provided another dominating outing; he went seven shutout inning, gave up five hits, walked one and struck out seven. Darwin Barney hit a two-run homer that secured the game for the Cubs and gave them the sweep over Arizona. The last time the Cubs swept the Diamondbacks was back in May 9th.-11th. 2008.
7/17- Travis Wood has definitely impressed us by not sucking as much as we thought he would. Tuesday it was a different story. Wood gave up eight runs on eight hits in just 4 2/3 innings. This was his shortest outing in 11 starts. Carlos Lee hit a grand slam and Omar Infante hit a two-run homer off Wood, while Hanley Ramirez added a solo homer to give the Marlins the 9-5 victory over the Cubs.
7/18- This was a Cubs’ 5-1 rain shortened win. Jeff Samardzija made his 18th. Start but didn’t get a decision. Samardzija went five innings, striking out nine and giving up one run over six hits and walking three. He didn’t have a bad outing, but had a very hard time getting batters out and had an elevated pitch count early on in the game. The offense came from Castro, who hit a game-tying solo homerun, and Geovany Soto sparked a four-run seventh as he hit an RBI single to left field.
7/19- Former White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle made his first start in Chicago since signing with the Marlins. It was a pitcher’s duel between him and Paul Maholm for about the first four innings before Buehrle lost it in the fifth. Alfonso Soriano hit a solo home run, which sparked a four-run fifth. This was Soriano’s 18th. Homer of the season and 150th. as a Cub. He is the 13th. player to reach that feat. Paul Maholm pitched eight strong innings of one-run ball. He gave up five hits while walking one and striking out four. The Cubs defense in this game was fantastic. Reed Johnson, Starlin Castro, and Alfonso Soriano, all made great plays that robbed the Marlins offense of extra base hits.
Sooner than later, we might be missing some players that are currently on the team. While some of us are ok with that, and others struggle and question it, we can’t help but be excited to know where this club is going. It’s nice to know that no matter what happens after this, Theo’s plans will not change. Hopefully they keep playing the way they have because that certainly makes it that much more fun to watch. They key in these last 19 games that has helped the Cubs win has been solid pitching and timely hitting.
Looking Ahead
The one thing I am most excited about will happen this Sunday. Ron Santo, his family and all of us Cubs fans have been waiting for this moment for far too long. It is really a shame that Ronnie is no longer with us to experience it. On Sunday, the only famous person that I have always looked up to will be inducted into Baseball Hall Of Fame. That is the ultimate goal of a baseball player. Ron Santo definitely deserved it…a LONG time ago. Nonetheless, I am so happy, and eager to finally be able to celebrate the great achievements of Ron Santo. Tomorrow, MLB Network will air and updated version of “This Old Cub” and the induction will take place on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. CT. Also, I will have a recap of those events, so look out for that on Monday.
The Cubs will be on the road, where they will play three games with the Cardinals and three with the Pirates before coming back home.
Chicago Cubs vs. St. Louis Cardinals
Friday July 20, 2012 @ 7:15 p.m. CT
Ryan Dempster, RHP (5-3, 1.86 ERA) vs. Kyle Lohse, RHP (9-2, 2.80 ERA)
Chicago Cubs vs. St. Louis Cardinals
Saturday July 21, 2012 @ 6:15 p.m. CT
Matt Garza, RHP (5-7, 4.02 ERA) vs. Jake Westbrook, RHP (7-8, 3.82 ERA)
Chicago Cubs vs. St. Louis Cardinals
Sunday July 22, 2012 @ 1:15 p.m. CT
Travis Wood, LHP (4-4, 3.92 ERA) vs. Lance Lynn, RHP (11-4, 3.27 ERA)
So, in honor of Ronnie’s induction, my question for this week is:
What is your favorite Ron Santo moment? Let me know in the comments below. Thank you so much for reading and for your support. As always, Go Cubs!
-Ivy